Memory Aids: Lock In the Key Facts

🧠 Memory Aids: Lock In the Key Facts

The five key scientists — "NHBWH" (Newton Hooke Boyle Wren Halley):

• N — Newton: Laws of motion, gravity, calculus, optics — Principia 1687
• H — Hooke: Microscopy, coined "cell," Hooke's Law, helped rebuild London
• B — Boyle: Chemistry, Boyle's Law, "father of modern chemistry"
• W — Wren: Architecture AND astronomy (St Paul's + professor of astronomy)
• H — Halley: Astronomy, predicted his comet, funded Newton's Principia

Notice that Wren was not just an architect — he was also a professor of astronomy before turning to architecture after the Great Fire. This surprises students and makes a good exam detail.

Key dates for the Royal Society:

• 1660 — Royal Society founded (informal meetings at Gresham College)
• 1662 — Royal charter granted by Charles II
• 1665 — Philosophical Transactions first published (world's first scientific journal)
• 1665 — Hooke publishes Micrographia (first use of "cell")
• 1687 — Newton publishes Principia Mathematica

"Nullius in verba" — three words that sum up the revolution: "Take nobody's word for it." This motto is a perfect exam quotation. It tells you everything about the Royal Society's approach: reject ancient authorities, test everything by experiment, trust evidence over tradition. If you can quote this motto and explain what it means in an exam, you demonstrate genuine understanding rather than just factual recall.

Change vs Continuity — the two-column approach: Science in the Restoration is a classic change-and-continuity topic. Always prepare BOTH columns:

• Change: New experimental method; Royal Society; international journal; major discoveries
• Continuity: Ordinary people unaffected; scientists were devout Christians; no immediate practical applications