TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 22 APRIL
On 22 Apr 1789, Richard Roberts was born. This Welsh engineer was a versatile inventor who provided great improvements to diverse industries. He eventually became so famous, he was sought as a consultant by the French Emperor Napoleon and the Russian Emperor Nicholas.
If his name means nothing to you, when you read Richard Roberts, the Inventor, you will likely be astonished that a man who made so many significant contributions to improve manufacturing should now be so obscure.
Yet he left his mark in the efficiency of cotton mills, machine shops, steam engines and bridge building, among other applications, where he provided inventions-to-order.
In this paper on Richard Roberts, the Inventor, that William Henry Bailey read to the Manchester Literary Club in 1879, you will also be reminded of the names of a number of Roberts’ contemporaries that together are giants in the Industrial Revolution.
Robert Oppenheimer was an American theoretical physicist and science administrator, noted as director of the Los Alamos laboratory for development of the atomic bomb during WW II.
Today's book pick is: American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer, by Kai Bird, Martin J. Sherwin, which is an exhaustively researched biography of this brilliant, charismatic physicist. The teams of scientists that he led created the most awesome, destructive weapon that, in its effect, ended the war with Japan.
Oppenheimer became the most famous scientist of his generation–one of the iconic figures of the twentieth century, the embodiment of modern man confronting the consequences of scientific progress. Yet after the destruction at Hiroshima was known, he authored a radical proposal to place international controls over atomic materials (an idea that remains very relevant today).
Then, he opposed the development of the hydrogen bomb and criticized the Air Force’s plans which could lead to fighting an increasingly dangerous nuclear war. In the hysteria of the early 1950s, his ideas were anathema to powerful advocates of a massive nuclear buildup. In response, his opponents caused him to be brought in front of a hearing board to brand Oppenheimer as no longer to be trusted with America’s nuclear secrets. It was an ugly way to treat the man who had just helped end the conflagration of WW II.
This book sets forth Oppenheimer’s life and times, presented in unprecedented detail. The compelling portrait reveals a brilliant, ambitious, complex and flawed man profoundly connected to his nation’s major events–the Depression, World War II and the Cold War. It is at once biography and history, and essential reading to understand our recent past–and of our choices for the future.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $37.20. Used from $3.63. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | I have always felt that I understood a phenomenon only to the extent that I could visualise it. Much of the charm organic chemical research has for me derives from structural formulae. When reading chemical journals, I look for formulae first. — Donald J. Cram, American chemist (born 22 Apr 1919).  |
 | The real difficulty about vulcanism is not to see how it can start, but how it can stop. — Sir Harold Jeffreys, English astronomer, geophysicist and mathematician (born 22 Apr 1891). |
 | I am become death, The Shatterer of Worlds. — J. Robert Oppenheimer, American theoretical physicist and science administrator (born 22 Apr 1904). |
| 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 | |
| | An American theoretical physicist and science administrator, born 22 Apr 1904, was the director of the laboratory on a remote mesa during the wartime development of the atomic bomb (1943-45). Later, accusations as to his loyalty and reliability as a security risk led to a government hearing that resulted the loss of his security clearance and of his position as adviser to the highest echelons of the U.S. government. His case became a cause célèbre in the world of science because of its implications concerning political and moral issues relating to the role of scientists in government. What is the name of the National Laboratory which continues research work at the same location at which Oppenheimer led atomic bomb development? |
 | Gaston Planté, born 22 Apr 1834, was a French physicist who in 1859 produced the first device of its type. In an improved form, his invention is widely used in automobiles. What was his invention? |
| Deaths | |
 | Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) was a mechanical engineer and inventor who constructed the world’s first steam railway locomotive (1803). What was Trevithick’s major design advance in the use of steam power that made the locomotive possible? |
| Events | |
 | On 22 Apr of a certain year, the first nationwide Earth Day was celebrated in the U.S. as an environmental awareness event celebrated by millions of Americans with marches, educational programs, and rallies. In which decade was this first Earth Day celebrated? |
 | On 22 Apr 1924, a U.S. patent for new padlock construction was issued to its inventor Harry E. Soref. When he was unable to sell his invention of an inexpensive yet stronger padlock to any existing manufacturer, he established his own company, Masterlock. What now widely-seen construction feature for inexpensive padlocks did Soref originate? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for April 21: Yosemite and Sequoia • Agent Orange • cotton spinning and textiles • Top of the Needle, Seattle, Washington • a firehouse pole.
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