TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 8 AUGUST
Henry Fairfield Osborn, born on 8 Aug 1857, was an American paleontologist and museum director who greatly influenced the art of museum display and the education of paleontologists in the United States and Great Britain. Thus, he was involved in much fieldwork. He also became acquainted with Theodore Roosevelt, who before becoming President Roosevelt, began his avid interest as a world-travelling naturalist. Through this activity, he formed a long association with the American Museum. Thus, in 1919, when Natural History magazine published a selection of articles memorializing the death of President Roosevelt, Osborn was able to contribute fascinating personal recollections about Theodore Roosevelt, Naturalist.
On 8 Aug 1902, P.A.M. Dirac was born, an English theoretical physicist known for his seminal work in quantum mechanics. In 1933 he became the youngest theoretician to win a Nobel Prize for Physics. Today's book pick is: The Strangest Man: The Hidden Life of Paul Dirac, Mystic of the Atom, by Graham Farmelo. The author uses previously undiscovered archives to reveal the many facets of Dirac's brilliantly original mind. Whereas physicists regard Dirac as one of the giants of the 20th century, he isn't as well known outside the profession. This may be due to the lack of humorous quips attributed to Dirac, as compared with an Einstein or a Feynman. If he spoke at all, it was with one-word answers that made Calvin Coolidge look loquacious. Yet his most famous equation predicted the positron, used in modern technology in PET scans, a contribution for which Dirac remains unknown. To redress this lack of recognition, Farmelo's book gives us a genuine insight into his life and times. Amazon reviews are enthusiastic an average of 4.5 stars.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $19.40. Used from $7.81. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | Theoretical physicists accept the need for mathematical beauty as an act of faith... For example, the main reason why the theory of relativity is so universally accepted is its mathematical beauty. — Paul A. M. Dirac, English theoretical physicist (born 8 Aug 1902).  |
| | I am perhaps more proud of having helped to redeem the character of the cave-man than of any other single achievement of mine in the field of anthropology. — Henry Fairfield Osborn, American paleontologist and museum director (born 8 Aug 1857). |
 | Astronomy is, not without reason, regarded, by mankind, as the sublimest of the natural sciences. Its objects so frequently visible, and therefore familiar, being always remote and inaccessible, do not lose their dignity. — Benjamin Silliman, American chemist, physicist and geologist (born 8 Aug 1779). |
| 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 | |
 | Sir Roger Penrose, born 8 Aug 1931, is a British mathematician and relativist who in the 1960s calculated many of the basic features of one of the objects in the universe. What are the objects he studied? |
 | Ernest Lawrence, born 8 Aug 1901, was an American physicist, winner of the 1939 Nobel Prize for Physics for his invention of the first particle accelerator to achieve high energies. What is the name of this kind of accelerator? |
| Deaths | |
 | Sir Frank Whittle (1907-1996) was an English aviation engineer and pilot who developed aircraft that could fly at faster speeds and higher altitudes than piston-engine propeller airplanes of the 1920s. What did he pioneer, as early as 1930? |
| Events | |
 | On 8 Aug 1876, Thomas A. Edison received a patent for another invention for reproduction, but for putting words on paper. What was this invention? |
 | On 8 Aug of a certain year, the first steam locomotive in America, the Stourbridge Lion, was tested in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. In what decade did this first U.S. locomotive trial take place? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for August 7: Tsar Nicholas II and other members of the Romanov family • fossil remains of, he believed, the earliest member of the genus of human beings, who he named the species Homo habilis • selenium, thorium and co-discovered cerium • power loom for brocaded fabric, controlled by perforated control cards • Kon-Tiki • Hudson River.
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