杏吧原创

WHO is 鈥淓ngland鈥檚 Leonardo鈥�? Robert Hooke is who. It might be pushing it a bit to rank him with da Vinci, but he was certainly a versatile genius who has not had the recognition he deserves.

Allan Chapman has written a biography rich in detail; it needs concentrated reading and an ability to keep the main narrative in mind. Hooke was lucky to find himself among the virtuosi of the Restoration, those men who founded the Royal Society 鈥� the UK鈥檚 academy of sciences 鈥� and he was the society鈥檚 first secretary.

He was fired by the notion of experimentation, the new method that was overturning classical science. He made discoveries in microscopy, astronomy and mechanics. He researched gravity and the nature of light. He made inventions, including a marine barometer and the balance spring for watches. All these activities made him famous. In England鈥檚 Leonardo Chapman does him proud. The reproduction of many of Hooke鈥檚 drawings shows yet another side to him: he was a highly skilled draughtsman.