TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 7 AUGUST
On 7 Aug 1779, John By was born, the English military engineer who constructed the 126-mile (202-km) Rideau Canal connecting the Ottawa River and Lake Ontario, Canada. Thus he provided a connection between the tidal waters of the St. Lawrence and the great lakes of Canada. He chose for his headquarters a position near the mouth of the proposed canal, a little below the beautiful Chaudière falls of the Ottawa River. A town soon sprang up there, and was named after him as Bytown. Sadly, his accomplishment, of immense value to the nation, was not given the recognition he deserved because of politics. After his death, the name of Bytown was replaced by the city name you do know: Ottawa. Curious about this engineer's efforts and ordeals? Here is a biography of John By.
On 7 Aug 1807, Robert Fulton's North River Steam Boat (also known as the Clermont) began chugging its way up the river between New York City and Albany. This was a 150 mile journey, each way, and the round trip took 32 hours overall. In this chapter from Cradle Days of New York on The First Steamboat, you find an account of how he brought steamboating from the experimental stage to commercial success. As you read, you realize that it took more than being an inventor. His success and fame also required being an astute businessman, and able to aggressively deal with legal challenges.
On 7 Aug 1947, Thor Heyerdahl and five companions, completed their crossing of the Pacific Ocean on a raft. Heyerdahl embarked on the 4,000 mile voyage from Peru to prove his theory that the Polynesian Islands were inhabited by sea faring travellers from Peru. He proved the critics wrong who said it was ridiculous to believe such a voyage by the ancients would have been possible. Today's book pick is: Kon-Tiki: Across the Pacific in a Raft, by Thor Heyerdahl who relates how he proved the critics wrong.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $5.54. Used from $1.99. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | A tidy laboratory means a lazy chemist. — Jöns Jacob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (died 7 Aug 1848).  |
 | For many years I have been a night watchman of the Milky Way galaxy. — Bart J. Bok, Dutch-American astronomer (died 7 Aug 1983). |
 | Developing countries can leapfrog several stages in the development process through the application of bio-technology in agriculture. — M. S. Swaminathan, Indian agricultural scientist and geneticist (born 7 Aug 1925). |
| 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 | |
 | William Ross Maples, born 7 Aug 1937, American forensic anthropologist who examined and identified the skeletons of a number of historical figures, including a famous Russian family. Who were the Russian family he identified? |
 | Louis Leakey, born 7 Aug 1903, was an archaeologist and anthropologist, was born in Kabete, Kenya, of English missionaries parents. Leakey was largely responsible for convincing scientists that Africa, rather than Java or China, was the most significant area to search for evidence of human origins. Leakey led fossil-hunting expeditions to eastern Africa from the 1920s. What were the most significant fossils he found? |
| Deaths | |
| | On 7 Aug 1848, Jons Jakob Berzelius died, a Swedish chemist who was one of the founders of modern chemistry by his determination of atomic weights and the development of modern chemical symbols (such as Fe, F). Can you name one of the elements he discovered or co-discovered? |
 | Joseph Marie Jacquard (1752-1834)was a silk weaver whose invention for his industry included a concept that was later used for US census data. What was his innovation which was adapted later for processing census data? |
| Events | |
 | On 7 Aug 1947, Thor Heyerdahl and five companions, completed their crossing of the Pacific Ocean, a voyage of more than 4,000 miles, when their vessel crashed into a reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Their raft was built using materials and methods of pre-Columbian times. Their mission was to demonstrate ancient Polynesians may have originated in South America by making a similar sea voyage. What was the name of their raft? |
| | In 1807, Robert Fulton’s North River Steam Boat (also known as the Clermont) began chugging its way out of New York and up the river to Albany, 150 miles away. It successfully completed a round-trip in 32 hours. On which river was this journey made? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for August 6: Internet’s address system of names and numbers • penicillin • due to an asymmetric carbon atom bound to four different groups • 10.3 year cycle • a fossil found on a meteorite believed to have come from Mars • Hiroshima • the decade including the year 1890.
If you enjoy this newsletter, the website, or wish to offer encouragement or ideas, please send feedback by using your mail reader Reply button. Your click on a Facebook, StumbleUpon, or other social button on the site webpages is also a welcome sign of appreciation. Thank you for using them.
© This newsletter is copyright 2020 by todayinsci.com. Please respect the Webmaster's wishes and do not put copies online of the Newsletter — or any Today in Science History webpage. (If you already have done so, please remove them. Thank you.) Offline use in education is encouraged such as a printout on a bulletin board, or projected for classroom viewing. Online, descriptive links to our pages are welcomed, as these will provide a reader with the most recent revisions, additions and/or corrections of a webpage. For any other copyright questions, please contact the Webmaster by using your mail reader Reply button.
--
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters, Unsubscribe
To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit this link
Social Profiles
0 comments:
Post a Comment