| JANUARY 8 - BIRTHS | |
| Stephen W. Hawking | |
(source) |
 Born 8
Jan 1942
English theoretical physicist who is one of the world's leaders in his field. His principal areas of research are theoretical cosmology and quantum gravity. Hawking is the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at Cambridge University (formerly held by Sir Isaac Newton). Afflicted with Lou Gehrig's disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALS), Hawking is confined to a wheelchair and is unable to speak without the aid of a computer voice synthesizer. However, despite his challenges, he has utilized his intelligence, knowledge and abilities to make remarkable contributions to the field of cosmology (the study of the universe as a whole). Hawking wrote the book A Brief History of Time. |
| Carl Gustav Hempel | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1905; died 9 Nov 1997.
German-born U.S. philosopher who was one of the leaders of the Berlin school of logical positivism. The group viewed the task of science as that of showing phenomena to be the consequence of unbroken laws. He emigrated to the USA in 1937 because of Nazism.With Paul Oppenheim, he published an account of the deductive- nomological explanation. In this model, the explanation of a fact is reduced to a logical relationship between statements: the explanandum is a consequence of the explanans. This is a common method of logical positivism. Pragmatic aspects of explanation are not taken into consideration. Another feature is that an explanation requires scientific laws; facts are explained when they are subsumed under laws. |
| Walter E. Diemer | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1905; died 8 Jan 1998.
American businessman who was working as an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Co., when in 1928 he accidentally invented bubble gum while experimenting during his spare time with recipes for a chewing gum base. Fleer sold a test batch in a Philadelphia grocery store, which sold out in one afternoon. Diemer then taught Fleer salesmen how to blow bubbles, so they could demonstrate the product when they traveled from store to store selling the penny-a-piece gum. He later became senior vice president of Fleer. Almost 3/4 of a century later, Diemer still could not believe "all the bubble gum in the world came from my five-pound batch. It's the most popular confection in the world." Since the first batch, the pink colour is still standard. |
| Carl R(ansom) Rogers | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1902; died 4 Feb 1987.
American psychologist who founded humanistic psychology. The non-directive or client-centered, approach to psychotherapy that he originated stresses the importance of a personal relationship between therapist and client. He further pioneered encounter group technique. In Client-Centered Therapy (1951), he suggested that by neutrally reflecting clients' feelings, the therapist can create an empathetic environment, in which patients regulate the direction, speed of their own growth and duration of treatment. His methods greatly influenced the course of psychotherapy. |
| Walther Bothe | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1891; died 8 Feb 1957.
Walther Wilhelm Georg Bothe was a German physicist who developed the coincidence method of detecting the emission of electrons by x-rays in which electrons passing through two adjacent Geiger tubes at almost the same time are registered as a coincidental event. He used it to show that momentum and energy are conserved at the atomic level. In 1929 he applied the method to the study of cosmic rays and was able to show that they consisted of massive particles rather than photons. This research brought him a share (with Max Born) in the Nobel Prize for 1954. In 1930, he observed a strange radiation emitted from beryllium when it was exposed to alpha particles, later identified by Chadwick as consisting of neutrons. He built Germany's first cyclotron (1943). |
| Richard Courant | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1888; died 27 Jan 1972.
German-born American mathematician, who upon joining the faculty of New York University in 1934, began to build the nucleus of a small research group based on the Göttingen model he had experienced as a student of David Hilbert in Germany. Courant's published papers were in variational problems, finite difference methods, minimal surfaces, and partial differential equations. He encouraged the publication of mathematical texts and high quality monographs, such as Methods of Mathematical Physics by Courant and Hilbert. His leadership was commemorated in 1964 when the institute he founded was named the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University.«  What
Is Mathematics? An Elementary Approach to Ideas and Methods,
by Richard Courant, et al. |
| Sir Frank Dyson | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1868; died 25 May 1939.
Sir Frank (Watson) Dyson was a Cambridge-educated, British astronomer, who spent his entire career (except for 5 years in Edinburgh) at the Royal Greenwich Observatory, where he was Astronomer Royal from 1910-33. He directed measurements of terrestrial magnetism, latitude, and time, and he initiated the radio broadcast of time. He determined proper motions of northern stars and completed his portion of the international Carte du Ciel project of photographing the entire sky. Dyson is best known for directing (with Eddington) the 1919 eclipse expedition which confirmed the bending of starlight by the sun's gravitational field. This bending of light, predicted by Einstein, was evidence supporting his general theory of relativity. |
| Joseph Déchelette | |
(source) |
Born 8 Jan 1862; died 8 Oct 1914.
French archaeologist who was an authority on Gallo-Roman and Celtic coins. He wrote Le Manuel d'archéologie préhistorique, celtique et gallo-romaine (1908-14) about the pre-history of France. With his uncle, J.-G. Bulliot, Déchelette excavated Gallic ruins of Bibracte at Mont Beuvray, the only oppidum (a fortified city) in Gaul where the excavations have been sufficiently extended to give an idea of what a Gallic fortified city looked like in the first century B.C. He described his findings in L'Oppidum de Bibracte (1903) which retraces the history of this oppidum and describes what the organisation of the city was: the craft area, the residential area (druids and knights' houses), the place of worship and the wide market place. [Image right: Beuvray relic (source) ] |
| Alfred Russel Wallace | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1823; died 7 Nov 1913.
British naturalist, and biogeographer (who studies the distribution of organisms). He was the first westerner to describe some of the most interesting natural habitats in the tropics. He is best known for devising a theory of the origin of species through natural selection made independently of Darwin. Between 1854 and 1862, Wallace assembled evidence in the Malay Archipelago, sending his conclusions to Darwin in England. Their findings were presented to the Linnaean Society in 1858. Wallace found that Australian species were more primitive, in evolutionary terms, than those of Asia, and that this reflected the stage at which the two continents had become separated. He proposed an imaginary line (now known as Wallace's line) dividing the fauna of the two regions. |
| Johannes Fabricius | |
(source) |
Born 8
Jan 1587; died c. 1615.
Dutch astronomer who was perhaps the first to observe sunspots. On 9 Mar 1611, at dawn, Johannes directed his telescope at the rising sun and saw several dark spots on it. He called his father to investigate this new phenomenon with him. The brightness of the Sun's center was very painful, and the two quickly switched to a projection method by means of a camera obscura. Johannes was the first to publish information on such observations. He did so in his Narratio de maculis in sole observatis et apparente earum cum sole conversione. ("Narration on Spots Observed on the Sun and their Apparent Rotation with the Sun"), the dedication of which was dated 13 Jun 1611. He died aged 29. |
| JANUARY 8 - DEATHS | |
| Aleksandr Prokhorov | |
(source) |
 Died
8 Jan 2002 (born 11 Jul 1916)
Aleksandr Mikhaylovich Prokhorov is the Soviet physicist who received, (with Nikolay G. Basov, USSR and Charles H. Townes, US), the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1964 "for fundamental work in the field of quantum electronics, which has led to the construction of oscillators and amplifiers based on the maser-laser principle." "Maser" stands for "microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation." An amplification can occur only if the stimulated emission is larger than the absorption, requiring that there should be more atoms in a high energy state than in a lower one. This state is called an inverted population. Prokhorov had researched the maser independently but simultaneously with the other prize recipients. |
| Walter E. Diemer | |
|
(source) |
Died
8 Jan 1998 (born 8 Jan 1905)
American businessman who was working as an accountant for the Fleer Chewing Gum Co., when in 1928 he accidentally invented bubble gum while experimenting during his spare time with recipes for a chewing gum base. Fleer sold a test batch in a Philadelphia grocery store, which sold out in one afternoon. Diemer then taught Fleer salesmen how to blow bubbles, so they could demonstrate the product when they traveled from store to store selling the penny-a-piece gum. He later became senior vice president of Fleer. Almost 3/4 of a century later, Diemer still could not believe "all the bubble gum in the world came from my five-pound batch. It's the most popular confection in the world." Since the first batch, the pink colour is still standard. |
| Melvin Calvin | |
1986 (source) |
Died
8 Jan 1997 (born 8 Apr 1911)
American biochemist who his elucidated the mechanism by which carbon dioxide is incorporated into green plants, for which he received the 1961 Nobel Prize for Chemistry. In the Calvin Cycle, he described the "dark reactions" of photosynthesis occuring through the night turning carbon dioxide into sugar. Using carbon-14 isotope as a tracer, Calvin and his team mapped the complete route that carbon travels through a plant during photosynthesis, starting with absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide to its conversion into carbohydrates and other organic compounds. The Calvin group showed that sunlight acts on the chlorophyll in a plant to fuel the manufacturing of organic compounds, rather than on carbon dioxide as was previously believed.  "The
Road to Stockholm: Nobel Prizes, Science, and Scientists" by
Istvan Hargittai, James D. Watson |
| John W. Mauchly | |
(source) |
Died
8 Jan 1980 (born 30 Aug 1907)
American physicist and engineer, who with John P. Eckert invented (1946) the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC), the first general-purpose electronic computer. Mauchly initially conceived of the computer's architecture, and Eckert possessed the engineering skills to bring the idea to life. ENIAC was developed (1946) for the US Army Ordnance Department as what was probably the first general-purpose electronic computer. It was a vast machine, consuming 100 kW of electric power and containing 18,000 electronic valves. Their successful UNIVAC computer (1951) was the first commercial computer, and introduced magnetic tape for programming. |
| Greenleaf Whittier Pickard | |
(source) |
Died
8 Jan 1956 (born 14 Feb 1877)
U.S. electrical engineer whose invention of the crystal detector was one of the first devices widely used for receiving radio broadcasts until superseded by the triode vacuum tube. His patent of 20 Nov 1906 described it as "a means for receiving intelligence communicated by electric waves." He was also one of the first scientists to demonstrate the wireless electromagnetic transmission of speech. Pickard conducted numerous experiments to determine the effect of the sun and sunspots on radio. In his study of the polarisation of radio waves, he contributed to development of the direction finder, and noted as early as 1908 that errors in reading radio compasses might be caused by buildings, trees and other objects. |
| Pierre-Joseph van Beneden | |
(source) |
Died 8 Jan 1894 (born 19 Dec 1809)
Belgian parasitologist and paleontologist who discovered the life cycle of tapeworms (Cestoda). In the earlier part of his career he directed his attention especially to invertebrates and particularly to marine invertebrates. In 1843 he established at his own expense a marine laboratory and an aquarium to further enable his studies, and this is believed to have been one of the earliest if not actually the first example of a place of study of its kind in the world. Associated with this part of his work were his classical studies in connection with parasitic worms. He expanded his studies to cetacea, living and extinct, and examined a number of bones of fossil whales uncovered by excavations during construction of fortifications for Antwerp.«[Image right: Udonella caligorum (source) ] |
| Eli Whitney | |
(source) |
Died
8 Jan 1825 (born 8 Dec 1765)
American inventor, mechanical engineer, and manufacturer, who invented the cotton gin and developed the idea and methods for mass-production of interchangeable parts. The cotton gin is a machine that separates cotton fibre from the seeds. The device, patented in 1793, greatly stimulated cotton growing in the southern USA. Whitney subsequently turned to firearms manufacture, into which he introduced the notion of interchangeable parts. This he applied in his fulfilment of a US government contract (1797) to supply muskets. Whitney manufactured these in standardized parts for reassembly, meaning that for the first time worn parts could be replaced by spares rather than requiring special replacements to be made. |
| Lorenzo Bellini | |
(source) |
Died
8 Jan 1704 (born 3 Sep 1643)
Italian physician and anatomist who described the collecting, or excretory, tubules of the kidney, known as Bellini's ducts (tubules). Bellini is considered a founder of Italian iatromechanism, a pioneer in applying mechanical philosophy to the functions of the human body. His early interests were anatomy and physiology. The first essay he published, Exercitatio anatomica de usu renum (1662), contains his anatomical discovery that in the supposedly unorganized parenchyma there is a complicated structure composed of fibers, open spaces, and densely packed tubules opening into the pelvis of the kidney. His further publications extended his effort to expain all important physiological phenomena according to the law of mechanics. Image: kidney structure as drawn by Bellini |
| Galileo Galilei | |
(source) |
Died
8 Jan 1642 (born 15 Feb 1564)
Italian natural philosopher, astronomer, and mathematician who applied the new techniques of the scientific method to make significant discoveries in physics and astronomy. His great accomplishments include perfecting (though not inventing) the telescope and consequent contributions to astronomy. He studied the science of motion, inertia, the law of falling bodies, and parabolic trajectories. His formulation of the scientific method parallel the writings of Francis Bacon. His progress came at a price, when his ideas were in conflict with religious dogma. 
Galileo:
A Life, by James Reston |
| JANUARY 8 - EVENTS | |
| Nicotine | |
(source) |
In 1998, scientists announced the identification for the first time of
a key brain chemical related to nicotine addiction, in the journal Nature.
The researchers worked at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, Karolinska Institute
in Stockholm and the research arm of Glaxo-Wellcome in Geneva. The addictive
nature of nicotine is related
to release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter chemical in the brain. The scientists
had found the first of 11 subunits, or molecules, of the nicotine receptor
in the brain of mice. Mutant mice lacking the b2 subunit in their brains
did not react to nicotine. Humans have the same so-called b2 subunit. This
is a step toward to designing a drug to block the receptor, and produce
new smoking-cessation drugs.« |
| Superfluidity of liquid helium | |
|
In 1938, the superfluidity of liquid helium at a temperature near absolute
zero was reported
in the journal Nature. Two articles were published together since
the discovery had been made independently by both P.L.
Kapitza in Moscow, Russia, and also
by Jack Allen with Don Misener in
Cambridge, England. Kapitza was eventually awarded a share
of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1978 for his inventions and discoveries
in the area of low-temperature physics.« |
|
| Spectrophotometer | |
(source) |
In 1935, the first U.S. patent for a spectrophotometer
was issued to Professor Arthur Cobb Hardy of Wellesley, Mass. (No. 1,987,441)
which he called a "photometric apparatus." It could detect two million
different shades of colour and make a permanent record chart of the results.
The patent was assigned to the General Electric Company of Schenectady,
N.Y. which sold the first
machine on 24 May 1935. It used a photo-electric device to receive light
alternately from a sample and from a standard for comparison. It eliminated
any need for the two beams (from sample and from standard) to travel different
optical paths which in previous designs could introduce inaccuracies if
one path varied from the other.« [Image:
a "GE-Hardy" double-beam recording spectrophotometer photographed in 1938
showing Walt Disney with the instrument at his studios.] |
| Black American invention | |
(source) |
In 1894, Black American inventor Fredrick J. Loudin was issued a U.S. patent
for a "Key Fastener" (No.512,308).
The invention was a device designed to attach to the knob-shaft or door-handle
above the key-hole and fasten the door key in place in the lock by engaging
with the eyed-end of the key to keep it from being turned in the lock.
As the patent described, this would prevent disengaging the key, as might
otherwise be done by a burglar from the outside of the door with some suitable
implement, inserted through the key-hole. Loudin's first patent was issued
12 Dec 1892 for a window "Fastener for the Meeting Rails of Sashes" that
permitted the window to be locked either closed or partially opened (No.
510,432).
The
Inventive Spirit of African Americans: Patented Ingenuity,
by Patricia Carter Sluby. |
| Hollerith tabulating machine | |
(source) |
In 1889, Dr. Herman Hollerith
received the first US patents for a tabulating machine
(No. 395,781,
-2,
-3)
which he called the "Art of Compiling Statistics". His system
was designed to record separate statistical items by means of combinations
of holes in a punched card
to carry information about an individual. The information contained on
numerous cards could then be tallied
by passing the cards through electrical counters operated by electromagnets.
The patent described its application in compilation of the statistics of
the population for the U.S. Census. The first extensive application of
this system was for the 1890 census counting data items such as age, sex,
occupation, etc., of which tallies could be made in combinations such as
how many males of certain ages. |
| Leather tanning | |
|
In 1884, the first U.S. patents for tanning hides and skins through the
action of a metallic salt were issued to Augustus Schultz of New York City.
His invention of a chrome tanning process enabled leather to be tanned
thinner and stronger than by vegetable tanning. (Nos. 291,784 and -5) |
|
| Telegraph | |
|
In 1838, the first telegraph message in the U.S. in which letters were
represented by dots and dashes was transmitted. The message was: A patient
waiter is no loser. The communications system was invented by Alfred
Vail of Morristown, N.J., in Sep 1837. A public demonstration was given
at New York University using a circuit of ten miles on 24 Jan 1838. |
|
| Black American invention | |
(source) |
In 1872, a second U.S. patent was issued to Black American inventor Thomas
Elkins for a a new article of chamber furniture which he designated a "Chamber
Commode" (No. 122,518).
It provides a combination of "a bureau, mirror, book-rack, washstand, table,
easy-chair, and earth-closet or chamber-stool," which might otherwise be
constructed as several separate articles. Previously, a patent had been
issued to Elkins on 22 Feb 1870 for a "Dining, Ironing Table and Quilting
Frame Combined" (No. 100,020).
Another patent was subsequently issued on 11 Apr 1879 for a "Refrigerating
Apparatus" for "food or corpses," which provides a convenient container
and method of chilling using the evaporation of water. (No. 221,222). |
| George Washington urges patent law | |
|
In 1790, President George Washington in his State of the Union address
urged
the second session of the First U.S. Congress meeting in New York to support
the introduction of new and useful inventions from abroad, and recognize
the skill and genius of U.S. inventors. Within days, both the House set
up a committee to draft a patent statute, because the congressmen agreed
that promotion of science would contribute to the security of a free government.
By 17 Feb 1790, the bill was given its first reading in the House, and
reconciliation of amendments from the Senate was complete by 5 Apr 1790.
George Washington
signed the
statute into law on 10 Apr 1790. The first patent was granted
31 July 1790 to Samuel Hopkins for a method of making potash and pearl
ashes.« |
|
