Chronology of events: 1694--1702

For some events, the year is certain but the month and day are not. Example: We know only the year for the collections of Leeuwenhoek's letters published in Dutch during his lifetime.

For other events, the season or month are certain but the day is not. Example: Leeuwenhoek mentions that someone visited him "last month".

On the other hand, many events did indeed happen on the first day of a month. Example: public appointments to Delft's city offices took effect on January 1 of each year. Thus:

  • A date of January 1 in a given year may indicate that the year is certain but the month and day are not.
  • A date of 1 in a given month may indicate that the year and month are certain but the day is not.

Unless otherwise indicated, for events in England, the date given is Old Style, 10 days behind the Dutch Republic's New Style until 1700 and then 11 days behind.

Date
January 1, 1694 Published Onsigbare Geschapene Waarheden (Invisible Creation Truths), Letters 32, 39, 33
January 1, 1694 Published Vierde Vervolg der Brieven (Fourth Continuation of the Letters), Letters 76 - 83
January 6, 1694 wife Cornelia Johannes Swalmius buried
January 19, 1694 Wrote Letter L-232 of 1694-01-19 to Richard Waller as a cover letter for Letter L-231
January 24, 1694 Wrote Letter L-233 of 1694-01-24 to the members of the Royal Society about tapeworms and salt and sand in cod intestines
February 10, 1694 Richard Waller wrote Letter L-234 to Leeuwenhoek, asking him to examine the colors of birds' feathers and other bodies, such as silk, paint, and mercury and whether he had observed sperm inside of an egg
February 12, 1694 Presented act of guardianship to the Weeskamer after Cornelia's death
February 12, 1694 Wrote Letter L-235 of 1694-02-12 to Richard Waller as a cover letter for Letter L-233
February 24, 1694 Wrote Letter L-236 of 1694-02-24 to the members of the Royal Society about his experiments with solid phosphorus
February 28, 1694 Benedictus Haan wrote Letter L-237 to Leeuwenhoek agreeing with him against George Garden about the female ovary
March 2, 1694 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-238 of sometime before 1694-03-02 to Leeuwenhoek about recent books that he thought might be of interest
March 2, 1694 Presented Cornelia's will to the Weeskamer
March 2, 1694 Wrote Letter L-239 of 1694-03-02 to the members of the Royal Society about ear wax and hair, body hair, the amount of sweat secreted from the human body, and the possibility that sperm might penetrate the ovum
March 19, 1694 Wrote Letter L-240 of 1694-03-19 to the members of the Royal Society refuting George Garden's ideas in Letter L-227 about the role of the ovary and eggs
April 2, 1694 Wrote Letter L-241 of 1694-04-02 to the members of the Royal Society about the tongue of an ox and a pig and the heart of a sheep, ox, duck, chicken and cod
April 30, 1694 Wrote Letter L-242 of 1694-04-30 to the members of the Royal Society about his criticisms of Buonanni's theory of spontaneous generation, about mussels, barnacles, shrimp larvae, the eye of a dragon-fly, gnat, fly, and ant, and about ant eggs
May 2, 1694 Richard Waller wrote Letter L-243 to Leeuwenhoek about recent observations, to request a portrait, and to introduce Mr. Walfort, who delivered it
May 11, 1694 Received an honorarium from the city for Vierde Vervolg der Brieven (Fourth Continuation of the Letters)
May 26, 1694 Wrote Letter L-244 of 1694-05-26 to Richard Waller, cover letter for copy of Vierde Vervolg der Brieven
June 4, 1694 Visited Pieter Rabus in Rotterdam
July 7, 1694 Royal Society accepted gift of Vierde Vervolg der Brieven and read Leeuwenhoek's cover letter, Letter L-244
July 30, 1694 Arnold Ramp appointed tax collector for livestock sales
September 14, 1694 Wrote Letter L-245 of 1694-09-14 to Richard Waller about blood circulation and having sent six copies of his portrait to London
November 3, 1694 Lent 400 guilders to Leendert van Bijstervelt
November 24, 1694 cousin Maerten Huijchs Leeuwenhoek buried
November 29, 1694 microscopist Marcello Malpighi died
November 30, 1694 Wrote Letter L-246 of 1694-11-30 to Pieter Rabus about about dragon-fly eyes and eggs, crab eyes, vertebrate corneas, another rejection of spontaneous generation, and the impregnation of women
January 1, 1695 Published Arcana Naturae Detecta (Nature's Mysteries Disclosed), Letters 32, 33, 37, 39 - 41, 61 - 92
January 1, 1695 Published Register van alle de Werken, Letters 28 - 83
April 10, 1695 Wrote Letter L-247 of 1695-04-10 to Anthonie Heinsius about blood and its circulation in a crab's leg, crystals in evaporated crab blood, and the hairs on a crab's leg
April 22, 1695 Wrote Letter L-248 of 1695-04-22 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about the apple-blossom weevil, its larvae, their danger, and their metamorphosis and the reproduction of black flies on apple tree blossoms
April 30, 1695 Bought bonds and annuities from the city of Delft
May 1, 1695 Frederick Adriaan van Reede wrote Letter L-249 sometime in early May 1695 that he was pleased with Leeuwenhoek’s observations about the apple-blossom weevil and black flies on apple tree blossoms
May 1, 1695 Pieter Rabus wrote Letter L-250 to Leeuwenhoek, a "pleasant" letter now lost
May 1, 1695 Wrote Letter L-251 of 1695-05-01 to Anthonie Heinsius about weevils, nutmegs and their safe storage, and tobacco seeds and their germination
May 2, 1695 Maarten Etienne van Velden wrote Letter L-252 to Leeuwenhoek about two printed works and a box of flies
May 18, 1695 Wrote Letter L-253 of 1695-05-18 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about the apple-blossom weevil, caterpillars and the metamorphosis of the small ermine moth, and parasitic flies
May 21, 1695 Wrote Letter L-254 of 1695-05-21 to Pieter Rabus about the eggs and blood vessels of the ray
May 23, 1695 Wrote Letter L-255 of 1695-05-23 to Maarten Etienne van Velden about the impossibility of small flies being generated from the body of a big dead caterpillars, again refuting the theory of spontaneous generation
May 30, 1695 Maarten Etienne van Velden wrote Letter L-256 about his dissatisfaction with Leeuwenhoek's views on spontaneous generation in Letter L-255
June 1, 1695 Frederick Adriaan van Reede wrote Letter L-257 sometime in June 1695 that he was pleased with Leeuwenhoek’s further observations about garden pests
June 21, 1695 Pieter Rabus wrote Letter L-258 asking for Leeuwenhoek’s comments on a letter he had received about caterpillars that were growing in a woman’s ears
June 28, 1695 Visited by Johann Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg, Elector Palatine, his wife and his mother
July 1, 1695 A doctor from Zeeland, Angelus van Wijkhuysen, wrote Letter L-259 to request Leeuwenhoek's opinion on the origin of flies from a dead caterpillar
July 8, 1695 Christiaan Huygens died
July 10, 1695 Wrote Letter L-260 of 1695-07-10 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about aphids, their reproduction, and the unsuccessful search for male aphids
July 12, 1695 Wrote Letter L-261 of 1695-07-12 to Maarten Etienne van Velden about the metamorphosis of caterpillars and of parasitic larvae coming out of a dead caterpillar
July 20, 1695 Wrote Letter L-262 of 1695-07-20 to Anthonie Heinsius about about scales from his own skin, wool threads from his stockings, salt from his sweat, and air bubbles and salt crystals from his ear wax
July 21, 1695 Wrote Letter L-263 of 1695-07-21 to Pieter Rabus about the report that a large caterpillar emerged from a woman's ear and fumigation with sulphur to remove it; Leeuwenhoek cannot find any mites in his own auditory canal
August 15, 1695 Wrote Letter L-264 of 1695-08-15 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about oysters and their larvae, repudiating spontaneous generation
August 15, 1695 Wrote Letter L-265 of 1695-08-15 to Antonio Magliabechi, the dedication of Arcana Naturae Detecta
August 16, 1695 Wrote Letter L-266 of 1695-08-16 to inform Antonio Magliabechi that he has dedicated Arcana Naturae Detecta to him; he mentions the visit of the Elector Palatine
August 18, 1695 Wrote Letter L-267 of 1695-08-18 to Anthonie Heinsius about detonating gunpowder in a closed glass bulb and measuring the increase in volume after the explosion; in a partial vacuum, glass bulbs may implode
August 20, 1695 Wrote Letter L-268 of 1695-08-20 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about again about oysters and their sperm and aphids and other parasites
September 1, 1695 A certain gentleman, Angelus van Wijkhuysen, wrote Letter L-269 before September 1695 to inform Leeuwenhoek about mussel gatherers and a minister who believed that mussels are formed by spontaneous generation
September 10, 1695 Wrote Letter L-270 of 1695-09-10 to Pieter Rabus about his attempt to breed maggots with his own ear-wax as food and a movement in his ear due to the vibration of a little hair against the ear-drum
September 18, 1695 Wrote Letter L-271 of 1695-09-18 to Johann Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg about swan mussel sperm, eggs, embryos, and locomotion, small animals as food for larger ones and oysters and their larvae; he again refutes spontaneous generation
October 12, 1695 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-272 of 1695-10-12 to thank Leeuwenhoek for dedicating Arcana Natura Detecta to him and to report on several recent books written in Latin and Italian by Italians that he thought might be of interest
October 14, 1695 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-273 to praise Leeuwenhoek
October 18, 1695 Wrote Letter L-274 of 1695-10-18 to Antonio Magliabechi to accompany a parcel of books, which Leeuwenhoek gave to Baron Bettino Riasoli for delivery
October 23, 1695 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-275 of 1695-10-23 to Leeuwenhoek about recent books in Latin and Italian by Italians that he thought might be of interest
October 31, 1695 Wrote Letter L-276 of 1695-10-31 to Magliabechi to acknowledge the receipt of Magliabechi's Letter L-272, to report on the books he sent and on his recent Letter L-271 to Johann Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg
October 31, 1695 Wrote Letter L-277 of 1695-10-31 to Jacob Calckberner to request that he forward a package of books to Magliabechi
November 1, 1695 His Excellency Mr.... wrote Letter L-278 of sometime before November 1695 on the day he left Düsseldorf, a lost letter
November 3, 1695 Wrote Letter L-279 of 1695-11-03 to Johann Wilhelm von Pfalz-Neuburg about larvae from swan mussels, little animals in water taken out of swan mussels, and extracts from letters to Oldenburg and Brouncker about the quantity of little animals
November 5, 1695 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-280 to again praise Leeuwenhoek
December 1, 1695 Wrote Letter L-281 of 1695-12-01 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede, the dedication of the Fifth Continuation of the Letters (Vijfde Vervolg der Brieven)
December 19, 1695 Received an honorarium from the city for the Fifth Continuation of the Letters (Vijf Vervolg der Brieven)
December 22, 1695 Wrote Letter L-282 of 1695-12-22 to acknowledge the receipt of two letters by Magliabechi and to tell him once again that the books have been forwarded to him
December 28, 1695 Wrote Letter L-283 of 1695-12-28 to Hendrik van Bleyswijk about herring, their stomach worms, the food in herring stomachs, and how small fish like herring catch food
January 1, 1696 Published Antony van Leeuwenhoeks 37ste Missive, Geschreven aan (Written to) de Heer Cristopher Wren
January 1, 1696 Published Antony van Leeuwenhoeks 40ste Missive, Geschreven aan (Written to) de Heer Francois Aston
January 1, 1696 Published Arcana Naturae Microscopiorum (Nature's Mcroscopical Mysteries), 19 Letters from 28 - 52 (2nd)
January 1, 1696 Published Continuatio Epistolarum (Continuation of the Letters), Letters 53-60 (2nd)
January 1, 1696 Published Levende Dierkens (Living Animals), Letters 28 - 31, 34 - 36 (2nd)
January 1, 1696 Published Sout-figuren (Salt figures), Letters 44, 45 (2nd)
January 1, 1696 Published Vijfde Vervolg der Brieven (Fifth Continuation of the Letters), Letters 84 - 96
February 17, 1696 Hans Sloane wrote Letter L-284 of 1696-01-17 on behalf of the Royal Society to encourage Leeuwenhoek
February 20, 1696 Wrote Letter L-285 of 1696-02-20 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about the anatomy of the body louse, especially the sexual organs and the louse's rapid reproduction, and his opposition to Jonston's and Kircher's observations on lice
March 6, 1696 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-286 to Leeuwenhoek, reporting that he finally received the copies of Arcana Naturae Detecta, one for Grand Duke Cosima III
March 8, 1696 Wrote Letter L-287 of 1696-03-08 to Nicolaas Witsen about white mace caused by vermin, a moth from a larva taken from mace, larvae and wings of the merchant grain beetle, and nutmeg; warehouses should be painted to protect spices from vermin
May 2, 1696 The Royal Society decided to resume correspondence with Leeuwenhoek
May 16, 1696 Pieter Rabus wrote Letter L-288 to Leeuwenhoek about dowsing rods
June 1, 1696 Wrote Letter L-289 of 1696-06-01 to Pieter Rabus about dowsing rods and the hazel branches used to make them, iron, and loadstone
June 5, 1696 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-290 to Leeuwenhoek about the book dedicated to him
June 9, 1696 Asked to keep safe disputed sacks of buckwheat while the magistrates heard the case
June 27, 1696 Named as renter of a garden outside the Schoolpoort
July 1, 1696 Nicolaas Witson wrote Letter L-291 of sometime before July 1696 to Leeuwenhoek about an enclosed mineral, map, and letter
July 6, 1696 Wrote Letter L-292 of 1696-07-06 to Nicolaas Witsen about his analysis of the mineral that Witsen sent with Letter L-291, ant stings, and lacquer particles on a tree that originate from the tree itself, not from ants
July 8, 1696 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-293 to Leeuwenhoek about a packet of books that had arrived
July 10, 1696 Wrote Letter L-294 of 1696-07-10 to Nicolaas Witsen about demonstrating the rotation of the earth with the aid of a glass globe filled with water in which wax particles are floating.
July 10, 1696 Wrote Letter L-295 of 1696-07-10 to the members of the Royal Society about the circulation of blood in eels; mites, figs, strawberries, and a lobster's leg; a transcription of Christiaan Huygens's Letter L-223 about the reproduction of eels
July 16, 1696 Wrote Letter L-296 of 1696-07-16 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about the male and female sexual organs of oysters and their larvae
July 23, 1696 Wrote Letter L-297 of 1696-07-23 to Pieter Rabus honey-dew on lime-trees; moisture from vine tendrils leads to a theory on the production of lacquer in tropical trees; his Delft friend has lost the capacity to handle the dowsing-rod
July 30, 1696 Pieter Rabus wrote Letter L-298 to Leeuwenhoek, more about honey-dew and dowsing rods
August 23, 1696 Frederick Adriaan van Reede wrote Letter L-299 of 1696-08-23, a "welcome letter"
August 26, 1696 Wrote Letter L-300 of 1696-08-26 to Frederik Adriaan van Reede about plant-lice, its embryos and parasitization, black flies and their caterpillars on apple-trees, and English oysters from Zierikzee
August 28, 1696 Wrote Letter L-301 of 1696-08-28 to Antonio Magliabechi to acknowledge receipt of Letter L-293, to inquire about the reaction of the grand duke to his work, and to thank Magliabechi for sending printed matter and book news from Italy
August 29, 1696 Wrote Letter L-302 of 1696-08-29 to Hendrik van Bleyswijk about oak-wood containing beetle larvae, which appeared to be able to feed on wood, and the cause of the differences in quality of oak-wood
September 7, 1696 Wrote Letter L-303 of 1696-09-07 to thank Magliabechi for Letter L-290 of 5 June and Letter L-293 of 8 July 1696 and to request that Magliabechi spare him exaggerated praise henceforth
September 12, 1696 Wrote Letter L-304 of 1696-09-12 to Anthonie Heinsius about rennet and curd, chalk and crab's-eyes in vinegar, smoking tobacco to cure toothache, the gall-bladder and omasum of a calf, milk-clotting, and his contradiction of a physician
September 27, 1696 Wrote Letter L-305 of 1696-09-27 to Hendrik van Bleyswijk about the age of fishes, especially herring, using scales and the structure of greater weever's spine and the painfulness of its sting
October 26, 1696 Wrote Letter L-306 of 1696-10-26 to Maarten Etienne van Velden to accompany a presentation copy of his printed letters, Sesde Vervolg Der Brieven (Sixth Continuation of the Letters)
October 30, 1696 Wrote Letter L-307 of 1696-10-30 to a "gentleman in Brabant", a cover letter accompanying a copy of Sesde Vervolg der Brieven
November 6, 1696 Received an honorarium from the city for the Sixth Continuation of the Letters
November 10, 1696 A gentleman in Brabant wrote Letter L-308 of sometime in November 1696 to Leeuwenhoek about his long-held Copernican ideas
November 15, 1696 Wrote Letter L-309 of "latter part" of 1696 to Harmen van Zoelen about what I had learned from an East India Trader
December 18, 1696 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-310 to Leeuwenhoek with reports on several recent books that he thought might be of interest written in Latin by Italians
December 18, 1696 Hans Sloane wrote Letter L-311 of 1696-12-18, as instructed by the Royal Society
January 1, 1697 Gottfried Leibniz wrote Letter L-312 to Leeuwenhoek about magnets and the magnetic power of the earth
January 1, 1697 Published Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae detectorum (Continuation of Nature's Mysteries Disclosed), Letters 93 - 107
January 1, 1697 Published Sesde Vervolg der Brieven (Sixth Continuation of the Letters), Letters 97 - 107
January 1, 1697 Published Tweede Vervolg der Brieven (Second Continuation of the Letters), Letters 61 - 67 (2nd)
January 1, 1697 Published Zaden van Boomen (Seeds of Trees), Letters 46, 47 (2nd)
January 1, 1697 Received fees from new citizens in the name of the city's camerbewaarders and messengers
February 4, 1697 Maarten Etienne van Velden wrote Letter L-313 to Leeuwenhoek about receiving Sesde Vervolg der Brieven
February 12, 1697 Wrote Letter L-314 of 1697-02-12 to Maarten Etienne van Velden, regretting Van Velden's difficulties caused by his defence of Copernicus and in support, enclosing a copy of a letter from a gentleman in Brabant
February 19, 1697 Wrote Letter L-315 of 1697-02-19 to Hans Sloane about sending Sesde Vervolg der Brieven and wanting to receive the latest Philosophical Transactions and the works of Malpighi
March 13, 1697 Royal Society read Letter L-315 of 19 February 1697 and agreed to send Philosophical Transactions
March 25, 1697 Wrote Letter L-316 of 1697-03-25 to the members of the Royal Society as a cover letter to Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae
April 1, 1697 Pieter vander Slaart wrote Letter L-317 some months before April 1697 about visiting Leeuwenhoek with a German doctor
April 1, 1697 Visited by Johann Anderson, a German lawyer and natural scientist
April 5, 1697 Wrote Letter L-318 of 1697-04-05 to the members of the Royal Society about experiments with magnets, a meniscus in a glass, and patients given 'sympathetic' powder as a medicine by a German quack doctor
May 1, 1697 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-319 in spring 1697 with a booklet by Dr. Scaramucci about elephant bones found in Saxony
May 7, 1697 Gottfried Leibniz wrote to Hendrik van Bleyswijk about the need for Leeuwenhoek to train students in order to render "even greater services to the human race"
May 15, 1697 Wrote Letter L-320 of May 1697 to Victor van Beughem about how to distribute the enclosed copies of Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae
May 17, 1697 John Harwood wrote Letter L-321 of 1697-05-17 to Leeuwenhoek about enclosed issues of Philosophical Transactions
June 1, 1697 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-322 with more news of recently published books in Italian and Latin by Italians that he thought might be of interest
June 1, 1697 Visited by Sir Francis Child, an English banker and politician
June 6, 1697 Wrote Letter L-323 of 1697-06-06 to Antonio Magliabechi about marine fossils found in mountain rocks and the present of copies of Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae sent to Florence
July 1, 1697 Wrote Letter L-324 of 1697-07-01 to Luca Giamberti to request that he send Magliabechi's gift book by a freighter from Cologne via Düsseldorf to Dordrecht
July 3, 1697 Royal Society read Letter L-316 of 25 March 1697, and asked Robert Hooke to review the enclosed Continuatio Arcanorum Naturae
July 19, 1697 Luca Giamberti wrote Letter L-325 to Leeuwenhoek about a gift book from Magliabechi
August 1, 1697 Antonio Magliabechi wrote Letter L-326 in August 1697 with more news of recently published books in Italian and Latin by Italians that he thought might be of interest
August 18, 1697 Jan van Leeuwen wrote Letter L-327 of 1697-08-18 to Leeuwenhoek, sending a box of straw and wheat ears said to have been ruined by honey-dew falling from the sky
September 3, 1697 Visited neice Rijcke van Leeuwen in Rotterdam
September 3, 1697 Wrote Letter L-328 of 1697-09-03 to Jan van Leeuwen about ears of wheat with smut and a theory of fungous disease in grain; refutes the notion that honey-dew causes smut ears
September 10, 1697 Wrote Letter L-329 of 1697-09-10 to the members of the Royal Society about small white eggs mixed with earth, a pulsating pulmonary vein in an egg, Roman snails, the rootlets of a wheat grain, one of his own teeth, and young oysters
October 12, 1697 cousin Jannetje Maertens (Johanna) Leeuwenhoek married Frans van Trigt
October 15, 1697 Visited by Tsar Peter the Great of Russia

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