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The year 1608 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Technology

• October - Hans Lippershey applies for patent for the first known telescope.
• The flintlock muzzleloader is invented; unlike most weapon systems which only lasted a few decades, the flintlock has a longterm impact.
• The manufacture of alum is invented and successfully practised in England, under the patronage of King James, by Lord Sheffield.

Births

• January 28 - Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian scientist (died 1679)
• October 15 - Evangelista Torricelli, Italian physicist and mathematician (died 1647)
• John Tradescant the younger, English botanist (died 1662)

Deaths

• John Dee, English alchemist, astrologer, and mathematician who contributed greatly to the revival of interest in mathematics in England (born 1527)