| NOVEMBER 22 - BIRTHS | |
| Sir Andrew Fielding Huxley | |
(EB) |
 Born 22
Nov 1917
English physiologist, cowinner (with Sir Alan Hodgkin and Sir John Carew Eccles) of the 1963 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. He collaborated with Alan Hodgkin in elucidating the chemical phenomena - the 'sodium pump' mechanism - by which nerve impulses are transmitted. He has also done important work on muscular contraction theory and has been involved in the development of the interference microscope and ultramicrotome. He received a knighthood in 1974. |
| Louis-Eugène-Félix Néel | |
(source) |
Born 22
Nov 1904; died 17 Nov 2000
French physicist, corecipient (with the Swedish astrophysicist Hannes Alfvén) of the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1970 for his pioneering studies of the magnetic properties of solids. His contributions to solid-state physics have found numerous useful applications, particularly in the development of improved computer memory units. About 1930 he suggested that a new form of magnetic behavior might exist - called antiferromagnetism. Above a certain temperature (the Néel temperature) this behaviour stops. Néel pointed out (1947) that materials could also exist showing ferrimagnetism. Néel has also given an explanation of the weak magnetism of certain rocks, making possible the study of the past history of the Earth's magnetic field. |
| Wiley Post | |
(source) |
Born 22
Nov 1899; died 15 Aug 1935.
one of the most colourful figures of the early years of U.S. aviation, who set many records. Between 15-22 Jul 1933, the first round-the-world solo flight (15,596 miles) was completed by Wiley Post, in his single-engine Lockheed Vega 5B aircraft "Winnie Mae," in 7 days 18-hr 49-min. He had made an accompanied flight around the world in 1931. Wiley Post had made his first solo flight in 1926, the year he got his flying license, signed by Orville Wright, despite wearing a patch over his left eye, lost in an oilfield accident. Post invented the first pressurized suit to wear when he flew around the world. Another credit was his research into the jet streams. He died with his passenger, humorist Will Rogers, 15 Aug 1935, in a plane crash in Alaska. |
| Benedict Augustin Morel | |
(source) |
Born 22
Nov 1809; died 30 Mar 1873.
Austrian-born French psychologist who introduced the term dementia praecox to refer to a mental and emotional deterioration beginning at the time of puberty. The disorder was renamed schizophrenia in 1908 by the Swiss psychologist Eugen Bleuler. Morel developed a psychiatric theory of causality based on hereditary weakness. In his 700-page magnum opus, Traité des dégenerescences physiques, intellectuelles et morales de l'espèce humaine (1857), Morel developed a detailed method of discovering the great variety of "stigmata of degeneration " to be found among the mentally sick. These were mostly physical signs - various malformations - but also various intellectual and moral deviations from the normal. |
|
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| NOVEMBER 22 - DEATHS | |
| John Smith | |
(source) |
 Died
22 Nov 2003 (born 8 Dec 1924)
English microbiologist who was a pioneer in the field of nucleic acid research. He helped to establish the structure of RNA and to discover the methylation of the bases in bacterial DNA. The RNA structure information was crucial to the double-stranded model of DNA proposed by Watson and Crick. He contributed to the methodology involved in the unravelling of the secrets of the genome. In the early 1960s, Smith became involved in unravelling the process whereby the sequence of bases in DNA determines the assembly of the different amino acid sequences of proteins which are responsible for all our bodily functions (structural, enzymatic, hormonal, and so on), a process known as protein synthesis. |
| Alexander Langmuir | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1993 (born 12 Sep 1910)
Alexander Duncan Langmuir was a U.S. epidemiologist who created and led the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) for the U.S. government and was credited with saving thousands of lives with his revolutionary work. In 1949, he became director of the epidemiology branch of the National Communicable Disease Center in Atlanta, a position he held for over 20 years. His efforts contributed to the virtual elimination of polio in the U.S. and to a better understanding of other infectious disease dilemmas of the last 50 years. He emphasized surveillance with regard to disease wherever it occurred, analyzing it and looking at it, and acting if appropriate. Langmuir wrote extensively on all phases of epidemiology on a global basis and was recognized internationally as a leader. |
| Raymond A. Dart | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1988 (born 4 Feb 1893)
Raymond A(rthur) Dart was an Australian-born South African physical anthropologist and paleontologist whose discoveries of fossil hominids led to significant insights into the evolutionary origins of human beings. In 1924, working with students in the Taung limestone works in Bechuanaland, he rewarded the most interesting find. One seemed at first to be just another primate skull. Then, Dart noticed how amazingly close to human it looked. He recognized as a "missing link" in the evolution from ape to man. Dart had found the Taung child, only three years old at the time of death. He named it Australopithecus africanus, "australis" meaning south and "pithecus" meaning ape. His theory is now generally accepted, but was originally very controversial. |
| Sir Hans Adolf Krebs | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1981 (born 25 Aug 1900)
German-born British biochemist who received (with Fritz Lipmann) the 1953 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for the discovery in living organisms of the series of chemical reactions known as the tricarboxylic acid cycle (also called the citric acid cycle, or Krebs cycle) - the basic system for the essential pathway of oxidation process within the cell.. These reactions involve the conversion - in the presence of oxygen--of substances that are formed by the breakdown of sugars, fats, and protein components to carbon dioxide, water, and energy-rich compounds.The Krebs cycle explains two simultaneous processes: the degradation reactions which yield energy, and the building-up processes which use up energy. |
| Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1944 (born 28 Dec 1882)
English astrophysicist, and mathematician known for his work on the motion, distribution, evolution and structure of stars. He also interpreted Einstein's general theory of relativity. He was one of the first to suggest (1917) conversion of matter into radiation powered the stars. In 1919, he led a solar eclipse expedition which confirmed the predicted bending of starlight by gravity. He developed an equation for radiation pressure. In 1924, he derived an important mass-luminosity relation. He also studied pulsations in Cepheid variables, and the very high densities of white dwarfs. He sought fundamental relationships between the prinicipal physical constants. Eddington wrote many books for the general reader, including Stars and Atoms.«  The
Eddington Enigma, by David Evans, David S. Evans. |
| Wolfgang Ostwald | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1943 (born 27 May 1883)
German chemist who devoted his life as a teacher, researcher, editor, and one of the founders of colloid chemistry. He defined colloids as disperse systems that are generally polyphasic and that possess particles 1-100 millimicrons in size. He discovered the rule of colour dispersion in the optics of colloidal systems, explained colloids' irregular flow behaviour, textural viscosity, and textural turbulence, and developed a method of foam analysis. He edited (from 1909) Kolloidchemische Beihefte and other journals and as the founder (1922) and president of the Kolloid Gesellschaft, Ostwald advanced research in colloids. He was the second son of the 1909 Nobel Laureate Wilhelm Ostwald. |
| Kurt Koffka | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1941 (born 18 Mar 1886)
German-American psychologist who cofounded, with Wolfgang Köhler and Max Wertheimer, the Gestalt school of psychology. Koffka became in time their most influential spokesman of Gestalt psychology. He applied it to child development, learning, memory and emotion. The name Gestalt, meaning form or configuration, emphasizes that the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Gestalt psychology grew as reaction against the traditional atomistic approach to the human being where behaviour was analyzed into constituent elements called sensations. He made an influential distinction between the behavioural and the geographical environments - the perceived world of common sense and the world studied by scientists. |
| Asaph Hall | |
(source) |
Died 22 Nov 1907 (born 15 Oct 1829)
American astronomer, discovered and named the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos, and calculated their orbits. Born in Goshen, Conn. and apprenticed as a carpenter at age 16, he had a passion for geometry and algebra. Hall obtained a position at the Harvard Observatory in Cambridge, Mass. in 1857 and became an expert computer of orbits. In August 1862, he joined the staff of the Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C. where he made his discoveries, in mid- Aug 1877, using the Observatory's 26-inch "Great Equatorial" refracting telescope, then the largest of its kind in the world. He stayed there 30 years until 1891. His son, Asaph Hall, Jr., followed him and worked at the Observatory at various times between 1882-1929. [Image right: Phobos] |
| Sir William Chandler Roberts-Austen | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1902 (born 3 Mar 1843)
English metallurgist whose research on the physical properties of metals and their alloys had many practical and industrial applications. He established methods to determine the composition of an alloy, invented an automatic recording pyrometer to track the temperature changes of furnaces and their molten contents and. researched diffusion between a sheet of gold and a block of lead. He was a professor at the Royal School of Mines, and from 1882 a chemist and assayer at the Mint, becoming a world authority on the technical aspects of minting coins. He was knighted in 1899. Austenite (a non-magnetic solid solution of ferric carbide or carbon in iron, used in making corrosion-resistant steel) was named after him.« Introduction
to the Study of Metallurgy, by William Chandler Roberts
Austen. |
| Walter Reed | |
 |
Died
22 Nov 1902 (born 13 Sep 1851)
U.S. Army pathologist and bacteriologist who led the experiments that proved that yellow fever is transmitted by the bite of a mosquito. The Walter Reed Hospital, Washington, D.C., was named in his honour.  Booklist
for Walter Reed |
| Karl von Vierordt | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1884 (born 1 Jul 1818)
German physician and professor of medicine who invented the sphygmograph (1854), the first instrument to trace a human pulse by a non-invasive measurement of blood pressure. His method of using weights and a mechanical balance was crude, but did establish the principle that blood pressure could be measured by finding the counter pressure needed to balance the arterial pulsation. In 1852, he developed a technical method by which blood cells could be counted (though too tedious to gain widespread use). Vierordt also devised the hemotachometer to monitor the speed of blood flow. He made spectrographic analyses of haemoglobin solutions, bile, and urine and also studied respiration and sound conduction.«  |
| Paolo Frisi | |
(source) |
Died
22 Nov 1784 (born 13 Apr 1728)
Italian mathematician, astronomer, and physicist who is best known for his work in hydraulics (he designed a canal between Milan and Pavia). He was, however, the first to introduce the lightning conductor into Italy. His most significant contributions to science, however, were in the compilation, interpretation, and dissemination of the work of other scientists, such as Galileo Galilei and Sir Isaac Newton. His work on astronomy was based on Newton's theory of gravitation, studying the motion of the earth (De moto diurno terrae). He also studied the physical causes for the shape and the size of the earth using the theory of gravity (Disquisitio mathematica, 1751) and tackled the difficult problem of the motion of the moon. |
| NOVEMBER 22 - EVENTS | |
| Wringer-washer | |
(source) |
In 1983, the last wringer-washer made in the U.S., a Master Model
E was built by the Maytag Company, the last U.S. company to make hand-operated
washers. Their Model E was introduced
in 1939. Maytag's first washing machine product
was the Pastime hand-powered wood tub. It was produced from late
1907 to 1908 under the "Parsons" manufacturer name used until about 1909
when the business adopted the Maytag Company name. In 1893, the founder,
Fred
L. Maytag, had joined three other men in Newton, Iowa, to manufacture
farm implements. The change to domestic appliances solved the seasonal
sales slump. On 31 Mar 2006, Whirlpool Corporation, completed acquisition
of the Maytag Company.« [Image:
Maytag Model E] Note:
The date 12 Oct 1983 seen elsewhere on the internet is incorrect. |
| Concorde | |
(source) |
In 1977, regular passenger service between New York and Europe on the supersonic
Concorde began on a trial basis. Whereas scheduled Concorde flights
started on 21 Jan 1976 for London-Bahrain
and Paris-Rio routes, the U.S. Congress
had banned Concorde landings in the US, mainly due to citizen protest over
sonic booms. When the US ban was lifted in Feb 1976, for over-water supersonic
flight, New York banning Concorde locally. Thus, Washington D.C. was the
first destination for transatlantic service, beginning 24
May 1976, by Air France and British Airways. When New York conceded
to the advantages of transatlantic Concorde traffic, daily flights operated
until 2003 with a flight time just under 3.5 hours.«
Booklist
for Concorde Jet |
| Vitamin daily requirements | |
|
In 1941, in the Federal Register, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
specified the first minimum daily requirements for dietary supplements
- for vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, thiamine, riboflavin, calcium,
iron, iodine, and phosphorus.« |
|
| Computer pump | |
(USPTO) |
In 1932, the first U.S. patent for a computer pump was issued to the inventors,
Robert J. Jauch, Ivan R. Farnham and Ross H. Arnold for their "Liquid Dispensing
Apparatus" (No. 1,888,533). Their motorized pump
both metered and displayed the exact gallons of gasoline or other liquid
dispensed, and also accurately computed and showed the price in dollars
and cents while delivery was made. The internal totalizer could be easily
reset for any new price per gallon. It solved the problems of inaccurate
delivery of volume from a visible type dispenser, and its necessary ready-reckoning
card with quantity and cost tables, which needed a new card when prices
changed. The Wayne Co., Fort Wayne, Indiana, marketed it from 1 Nov 1931.« |
| Snowmobile | |
(source) |
In 1927, the first U.S. patent for a snowmobile
was issued to Carl J.E. Eliason of Saynor, Wisconsin (No. 1,650,334). His
"motor toboggan" had ski-like front runners and a rear drive track. Between
1922-26, he perfected the machine and handmade forty of them, by himself.
The early machines had a metal frame body and were powered by a 2.5 hp
outboard motor. By 1932, Eliason had an improved model - bigger, sturdier
with a converted motorcycle engine able to travel over 40 mph. Although
earlier snow travel vehicles had been made, Eliason
is credited for creating the first reliable, self-propelled vehicle manufactured
on a sustained production basis. Later manufacturers followed his design.«
[Image:
1940 Model A Eliason Motor Toboggan,
powered by an Indian 45 CID engine,] |
| Golf clubs | |
(USPTO) |
In 1910, the first U.S. patent for a steel-shafted golf club was issued
to Arthur F. Knight of Schenectady, N.Y. (No. 976,267). The shaft was formed
from tempered high-carbon steel tubing, in which the volume of metal decreases
toward the head. The new construction was to provide an elastic, yet
non-fibrous shaft, in order that "the line of flight of the ball may truly
conform to the direction of the blow delivered by the player." The inventor
described how at the time the customary use of an elastic but fibrous wood,
such as selected seasoned hickory, would offer small resistance to twisting
around the long axis of the shaft that resulted as the head of the club
struck the ball. The use of steel solved this torsion problem.« |
| S.O.S. | |
|
In 1906, the S.O.S radio distress signal was adopted at the International
Radio Telegraphic Convention in Berlin. |
|
| Electric motor | |
|
In 1904, the first direct current, interpole, electric motor to be patented
in the U.S. was issued to Mathias Pfatischer of Phildadelphia, Pennsylvania
under the title "Variable Speed Motor" (No.775,310). His improvement
was to "effect commutation without sparking, with a variable load as well
as at variable speed and which is capable of rotation in either direction."
The new design added auxiliary-field pole-pieces which were small as compared
to the main pole-pieces.« |
|
| American Leather Chemists Association | |
|
In 1903, the American Leather Chemists Association was formed by nine founding
members. It was the outcome of a decade when a small number of chemists
with a commercial interest in the product had worked to establish reliable
analytical methods for analyzing the tanning extracts used in the industry,
and to introduce scientific methods of tannery plant control. They devised
a method of measuring the amount of tanning material absorbed by dried,
ground hide. However, these formative years were still characterised by
bitter disputes and wrangling among the chemists.« |
|
| Pen | |
| In
1809, the first patent was issued in the U.S. for a metallic writing pen
was issued to Peregrine Williamson a jeweller of Baltimore, Maryland.
The patent title occurs in summary lists in published books that exist
after the fire that consumed all the records at the Patent Office on 15
Dec 1836. Williamson's pens were made of steel rolled from wire, a sort
of steel quill that would never need cutting to sharpen the nib. His first
attempt did not write well for want of flexibility but that was solved
by adding two more slits parallel to the main one. He then had a product
that eventually sold so well it kept him and a journeyman employed full-time
in a profitable business. There are references to steel pens being used
in Britain before this patent.« |
|
