Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Nicolaus Steno
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Steno, Nicolaus Steno's four laws of stratigraphy
Quizzes
Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.
Faces of Science
Cross section of Earth showing the core, mantle, and crust
Everything Earth
Related Questions
Read Next
pulmonary veins and arteries, circulation, cardiovascular system, human anatomy, (Netter replacement project - SSC)
13 Questions About How the Human Body Works Answered
H1N1 influenza virus particles. Colorized transmission electron micrograph. Surface proteins on surface of the virus particles shown in black. Influenza flu
10 Ways of Looking at Cells
Endoplasmic reticulum. cell biology
6 Cell Organelles
Science studient dissecting frog
Pro and Con: Animal Dissection
Discover
Easter Procession of Maria Santisima del Sacromonte in Granada, Spain. This statue is known as Virgen de los Gitanos or The Virgin of the Gypsies.
What is Holy Week?
Two chicks near an egg with a white background (poultry, chick, chickens, birds).
What Do Eggs Have to Do with Easter?
Marriage. A couple getting married during a church wedding ceremony. (religion, ceremony, bride, groom)
The Seven Sacraments of the Roman Catholic church
Currency. Money. Cash. Dollars. Bills. Pile of ten, twenty, fifty, and hundred dollar bills.
6 Questions About the History of Money and Banking Answered
Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) standing on rock, side view, Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya
The Fastest Animals on Earth
Lusitania sinking, illustration from The War of the Nations (New York), December 31, 1919. World War I, WWI. This image is one of three on the page. (See source file for the other two.)
7 of the World’s Deadliest Shipwrecks
Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd
Causes of the Great Depression

Nicolaus Steno: Facts & Related Content

verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Share
Share to social media
URL
https://www.britannica.com/facts/Nicolaus-Steno
Written and fact-checked by
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

The Information Architects maintain a master list of the topics included in the corpus of  Encyclopædia Britannica, and create and manage the relationships between them.
The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts

Also Known As Niels Steensen • Niels Stensen
Born January 11, 1638 • Copenhagen • Denmark
Died December 5, 1686 (aged 48) • Schwerin • Germany
Notable Works “The Prodromus of Nicolaus Steno’s Dissertation Concerning a Solid Body Enclosed by Process of Nature Within a Solid”
Subjects Of Study Stensen’s duct • crystal • geochronology

Photos

Steno, Nicolaus
Steno's four laws of stratigraphy
See All Images →
William Lonsdale
British geologist
Gerhard, Baron De Geer
Swedish geologist
Giovanni Arduino
Italian geologist
Caspar Bartholin, detail of a lithograph by Baerentzen after a contemporary portrait by an unknown artist, 1615
Caspar Berthelsen Bartholin
Danish physician and theologian
Bartholin, Thomas
Thomas Bartholin
Danish anatomist and mathematician
Amos Eaton
American botanist, geologist, and lawyer
William Maclure
American geologist
François-Emile Matthes
American geologist
Leonardo da Vinci: self-portrait
Leonardo da Vinci
Italian artist, engineer, and scientist
Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
British naturalist
Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
German explorer and naturalist
William Harvey
William Harvey
English physician
Emanuel Swedenborg
Emanuel Swedenborg
Swedish philosopher
Charles Lyell
Charles Lyell
Scottish geologist
Galen of Pergamum
Galen
Greek physician
Powell, John Wesley
John Wesley Powell
American explorer, geologist, and ethnologist
Georgius Agricola.
Georgius Agricola
German scholar and scientist
Sarpi, detail of a portrait (the black spot on his face covers the scar from an unsuccessful attempt on his life in 1607); in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, Eng.
Paolo Sarpi
Italian theologian
James Hutton
James Hutton
Scottish geologist
Dana, James D.
James D. Dana
American geologist and mineralogist

Related Quizzes and Features

Quiz
Michael Faraday (L) English physicist and chemist (electromagnetism) and John Frederic Daniell (R) British chemist and meteorologist who invented the Daniell cell.
Faces of Science
Cross section of Earth showing the core, mantle, and crust
Everything Earth