TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 27 OCTOBER
On Oct 1811, Isaac Singer was born, who improved the sewing machine's design, but his biggest invention was the marketing system he created to make it a household product. Today's book pick is: Singer and the Sewing Machine: A Capitalist Romance, by Ruth Brandon, who provides an insightful look at one of America's earliest major entrepreneurs. The author tells about Singer's youth spent traveling the country, seducing women and even marrying some, in pursuit of his real dream: to be an actor. Singer turned to inventing simply to make a quick buck. Overall, this book provides an insightful and provocative look at one of America's earliest entrepreneurs, unraveling a complex web of personal ambition, fame, fortune, nineteenth-century capitalism and the attainment of the American Dream.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $32.72. Used from $2.72. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | I do not want chemistry to degenerate into a religion; I do not want the chemist to believe in the existence of atoms as the Christian believes in the existence of Christ in the communion wafer. — Marcellin Berthelot, French chemist and science historian (born 27 Oct 1827).  |
 | I had fought on behalf of man against the sea, but I realised that it had become more urgent to fight on behalf of the sea against men. From an interview on the 50th anniversary of his voyage, when asked about his avid support for environmentalism in later years. — Alain Bombard, French biologist and physician (born 27 Oct 1924). |
 | Science makes people reach selflessly for truth and objectivity; it teaches people to accept reality, with wonder and admiration, not to mention the deep awe and joy that the natural order of things brings to the true scientist. — Lise Meitner, Austrian-Swedish physicist (died 27 Oct 1968). |
| 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 | |
 | Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, born 27 Oct 1855, was a Russian horticulturist, of little education but some skill. In 1932 the city known as Kozlov for four centuries became Michurinsk. What was his accomplishment that earned the praise of the Soviet government? |
| Deaths | |
| | Lise Meitner (1878-1968) was a physicist, whose joint research with Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann led to the discovery of uranium fission. She refused to work on the atom bomb. Where was she born? |
| Events | |
 | On 27 Oct 1938, Du Pont announced a name for its new synthetic fiber yarn. What was this name? |
 | On 27 Oct 1873, American farmer Joseph F. Glidden applied for a patent for a product that would transform the West. What was this product? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for October 26: 17th century (1654) • Igor I. Sikorsky • General Electric Company • zinc.
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