Newsletter for Thursday 10 April

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY NEWSLETTER - 10 APRIL

Feature for Today

On 10 Apr 1863, Paul-Louis-Toussaint H�roult was born, the French chemist who invented the electric-arc furnace. In this early Scientific American article from 1891, you can read of the status at that time of a familiar element, for which H�roult devised a non-smelting process to separate it from its ore.

Book of the Day

Quotations for Today
	"The true business of the philosopher, though not flattering to his vanity, is merely to ascertain, arrange and condense the facts." - John Leslie, Scottish physicist and mathematician (born 10 Apr 1766)
	"Finally, to the theme of the respiratory chain, it is especially noteworthy that David Kellin's chemically simple view of the respiratory chain appears now to have been right all along–and he deserves great credit for having been so reluctant to become involved when the energy-rich chemical intermediates began to be so fashionable. This reminds me of the aphorism: 'The obscure we see eventually, the completely apparent takes longer.'" - Peter Dennis Mitchell, British chemist (died 10 Apr 1992)
	"In chemistry, our theories are crutches; to show that they are valid, they must be used to walk... A theory established with the help of twenty facts must explain thirty, and lead to the discovery of ten more." - Jean-Baptiste-Andr� Dumas, French chemist (died 10 Apr 1884)

QUIZ
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.
Births
	Robert Burns Woodward, born 10 Apr 1917, was a Nobel Prize-winning American chemist who synthesized various complex organic substances, including quinine (which he synthesized 10 Apr 1944, his birthday), the steroids cholesterol and cortisone (1951), and vitamin B12 (1971) and established the structure of many compounds. What is the best-known medical use of quinine?
	Paul-Louis-Toussaint H�roult, born 10 Apr 1863, invented the electric-arc furnace, widely used in making steel; and, independently of the simultaneous work of Charles M. Hall of the United States, devised the electrolytic process for preparing a certain metal from its ore. Which metal is extracted by this electrolytic process?
Deaths
	Sam Loyd (1841-1911) was an American puzzlemaker who studied engineering and intended to become a steam and mechanical engineer but he soon made his living from his puzzles, chess problems and mathematically based games. His most famous puzzle was the 15 Puzzle which he produced in 1878. The craze swept America where employers put up notices prohibiting playing the puzzle during office hours. It remains popular to the present. What is the famous 15 Puzzle?
Events
	On 10 Apr of a certain year, bananas appeared on sale in Britain for the first time, exhibited in the shop window of  Thomas Johnson of Snow Hill, London. However, bananas were not regularly imported until many years later. In which century were bananas first offered for sale in Britain?
	On 10 Apr of a certain year, the United States and the Soviet Union joined some 70 nations in signing an agreement banning biological warfare. In which decade was this ban signed?

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 April 10 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers. Fast answers for the previous newsletter for April 9: ENIAC; Great Western, Great Britain, Great Eastern; Is there a moment in a horse’s gait when all four hooves are off the ground at once? (Yes.); mosquito; Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard and Donald Slayton.

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