1680 in science

Astronomy

• 14 November NS – Great Comet of 1680 observed by Gottfried Kirch, the first comet discovered by telescope.

  Biology

• English comparative anatomist Edward Tyson publishes Phocæna, or The anatomy of a porpess, dissected at Gresham Colledge, concluding that the porpoise is a mammal.
• Robert Morison publishes Plantarum Historiae Universalis Oxoniensis, Pars Secunda, seu Herbarum Distributio Nova per Tabulas Cognationis et Affinitatis ex Libro Naturae observata et detecta, utilising his method of taxonomy.

  Physics

• 8 July – Robert Hooke observes the nodal patterns associated with the vibrations of glass plates.

  Births

Deaths

• 17 February – Jan Swammerdam, Dutch naturalist, founder of both comparative anatomy and entomology
• Marie Meurdrac, French chemist and alchemist