TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 23 SEPTEMBER
On 23 Sep 1882, Friedrich Wöhler died, the German chemist who was the first to create an organic compound (urea) from an inorganic one, proving it was possible (despite a long-held belief by chemists of the time that it was not).
As with many other scientists who have made a significant discovery, and thus appear briefly in many chemistry textbooks, that one fact may still be all you know about Wöhler. Yet, you may find it interesting to know he collected antique Roman coins of the Roman emperors in their order of succession, Roman urns, lamps and legion-stones (which at that time were still found in the ancient Roman encampments of his neighborhood).
The Biographical Sketch of Frederick Wöhler from The Popular Science Monthly (1880) will open your eyes to a far more interesting life of this scientist than you may have known before.
On 23 Sep 1863, Alexandre Yersin was born, co-discoverer of the plague bacillus. Today's book pick is: Plague: A Story of Rivalry, Science, and the Scourge That Won't Go Away, by Edward Marriott. This riveting story is a thrilling account of the race between Yersin and Shibasaburo Kitasato to find a cure for bubonic plague. The author also delves into history of that disease, and the threat of plague today. Your Webmaster has read and gives five thumbs up for this informative narrative.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $5.92. Used from $1.80. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | It were indeed to be wish’d that our art had been less ingenious, in contriving means destructive to mankind; we mean those instruments of war, which were unknown to the ancients, and have made such havoc among the moderns. But as men have always been bent on seeking each other’s destruction by continual wars; and as force, when brought against us, can only be repelled by force; the chief support of war, must, after money, be now sought in chemistry. — Hermann Boerhaave, Dutch physician, botanist and chemist (died 23 Sep 1738).  |
| no image | Over the last century, physicists have used light quanta, electrons, alpha particles, X-rays, gamma-rays, protons, neutrons and exotic sub-nuclear particles for this purpose [scattering experiments]. Much important information about the target atoms or nuclei or their assemblage has been obtained in this way. In witness of this importance one can point to the unusual concentration of scattering enthusiasts among earlier Nobel Laureate physicists. One could say that physicists just love to perform or interpret scattering experiments. — Clifford G. Shull, , American physicist (born 23 Sep 1915). |
| | Organic chemistry just now is enough to drive one mad. It gives me the impression of a primeval forest full of the most remarkable things, a monstrous and boundless thicket, with no way of escape, into which one may well dread to enter. — Friedrich Wöhler, German chemist (died 23 Sep 1882). |
| 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 Bosch, born 23 Sep 1861, was a German engineer and industrialist who invented electrical equipment for automobiles. Can you name two of his well-known inventions? |
 | A French physicist, born 23 Sep 1819 was the first to measure the speed of light successfully without using astronomical calculations (1849). He sent a narrow beam of light between rotating gear teeth to a mirror 8 km/5 mi away. He observed whether on its return the beam was then blocked by a tooth. From the rotational speed of the wheel, and the mirror's distance, he directly measured the speed of light. Can you name this scientist? |
| Deaths | |
 | The Austrian father of psychoanalysis, (1856-1939) emphasized the role of unconscious and nonrational functioning, going against much of contemporary thought by suggesting that dreams and “mistakes” may also have meaning. He battled cancer of the jaw from 1923 until his death in 1939 in London - after 16 operations. Can you name this man? |
 | Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier (1811-1877) was a French astronomer who predicted the position of a previously unknown planet. Which planet - and did he find it? |
| Events | |
 | On 23 Sep of a certain year, the German astronomer Johan G. Galle discovered Neptune after only an hour of searching, within one degree of the position that had been computed by Urbain-Jean-Joseph Le Verrier. In which decade did this occur? |
 | On 23 Sep 1973, the world's first Ceefax teletext service began on television. Which TV company first adopted Ceefax? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for September 22: at the Royal Institution, London • “same place,” because isotopes are capable of occupying the same place on the Periodic Table • Rediffusion • decade containing the year 1851.
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