December 16 - Today in Science History

DECEMBER 16 - BIRTHS
Bruce Nathan Ames
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1929 American biochemist and molecular biologist who developed the Ames test that is an indicator of the carcinogenicity (cancer -causing potential) of chemicals. It measures the rate of mutation in bacteria after the introduction of a test substance. His research led to a greater appreciation of the role of genetic mutation in cancer and facilitated the testing of suspected cancer-causing chemicals. He also developed a data base of chemicals that cause cancer in animals, listing their degree of virulence. In 1997, Ames was one of team of UC Berkeley scientists who discovered the link between low levels of folic acid, an essential nutrient, and breaks that occur in chromosomes and DNA. These breaks could lead to cancer and other diseases.*
Margaret Mead
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1901; died 15 Nov 1978. American anthropologist whose great fame owed as much to the force of her personality and her outspokenness as it did to the quality of her scientific work. As an anthropologist, she was best-known for her studies of the nonliterate peoples of Oceania, especially with regard to various aspects of comparative child psychology, oceanic ethnology, cooperation and competition among primitive peoples, and cross-cultural communications. She was twenty-three years old when she first traveled to the South Pacific, to conduct research for her doctoral dissertation. The resulting book, Coming of Age in Samoa, was - and remains - a best-seller. She continued her research throughout her life in such locations as New Guinea, Samoa, Bali, and many other places.
Douglas Houghton Campbell
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1859; died 24 Feb 1953. American botanist who was an expert on the anatomical structure and life cycles of mosses, ferns and liverworts. He was interested in establishing the evolution of vascular plants, which he believed occurred on land from primitive mosses. He also studied the geographic distribution of plants. At a time before it was generally accepted, he thought Wegener's theory of Continental Drift (1912) was plausible. Campbell recognized that a primordial supercontinent, Gondwana, splitting into smaller land masses that drifted apart would resolve many of the puzzling facts in geographical distribution, both of animals and plants.« [Image: moss life cycle.]
Edward Emerson Barnard
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1857; died 6 Feb 1923. astronomer who pioneered in celestial photography, specializing in wide-field photography. From the time he began observing in 1881, his skill and keen eyesight combined to make him one of the greatest observers. Barnard came to prominence as an astronomer through the discovery of numerous comets. In the 1880s, a patron of astronomy in Rochester, N.Y. awarded $200 per new comet was found. Barnard discovered eight - enough to build a "comet house" for his bride. At Lick Observatory (1888-95) he made the first photographic discovery of a comet; photographed the Milky Way; and discovered the fifth moon of Jupiter. Then he joined Yerkes Observatory, making his Photographic Atlas of Selected Regions of the Milky Way.
Hans Buchner
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1850; died 5 Apr 1902. German bacteriologist who discovered gamma globulins, natural bactericides carried in the blood, while making immunological studies in1886-90. He also devised methods of studying anaerobic bacteria. In 1891, Buchner proposed the existence of antibacterial proteins in blood serum which he called "alexines". This began a protracted debate with Metchnikoff, who championed a cellular theory of immunity. In 1893, he proposed that antitoxin formed directly from the toxin itself. With his brother, Eduard, in 1897, Hans demonstrated that completely dead yeast juice could ferment sugar, forming carbon dioxide and alcohol, exactly as the intact cells would have done. This presaged the description of enzyme activity.
Ernst (Gustav Benjamin) von Bergmann
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1836; died 25 Mar 1907. German surgeon and author of a classic work on cranial surgery, Die Chirurgische Behandlung der Hirnkrankheiten (1888; "The Surgical Treatment of Brain Disorders"). In 1870, Bergmann wrote the first textbook on nervous system surgery. In addition to his contributions to surgery, Bergmann is noted for introducing steam sterilization of instruments and dressings (1886), and in 1891 he introduced aseptic methods to the practice of surgery.
Seaman Asahel Knapp
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1833; died 1 Apr 1911. American agriculturist who originated the method in which an expert demonstrates, farm by farm, new agricultural discoveries and technologies. He introduced improved methods of farming into Louisiana, spurred the development of rice culture in the Southwest, demonstrated methods for curbing the boll weevil in Texas, and inaugurated a federal program of farm demonstrations throughout the South. Knapp's legacy was to bring progressive agricultural methods to the American farmer. An agrarian reformer, to change the pattern of society for the benefit of mankind, he organized a system of county farm and home demonstration agents and boys and girls clubs from which developed the U.S. Cooperative Extension Service. Seaman A. Knapp: Schoolmaster of American Agriculture, by Joseph Cannon Bailey.
Alexander Ross Clarke
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1828; died 11 Feb 1914. English geodesist with the Army Ordnance Survey who made calculations of the size and shape of the Earth (the Clarke ellipsoid) were the first to approximate accepted modern values with respect to both polar flattening and equatorial radius. The figures from his second determination (1866) became a standard reference for U.S. geodesy for most of the twentieth century until satellites could improve accuracy. In 1880, Clarke coined the term "Geodesy" when he published his famous book by that title. He wrote articles on mathematical geography and geodesy and also contributed "The Figure of the Earth" in the Encyclopedia Britannica. His military service with the Ordnance Survey lasted 27 years.« [Image right: Clarke ellipsoid]
Giovanni Battista Donati
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1826; died 20 Sep 1873. Italian astronomer who, on 5 Aug 1864, was first to observe the spectrum of a comet (Tempel 1864 II), showing not merely reflected sunlight but also spectral lines from luminous gas forming the comet tail when near the Sun. Earlier, he discovered the comet known as Donati's Comet at Florence, on 2 Jun 1858. When the comet was nearest the earth, its triple tail had an apparent length of 50°, more than half the distance from the horizon to the zenith and corresponding to the enormous linear figure of more than 72 million km (about 45 million mi). With an orbital period estimated at more than 2000 years, it will not return until about the year 4000.«
Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1805; died 10 Nov 1861. French zoologist noted for his work studying anatomical abnormalities in humans and lower animals, for which he coined the term "teratology" in 1832. Although his father, Étienne, had initiated such studies, Isidore was the first to publish an extensive study of teratology, organising all known human and animal malformations taxonomically in Histoire générale et particulière des anomalies de l'organisation chez l'homme et les animaux. This taxonomy of mutants paralleled the Linnean system of natural species: assigning to each a class, order, family, genus, and even species. Many of the principles governing abnormal development were enunciated for the first time in this work. Many of hundreds of names for specific malformations are still in use.
Johann Wilhelm Ritter
(source)	Born 16 Dec 1776; died 23 Jan 1810. German physicist who discovered the ultraviolet region of the spectrum (1801) and thus helped broaden man's view beyond the narrow region of visible light to encompass the entire electromagnetic spectrum from the shortest gamma rays to the longest radio waves. After studying Herschel's discovery of infrared radiation, he observed the effects of solar radiation on silver salts and deduced the existence of radiation outside the visible spectrum. He also made contributions to spectroscopy and the study of electricity.

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DECEMBER 16 - DEATHS

Frederick George Donnan
(source)	Died 16 Dec 1956 (born 5 Sep 1870) British chemist, born in Ceylon, whose research contributed to the development of colloid chemistry. He is remembered for his investigation of the Donnan Effect (1911) which advanced the understanding of the living cell. This is the effect of a semi-permeable membrane between two electrolytes and the electrical potential thereby produced. In other work with soap solutions, he related the efficiency of hydroxyl ions in the emulsification of oils to the formation of soaps on the surface of the drops. In wartime, he worked on the industrial-scale synthesis of ammonia and nitric acid. He was blind in one eye.«
Eugène Dubois
(source)	Died 16 Dec 1940 (born 28 Jan 1858) Dutch anatomist and geologist who discovered the remains of Java man, the first known fossil of Homo erectus. Dubois was the first person to ever deliberately search for fossils of human ancestors. Only a handful of fossil humans had already been discovered, and those were by chance. Dubois joined the Dutch Army as a medical officer, and used spare time from his medical duties to search for fossils, first in Sumatra and then in Java. He searched on the banks of the Solo River, with two assigned engineers and a crew of convict labourers to help him. After lesser finds, in Oct 1891 he found an intact skullcap, the fossil which would be known as Java Man, and in Aug 1892, an almost complete left thigh bone, was found about 10m away.
George Henry Falkiner Nuttall
(source)	Died 16 Dec 1937 (born 5 Jul 1862) American-born British biologist and physician who contributed substantially to many branches of biology and founded the Molteno Institute of Biology and Parasitology (1921) at the University of Cambridge. He was interested in parasitology and the role of insects and other disease vectors, making studies of immunity reactions and the bacteriology of diptheria. He carried out investigations of the distribution of Anopheline mosquitoes in England in relation to the previous prevalence of malaria there in addition to working on blood precipition reactions.
Percy (Carlyle) Gilchrist
(source)	Died 16 Dec 1935 (born 27 Dec 1851) English metallurgist known for the Thomas-Gilchrist process (1876-77) he developed as assistant to his cousin, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas. This process manufactured low-phosphorus steel known as Thomas steel. in Bessemer converters and was adopted throughout Europe where iron ore has phosphorus impurities. The key feature of this process is the use of lime (calcined dolomite) to line the converter instead of acidic silica. The lime is a base and it captures acidic phosphorus oxides produced when air is blown through the molten iron. The phosphorous content, which otherwise makes steel brittle, was reduced to about 0.04%. Additionally the cinder waste product of the steelmaking, could be used as valuable artificial fertilizers.«
Hugo Münsterberg
(source)	Died 16 Dec 1916 (born 1 Jun 1863) German-American psychologist and philosopher who was interested in the applications of psychology to law, business, industry, medicine, teaching, and sociology. He was a forerunner in the field of behaviorism: in theoretical psychology, his "action theory" defined attention in terms of the openness of the nerve paths to the muscles of adjustment. His work in industrial / organizational (I/O) psychology was extremely experimentally based. He looked at problems with monotony, attention and fatigue, physical and social influences on the working power, the effects of advertising, and the future development of economic psychology. He also looked at the reliability of eye witness testimonies. Psychology and Industrial Efficiency, by Hugo Münsterberg.
Richard Bright
(source)	Died 16 Dec 1858 (born 28 Sep 1789) British physician, sometimes called the "Father of Nephrology, who was the first to describe the clinical manifestations of the kidney disorder known as Bright's disease, or nephritis. Richard Bright's research interests included not only renal disease, but also pulmonary diseases, various fevers, abdominal tumors, heart disease, liver, pancreas, and duodenum. He and Thomas Addison lectured at Guy's on the "Theory and Practice of Medicine" for twenty years, and in 1839 published the first volume of Elements of the Practice of Medicine.
Thomas Pennant
(source)	Died 16 Dec 1798 (born 14 Jun 1726) Welsh naturalist and traveller, one of the foremost zoologists of his time. He was a prolific author of natural history and topographical works. His first book was the 1766 folio, British Zoology. Further works of natural history appeared over the years including the Synopsis of Quadrupeds, Arctic Zoology, Genera of Birds, and Indian Zoology. Pennant believed in meticulous research and preparation and in the importance of high quality illustrations. He popularized and promoted the study of natural history, though on the whole he was not a propounder of new theories. Pennant is best known for his travels and extensive writings about touring in Wales, her language, people, history and landscape.
Ali Qushji
	Died 16 Dec 1474 Ali Qushji, Qushju-zada Abu al-Qasim 'Ala al-Din 'Ali b. Muhammad was a philosopher, theologian, mathematician, and astronomer who played a prominent intellectual role in the court of the Ulugh Beg in Samarqand (his birthplace) and was after the assassination of his patron invited to Istanbul by Ottoman Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. Qushji traveled through Iran and Anatolia and eventually assumed a chair in the sciences at the college (madrasa) of Fatih, and later Aya Sofia. His main goal was to free sciences from Aristotelian physical and metaphysical principles. He also entertained the possibility of the Earth's rotation.



DECEMBER 16 - EVENTS

Explorer 16
	In 1962, Explorer 16, the first satellite only for meteorite studies, was launched Cape Canaveral.
Synthetic diamond
	In 1954, synthetic diamonds were produced at General Electric Research Laboratories by Prof. H. Tracy Hall.
Eye print
(source)	In 1935, the use of eye prints - the pattern of capillaries in the retina - was described in an article in Time magazine as a new scientific method for identification because an individual's eye pattern is as unique as fingerprints. It was promoted by Dr. Carleton Simon, a psychiatrist and criminologist, upon the suggestion of Dr. Isadore Goldstein, an ophthalmologist at Mount Sinai Hospital. The retina of the eye could be photographed straight through the pupil with a Zeiss retinal camera. Dr. Simon had been a New York City deputy police commissioner (1920-26). Simon and Goldstein published a paper on the method in the New York State Journal of Medicine, Sep 1935, Vol. 35, No. 18, pp 901-6.«
First airplane stamp design
(source)	In 1912, the world's first stamp to depict an airplane (a biplane) was issued by the U.S., a red 20-cent Parcel Post stamp, as part of a series of twelve stamps designated for parcel post. This came six years prior to the first U.S. airmail stamps. The U.S. Post Office had been authorized by Congress on 24 Aug 1912 to enter the parcel post business to provide better service for rural areas poorly served by private delivery companies. Four stamps in the series showed workers (including 3c. "Railway Postal Clerk," 4c. "Rural Carrier" in a horse-drawn wagon). Four more had transportation methods (including a 5c. "Mail Train," 10c. "Steamship and Mail Tender," 15c."Automobile Service"), and others showed industries.«
Radio broadcast
	In 1907, the first U.S. radio broadcast of a singer featured Eugenia H. Farrar. Her voice was transmitted by Lee De Forest from Brooklyn Naval Yard, Brooklyn, N.Y. on the occasion of the departure of Admiral Robley Dunglison Evans ("Fighting Bob Evans") on a cruise with the fleet.
Argonaut submarine
	In 1897, the first U.S. submarine with an internal combustion engine (30-hp gasoline), the Argonaut, was demonstrated on the Patapsco River. Twenty-two newspaper representatives made descents of up to 4-hrs. It was built in 1897 at the Columbian Iron Works and Dry Dock Company of Baltimore, Maryland for the inventor, Simon Lake. He had built a 14-ft (4-m) working model in 1894; his new craft was 36-ft (11-m) long, 9-ft (2.7-m) diam. Lake was issued patents for the submarine vessel on 7 Apr 1896 (No. 557,835) and on 20 Apr 1897 (No. 581,213). It had wheels to travel on the sea bed, and a divers' lock chamber. The Argonaut was the first submarine to salvage sunken objects of value. It sailed 2,000 miles.«
Vending machine
	In 1884, the first U.S. patent was issued for an automatic liquid vending machine to William H. Fruen of Minneapolis, Minn. (No. 309,219). When a coin was inserted in a slot, a measured quantity of liquid was released from a reservoir.
Brass spinning patent
	In 1851, the first U.S. patent for brass spinning was issued to H.W. Hayden in Waterbury, Connecticut (No. 8589). His invention was for machinery that could make kettles and similar articles from discs of metal. A disc was mounted in a chuck that rotated at a uniform speed. A tool then pressed against the metal and shaped it to a die.