1732 in science

Chemistry

• Herman Boerhaave publishes the authorized edition of his Elementa chemiae in Leiden.

  Exploration

• August – Mikhail Gvozdev with navigator Ivan Fyodorov in the Sviatoi Gavriil make the first known crossing of the Bering Strait, from Cape Dezhnev to Cape Prince of Wales, and explore the Alaskan coast.

  Metrology

• French astronomer in Russian service Joseph-Nicolas Delisle invents the Delisle scale for measuring temperature.

  Technology

• Henri Pitot develops the Pitot tube used for measuring flow velocity under the Seine bridges.
• The world's first lightship is moored at the Nore in the Thames Estuary of England.

  Awards

• Copley Medal: Stephen Gray

  Births

• January 11 – Peter Forsskål, Finnish naturalist
• October 6 – Nevil Maskelyne, English Astronomer Royal
• October 24 – Cristina Roccati, Italian scholar in physics
• Maria Christina Bruhn, Swedish inventor,

  Deaths

• January 17 – John Horsley, British archaeologist