title: 1688 in science
text: # 1688 in science
  
  The year 1688 in science and technology included a number of events, some of which are listed here.
  
  ## Astronomy
  
  * The constellation Sceptrum Brandenburgicum is named by Gottfried Kirch.
  
  ## Exploration
  
  * A French Jesuit scientific mission led by Jean de Fontaney arrives in China.
  
  ## Mathematics
  
  * Simon de la Loubère introduces the Siamese method for constructing any size of n-odd magic square to Western Europe.
  
  ## Technology
  
  * Earliest known mention of the balalaika.
  
  ## Births
  
  * January 29 – Emanuel Swedenborg, Swedish scientist and theologian (died 1772)
  * April 4 – Joseph-Nicolas Delisle, French astronomer (died 1768)
  * August 14 – Johann Leonhard Rost, German astronomer (died 1727)
  * September 26 – Willem 's Gravesande, Dutch polymath (died 1742)
  * November 15 – Louis Bertrand Castel, French Jesuit mathematician and physicist (died 1757)
  
  ## Deaths
  
  * January 28 – Ferdinand Verbiest, Flemish Jesuit astronomer in China (born 1623)
  * October 9 – Claude Perrault, French architect and physicist (born 1613)
  * November 11 – Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, French horticulturalist (born 1626)
  