Ferdinand II de Medici (1610–1670), Grand Duke of Tuscany, was also an accomplished physicist. He is generally credited with inventing the first modern thermometer in 1641. It consisted of a sealed tube containing alcohol. This type of thermometer was called a “spirit” thermometer, possibly because alcoholic drinks are sometimes referred to as spirits. Today, alcohol thermometers are still referred to by this quaint label. Ferdinand II improved on his design in 1654; ten years later, Robert Hooke (1635–1703) adapted the duke’s thermometer, standardizing the measurements in a more logical way (the duke had arbitrarily divided his thermometer into 50 degrees), using the freezing and boiling points of water as standards.