Newsletter for Sunday 14 March.

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY NEWSLETTER - 14 MARCH

Feature for Today

Today is PI day! ...  from the form of the date as written 3-14 in the U.S. On 14 Mar 1879, Albert Einstein was born—one of the best-known scientists, and who needs no further introduction. No doubt you have read what others have written about him, and heard various quotations by him. But how much have you read about his theory written in his own words? Fortunately, you can remedy that by reading a description of his own theory, written for the general public, published shortly after World War I, in the Times (28 Nov 1919), entitled simply: My Theory. Therein, his concluding remark has become a familiar quotation: "By an application of the theory of relativity to the taste of readers, today in Germany I am called a German man of science, and in England I am represented as a Swiss Jew. If I come to be represented as a bête noire, the descriptions will be reversed, and I shall become a Swiss Jew for the Germans and a German man of science for the English!"

Book of the Day

On 14 Mar 1800, James Bogardus was born, an American inventor and builder who promoted cast-iron construction, common is American commercial buildings in the period 1850-80. He shipped, from his New York City factory, pre-fabricated sections to create iron-fronted buildings.  Today's Science Store pick is Cast-Iron Architecture in America: The Significance of James Bogardus, by Margot Gayle and Carol Gayle. Bogardus believed in iron's strength, economy, suitability for ornamentation, and fire resistance. He invented several new methods of construction, and his work can be regarded as foreshadowing the modern skyscraper. Whether your interest is in engineering, architecture or historic preservation, the authors provide you with interesting, well-researched material to read. New: $39.50. Save 32% Price $26.76. Available Used from $14.50 (as of time of writing). Yesterday's pick: Joseph Priestley: Revolutions of the Eighteenth Century, by Frederick W. Gibbs. For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science Science Store home page.

Quotations for Today
	"Equations are more important to me, because politics is for the present, but an equation is something for eternity." - Albert Einstein, German-American physicist. (born 14 Mar 1879)
	"Few problems are less recognized, but more important than, the accelerating disappearance of the earth's biological resources. In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it is perched." - Paul Ehrlich, German bacteriologist, hematologist and immunologist who discovered Salvarsan, the first effective treatment for syphilis. (born 14 Mar 1854)
	"I've found out so much about electricity that I've reached the point where I understand nothing and can explain nothing." (Describing his experiments with the Leyden jar.) - Pieter van Musschenbroek, Dutch physicist and mathematician. (born 14 Mar 1692)

QUIZ
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
	Albert Einstein, born 14 Mar 1879 was a German-American physicist who advanced a series of theories that proposed entirely new ways of thinking about space, time, and gravitation that were a profound advance over the old Newtonian physics and revolutionized scientific and philosophic inquiry. For what achievement was he awarded the Nobel Prize in 1921?
Deaths
	George Eastman (1854-1932) was an American inventor, manufacturer and industrialist. What trademark did he adopt for his products?
Events
	On 14 Mar of a certain year, the first offshore sulphur mine extracted sulphur. It was built off the Louisiana coast. In what decade was the first U.S. offshore sulphur mine established?
	On 14 Mar 1903, the first US national bird sanctuary was established by executive order issued by President Theodore Roosevelt. This order protected a nesting colony of herons. In which State was this first U.S. bird sanctuary established?
	On 14 Mar 1794, Eli Whitney patented a famous invention that replaced much processing by hand labour, and revolutionized an industry in the southern US. What was Whitney's invention?

Answers

When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the March 14 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers. Fast answers for the previous newsletter for March 13: Percival Lowell; oxygen; Proxima Centauri; Henry Shrapnel; the decade include this year 1930; a planet, Uranus.

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