TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 8 MAY
On 8 May 1855, John W. Gates was born. He started with a small manufacturing business, which he energetically promoted. He was an astute speculator, a hustler, and with his bravado eventually became a steel baron.
A biography of John W. Gates, from Munsey's Magazine (1906), provides some background for this interesting character.
On 8 May 1904, an English photographer died who left not only an extensive collection of freeze-motion images of animals, but also had provided the advancements on the equipment necessary. Today's book pick is: Animals in Motion (Dover Anatomy for Artists), by Eadweard Muybridge. This definitive selection of 3,919 photographs, includes the author’s observations on animals' movements, and is of great value to animators in understanding the motion of animals. His incredible true-action shots cover 34 different animals and birds in 132 characteristic motions, including horses, goats, cats, gnus, eagles, gazelles, sloths and camels, shown walking, running, flying or leaping.
It all started with a $25,000 bet: a friend had argued whether all four of the horses hooves leave the ground completely at any point during a gallop. The book begins with an analysis of locomotion, going over the walk, the amble, the trot, the rack (or pace), the canter, the transverse-gallop, the rotary-gallop, and the richochet, along with the leap and buck and kick, which provides interesting reading for the layperson.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $19.86. Used from $3.17. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | L’art du chercheur c’est d’abord de se trouver un bon patron. The researcher’s art is first of all to find himself a good boss. — André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist (born 8 May 1902).  |
 | There was once an Editor of the Chemical Society, given to dogmatic expressions of opinion, who once duly said firmly that 'isomer' was wrong usage and 'isomeride' was correct, because the ending 'er' always meant a 'do-er'. 'As in water?' snapped Sidgwick. — Nevil Vincent Sidgwick, English chemist (born 8 May 1873). |
 | Nature doesn’t sit still. Things and individuals are changing, dying and new things are coming. They’re all stories. — Sir David Attenborough, English naturalist and broadcaster (born 8 May 1926). |
| 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 | |
| | John Warne Gates, born 8 May 1855, was nicknamed John "Bet A Million" Gates. He was a salesman who changed the nature of the Western Plains ranches with a new way to control and protect their livestock. What invention did John Gates promote? |
 | Emil Christian Hansen, born 8 May 1842, was a Danish botanist who worked for the Carlsberg breweries. From his laboratory studies, he improved beer-making and allowed his discovery to be used by brewers throughout Europe and the world. What did Hansen develop? |
| | On 8 May 1926, David Attenborough was born, who since 1952 spent his career as a world famous naturalist and broadcaster hosting such notable natural history series as Life of Earth, Blue Planet and The Living Planet. He hosted his first TV series for ten years. What was its name? |
| Deaths | |
 | On 8 May 1794, a French scientist (1743-1794) died on the guillotine during the French Revolution. For his brilliant experimental work before he died, he is known the “father of modern chemistry.” In 1778, he found that air consists of a mixture of two gases which he called oxygen and nitrogen. He studied the role of oxygen in combustion, and replaced the phlogiston theory. What is the name of this scientist? |
| Events | |
 | In 1992, the source of the “red tide” in the Gulf of Mexico was suggested by scientists at a conference on the ecology of the Gulf. What caused the reddish color of the Gulf waters? |
 | In 1886, a soft drink was sold for the first time at the soda fountain of Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia. Pharmacist John Pemberton mixed it in a 30-gallon brass kettle hung over a backyard fire. At the time it was marketed as a “brain and nerve tonic.” By what brand name was this drink later known? |
 | In 1790, the French National Assembly took the first step towards establishing the metric system. They decided to create reliable units of measurement that would be stable and simple. At this meeting they agreed on the definition of the first unit, and charged scientists of the French Academy of Sciences to develop more. What was the first unit defined in the metric system? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for May 7: ribonucleic acid • Edwin Herbert Land • computerized axial tomography (CAT) • steam hammer • Telstar II • polio • integrated circuit chip.
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