Δευτέρα 21 Ιανουαρίου 2013

Newsletter for Monday 21 January

 

Newsletter - January 21 - Today in Science History  

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
 NEWSLETTER - JANUARY 21

Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page.
Poor John Fitch: Inventor Of The SteamboatOn 21 Jan 1742, John Fitch was born, American pioneer of steamboat transportation. Today's Science Store pick is Poor John Fitch: Inventor Of The Steamboat, by Thomas Boyd. Fitch made America's first steamboat He was granted a U.S. patent on a steamboat design on 26 Aug 1791. Although capable of travelling a total of thousands of miles at 6 to 8 mph, his passenger line was not a commercial success. By 1798, broken by failure, an alcoholic, he died by suicide using opium pills. The sad story of John Fitch, his innovations, his life and times are described in this book. This pioneer's struggle for success and recognition is worth your attention. After all, does his name come to mind when you think about steamboats... or not? If not, this biography will fill an important gap in your knowledge of the beginning of industrial steam power in the U.S. New $30.95. Save 24%,  Price: $23.52.
Yesterday's pick: Agnes Mary Clerke and the Rise of Astrophysics. For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science Science Store home page.
Quotations for Today
"The day will come when some more powerful man will get fame and riches from my invention, but nobody will believe that poor John Fitch can do anything worthy of attention." - John Fitch (born 21 Jan 1743) (source)

"I would not be among you to-night (being awarded the 1964 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine) but for the mentors, colleagues and students who have guided and aided me throughout my scientific life. I wish I could name them all and tell you their contributions. More, however, than anyone else it was the late Rudolf Schoenheimer, a brilliant scholar and a man of infectious enthusiasm, who introduced me to the wonders of Biochemistry. Ever since, I have been happy to have chosen science as my career, and, to borrow a phrase of Jacques Barzun, have felt that 'Science is, in the best and strictest sense, glorious entertainment' " - Konrad Bloch, German-American biochemist (born 21 Jan 1912)

"Common human experience alone is no guarantee with which we can build a science of psychology." - Wolfgang Köhler, Estonian-German psychologist, a founder of the Gestalt psychology (born 21 Jan 1887)

QUIZ
Births
John Fitch, born 21 Jan 1743, was an American pioneer of steamboat transportation who produced the first serviceable steamboat. By the summer of 1790, Fitch used it in a successful passenger line between Philadelphia and Trenton. It used a novel form of propulsion, not the paddle wheel which others used later.
Fitch used steam to power what mechanical form of propulsion on his steamboat?
Deaths
Elisha Gray (1835-1901) was an American scientist and innovator who accidentally created the first electronic musical instrument using his discovery of the basic single note oscillator and design of  a simple loudspeaker device. He had other more useful inventions, including a telegraph printer and needle annuciator. He would have been known for a major invention, if he hadn't been beaten to the patent office by another inventor on the same day.
What major invention could he not patent first?
John Couch Adams (1819-1892) was a British mathematician and astronomer, one of two people who independently discovered the planet Neptune.
What led him to this discovery?
Events
On 21 Jan 1941, the commercial production of a metal first began in the U.S. at Freeport, Texas. The metal was extracted from seawater through an electrolytic process. Alloys made from this metal are used for certain structural components in aircraft and vehicles.
What is this metal?
Answers
When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the January 21 web page of Today in Science History.

Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.
 

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for January 20: Edwin Aldrin; atomic weight; Dmitry Mendeleyev; the decade including the year 1885; cows.
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