| OCTOBER 1 - BIRTHS | |
| George R. Carruthers | |
(source) |
 Born 1
Oct 1939
African-American astrophysicist who was the principal inventor of a new space camera to measure ultraviolet light which can be used to identify interstellar atoms and molecules. After several years in development, it was taken to the moon on the Apollo 16 mission (1972). Positioned on the moon's surface, the camera could also image the gases of the Earth's atmosphere. The concentration of the pollutants, such as carbon monoxide, in the air surrounding large cities could be determined for many cities at the same time. Other space cameras developed by Carruthers and his colleagues have surveyed the ozone layer and transmitted photos of distant stars and planets for computer analysis. He also pioneered in the development of electronic telescopes. |
| Jerome Bruner | |
(source) |
Born 1
Oct 1915
Jerome Seymour Bruner is an American psychologist and educator who pioneered techniques for investigating infant perception. His investigations of various aspects of cognition, learning and memory in young children complimented the studies made by Jean Piaget. Their work was influential on education in America. Bruner observes that "there is no unique sequence for all learners, and the optimum in any particular case will depend upon a variety of factors, including past learning, stage of development, nature of the material, and individual differences."«  The
Culture of Education, by Jerome Bruner. |
| Otto Robert Frisch | |
(source) |
Born 1 Oct 1904; died 22 Sep 1979.
Austrian-British nuclear physicist, born in Vienna, who, with his aunt Lise Meitner, described the division of neutron-bombarded uranium into lighter elements. He named the process fission, borrowing a term from biology (1939). At the time, Meitner was working in Stockholm and Frisch (1934-39) at Copenhagen under Niels Bohr, who brought their observation to the attention of Albert Einstein and others in the United States. He did research with James Chadwick 1940-43, and was head of the Critical Assembly Group on the Los Alamos project 1943-46. After World War II, Frisch became a science writer on atomic physics for the layman.
What
Little I Remember, by Otto Robert Frisch. |
| Esther Boise Van Deman | |
(source) |
Born 1
Oct 1862; died 3 May 1937.
An American archaeologist, born in South Salem, Ohio, Esther Van Deman was studying on a scholarship in Rome when she decided that Roman archaeology was to be her chosen field of work. In 1907, while attending a lecture in the Atrium Vestae, that she noticed that the bricks blocking up a doorway were different from those in the structure itself, and she speculated that those differences in building materials might provide a wealth of information for dating the choronology of Roman structures. Thus began thirty years of life in Rome. She was the first woman to specialize in Roman field archaeology. She established lasting criteria for the dating of ancient constructions, which advanced the serious study of Roman architecture. [Image: Photo by Ester Van Deman: Excavations of the Atrium Vestae in the Forum, Rome, Italy.]
The
Building of the Roman Aqueducts, by Esther Boise Van
Deman. |
| Charles Cros | |
(source) |
Born 1
Oct 1842; died 9 Aug 1888.
(Émile-Hortensius-) Charles Cros was a French inventor and poet whose work in several fields foreshadowed or paralleled important developments. He was interested in mechanical and physical sciences. He designed an automatic telegraph and showed it at the World Fair of 1867. He sent to the Société française de photographie, in 1869, a system for reproduction of color images. Also, he delivered viable plans on 18 April 1877 to the Académie des Sciences, for an apparatus called a paléophone, which was the principle of the gramophone. Thus, he had the idea before Edison. Nevertheless, he died in poverty and was never recognized for his discoveries in his lifetime, due to more influential and better funded competitors. |
| William Stokes | |
(source) |
Born 1
Oct 1804; died 10 Jan 1878.
Physician who was the leading representative of the Irish, or Dublin, school of anatomical diagnosis, which emphasized clinical examination of patients in forming a diagnosis. With colleague, John Cheyne, he described Cheyne-Stokes respiration associated with terminal illness; and with Robert Adams described Stokes-Adams attacks, an abnormality of the heart. Stokes is regarded as one of the founders of modern cardiology. In 1838, he co-founded the Dublin Pathological Society, the first society of its kind in the Western world. Every Saturday the member physicians and surgeons met to share knowledge about clinical cases. He was also the author of two important works in the emerging field of cardiac and pulmonary diseases. [Image: Statue of Stokes.] |
| OCTOBER 1 - DEATHS | |
| Spyridon Marinatos | |
(image) |
 Died
1 Oct 1974 (born 4 Nov 1901)
Spyridon Nikolaou Marinatos was a Greek archaeologist whose most notable discovery was the site of an ancient port city on the island of Thera, in the southern Aegean Sea. The city, the name of which was not discovered, apparently had about 20,000 inhabitants when it was destroyed by the great volcanic eruption of 1500 BC. Among the finds made at the site were the finest frescoes discovered in the Mediterranean region to that time, surpassing even those found at Knossos in Crete. The most famous of these murals is the “Two Boys Boxing” (left). |
| Louis Leakey | |
(source) |
Died
1 Oct 1972 (born 7 Aug 1903)
Louis S(eymour) B(azett) Leakey, an archaeologist and anthropologist, died in London, and buried in the country of his birth on 4 Oct 1972. His parents were British missionaries when he was born in Kenya, Africa. Leakey was largely responsible for convincing scientists that Africa, rather than Java or China, was the most significant area to search for evidence of human origins. Leakey led fossil-hunting expeditions to eastern Africa from the 1920's. He married Mary D. Nicol in 1936 and the couple discovered many important fossils together. In 1964, on an expedition to the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, he found fossil remains of, he believed, the earliest member of the genus of human beings. He named the species Homo habilis. Ancestral
Passions: The Leakey Family and the Quest for Humankind's Beginnings,
by Virginia Morell. |
| Thomas Francis, Jr. | |
(source) |
Died
1 Oct 1969 (born 15 Jul 1900)
American physician, virologist and epidemiologist who was the first in America to isolate the virus influenza A (1934) and showed that there are other strains, such as influenza B (1940). Francis developed a polyvalent vaccine effective against both strains and conducted research that led to the development of antiserums for the treatment of pneumonia. In 1953, he was asked to design, supervise, and evaluate the field trials of the polio vaccine developed by his former protegé, Jonas Salk. The trials were of unprecedented scope and magnitude, involving about 1.8 million children from across the U.S., Canada, and Finland. On 12 Apr 1955, Francis announced that the Salk vaccine was indeed "safe, effective, and potent."« |
| Edwin Joseph Cohn | |
(source) |
Died 1 Oct 1953 (born 17 Dec 1892)
American biochemist who helped develop the methods of cold ethanol blood fractionation (the separation of plasma proteins into fractions). During World War II he headed a team of chemists, physicians, and medical scientists who made possible the large-scale production, allowing use of the individual fractions of human plasma for treatment of the wounded - all together about a dozen different materials. Some of the results of this work include the use of serum albumin as a substitute for blood or plasma for transfusion; the use of gamma globulin for short-term protection against such diseases as measles and hepatitis; and the use of antihemophilic globulin for the treatment of hemophilia. [Image right: blood cells (source) ] |
| Walter Bradford Cannon | |
(source) |
Died
1 Oct 1945 (born 19 Oct 1871)
American neurologist and physiologist who was the first to use X-rays in physiological studies. These led to his publication of The Mechanical Factors of Digestion (1911). He investigated hemorrhagic and traumatic shock during WW I. He devised the term homeostasis (1930) for how the body maintains its temperature. He worked on methods of blood storage and discovered sympathin (1931), an adrenaline-like substance that is liberated at the tips of certain nerve cells. He died from leukemia - probably a legacy from his early work with X rays. He was nominated for a Nobel Prize in 1920 for his work on digestion, but his claim was ruled out as "too old." In 1934, 1935, and 1936 he was adjudged "prizeworthy" by the appropriate Nobel jurors but was not given a prize. The
Mechanical Factors of Digestion, by Walter Bradford Cannon. |
| Robert Bakewell | |
(source) |
Died
1 Oct 1795 (born 1725)
English agriculturist who revolutionized sheep and cattle breeding in England by methodical selection, inbreeding, and culling. Bakewell believed in the philosophy of "breed the best to the best to get the best." So he assembled the "best" animals he could find and then set out to develop the "type" of animal he wanted. He closed his herd and that meant he had to retain only the genetically superior individuals to obtain the desired "type." This meant that he had to inbreed to set the type. Bakewell's success led others to develop "breeds" that bred true or "pure" for certain characteristics when mated within the herd. Bakewell and his sister Hannah lived at Dishley Farm, just north of Loughborough, Leicestershire.
Robert
Bakewell and the Longhorn Breed of Cattle, by Pat Stanley. |
| OCTOBER 1 - EVENTS | |
| Hovercraft ferry retired | |
(source) |
In 2000, two hovercraft that made marine history, and had operated for
32 years, made the last trips across the English Channel. The Princess
Margaret was launched in 1968, and followed a year later by the Princess
Anne. The revolutionary design of these hovercraft greatly reduced
journey times. They could take 300 passengers and 50 cars to Calais in
35 minutes. Hovercraft were the idea of the British inventor Sir Christopher
Cockerell, though it took him almost ten years to gain financial backing.
The opening of the Eurotunnel brought stiff competition among ferry firms.
The hovercraft were replaced
with larger and smoother catamarans able to make the crossing in 45 minutes
but able to carry 600 passengers and 90 cars, and use less fuel.
Hydrofoils
and Hovercraft: New Vehicles for Sea and Land, by Bill
Gunston. |
| Concorde Mach 1 | |
(source) |
In 1969, the prototype French-built Concorde broke the sound barrier for
the first time. The inaugural flight of the aircraft had taken place on
2 Mar 1969 in Toulouse, France, and its first commercial flight was on
21 Jan 1976. It was the first plane in the world to be entirely controlled
by computer. As the only supersonic passenger aircraft, the Anglo-French
Concorde remains a brilliant technological achievement,
though its impact on international air travel has been limited by the high
cost of buying and operating the aircraft. There was also widespread opposition
from environmental groups on the grounds of the Concorde's noise on takeoff
and its fuel consumption. Only British Airways and Air France have operated
the aircraft.
The
Concorde Story: 21 Years in Service, by Christopher Orlebar. |
| Thalidomide | |
(source) |
In 1957, the notorious drug thalidomide
was first marketed in West Germany and shortly sold in at least 46 countries.
First synthesized in 1953 by Chemie Grünenthal, as a sedative, it
seemed a wonder drug for pregnant women to combat symptoms associated with
morning sickness. Too late it was found that the drug's molecules
crossed the placental wall, especially during the first trimester, tragically
affecting the proper growth of the foetus. Worldwide, over 10,000 babies
were born by the early 1960's with substantial birth defects, including
deafness, blindness, internal disabilities, cleft palate, deformed or even
missing limbs. Survivors, now middle-aged adults, have continuing health
problems. Yet, the drug now has some beneficial
uses.«
Dark
Remedy: The Impact of Thalidomide and Its Revival as a Vital Medicine,
by Trent D. Stephens. |
| Parity nonconservation proposed | |
|
In 1956, The Physical Review published
a paper by Tsung Dao Lee and Chen
Ning Yang on the Question of Parity Conservation in Weak Interactions.
They addressed an issue that had long been believed, but for which
there had been no experimental support. Yet, there existed a Theta-Tau
Puzzle (C.F. Powell, 1949) in the disintegration of certain cosmic ray
particles via the nuclear weak force. Lee and Yang believed this
was because of parity violation, which contradicted the generally accepted
"law" of conservation of parity. They proposed a study of experiments involving
weak interactions. Chien-Shiung Wu
validated non-conservation of parity on 27
Dec 1956 in their suggestion to study beta decay of cobalt-60.« |
|
| Rectangular TV tube production | |
|
In 1949, the first deliveries were made of the first practical rectangular
television tube made in the U.S. The tubes were manufactured by the Kimble
Glass Co., a subsidiary of Owens-Illinois, and sold for about $12. The
display face of the tube measured approx. 12in. by 16in. The company had
announced the tube to the trade on 10 Jul 1949. |
|
| Oldest U.S. Interstate Highway | |
(source) |
In 1940, a 260-km stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Irwin and
Carlise in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., was officially opened
to the public as the first American limited-access interstate-type highway.
It had been in use earlier by the U.S. Army. It was not called an Interstate
Highway at the time. On 29 Jun 1956, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed
the Federal-Aid Act of 1956,
which established a national System of Interstate and Defense Highways.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike became part of that Interstate Highway system.
Although it was not newly-constructed as part of the newly established
limited-access interstate road network, having opened years before the
Federal-Aid Act of 1956, it has been called "The Granddaddy of the Pikes,"
and could be regarded as the oldest U.S. Interstate.«
The
Roads That Built America: The Incredible Story of the U.S. Interstate System,
by Dan McNichol. |
| Taconite production | |
|
In 1933, the first cargo of taconite,
a hard rock containing 25% - 30% iron, was shipped to the Ford Motor Company
of River Rouge, Mich. The cargo had been produced 21 Jun 1922 by the Mesabi
Iron Co. of Babbitt, Minn. The firm had begun operation in Nov 1919. Taconite
is a low-grade ore containing only up to 30% magnetite and hematite as
tiny particles scattered throughout a very tough variety of quartz called
chert. The Mesabi
Range, a giant area of low rolling hills in northeastern Minnesota
is among the world’s best known deposits of iron (discovered 1887). Mesabi
is an Ojibwa name meaning "giant." After WW II, when other, higher grade
iron ore had been depleted, an industrial method to exploit taconite ore
was developed. |
|
| Ford Model T | |
(source) |
In 1908, the Ford Model T car, the first car to be made on an assembly
line, was introduced for a price of $825. It was an immediate sensation.
Before long, it was the largest selling car
in the United States, often accounting for over half the sales in the country.
True mass production was born with the Model T. As volumes rose, costs
came down. By 1925, a coupe sold for $525 new, while a two-door runabout
went for only $260.
The
Legendary Model-T Ford: The Ultimate History of America's First Great
Automobile, by Tom Collins. |
| Edison opens his first lamp factory | |
 |
In 1880, the first electric incandescent lamp factory in the U.S. was opened
in Menlo Park, N.J. The Edison Lamp Works. More than 130,000 bulbs had
been manufactured by the time the plant was moved to Harrison, N.J. on
1 Apr 1882. |
| Maria Mitchell | |
(source) |
In 1847, Maria Mitchell, the
first woman astronomer in the United States discovered a comet. One night
in the Autumn of 1847, Maria looked at the sky through the telescope in
her homemade observatory at Nantucket, Mass. and saw a star five degrees
above the North Star where there had been no star before. She had memorized
the sky and was sure of her observation. It occurred to her that this might
be a comet. Maria recorded the presumed comet's coordinates. The next night
the star moved again. This time she was sure it was a comet. For this discovery,
she was awarded a gold medal by the king of Denmark. She became the first
woman elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Maria
Mitchell: A Life in Journals and Letters, by Henry Albers. |
| Darwin barnacles study | |
(source) |
In 1846, ten years after his voyage on the Beagle, Charles
Darwin began his study of barnacles, which was to appear in four volumes
on living and fossil Cirripedes (barnacles). For his observations,
he had a single lens
microscope
made to his own design. Intended to be more practical, it did not fine
focusing and had a larger stage than the Beagle microscope to take shallow
dishes for aqueous dissections. Image:
Darwin's microscope on the Beagle voyage, detail from
a Falkland Islands postage stamp. |
| Mississippi steamboat | |
|
In 1811, the New Orleans, the first steamboat
to sail down the Mississippi, arrived in New Orleans, La. The owners, Mr
Nicholas J. Roosevelt and his wife were the only passengers, but the
ship carried a crew of a captain, engineer, pilot, six sailors, two female
servants, a waiter, a cook and a dog. The ship
was propelled by a stern-wheel, assisted, at times, by sails on two masts.
The hull was 138 feet long, and 30 feet beam. It left Pittsburgh, Pa. and
reached Louisville in 70 hours at about 10 mph where it overcame the Ohio
River falls. It also overcame the New Madrid earthquake, major floods,
and attacks by native tribes. It reached New Orleans in 14 days. The
New
Orleans cost about $40,000 including the engines. |
|
