TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 28 MARCH
On 28 Mar 1819, Joseph William Bazalgette was born, who solved what was known as the “Great Stink.” For a satirical comment from Punch in 1858, commenting on the problem at the height of the crisis, read this article about a proposed “medal” for Our Nasal Benefactors.
On 28 Mar 1819, Joseph William Bazalgette was born, a British civil engineer whose greatest accomplishment was a project that took 20 years. It was a response to what was known as the ”Great Stink” crisis, and combated cholera outbreaks. The River Thames, having long been used as the place to dump all kinds of domestic, industrial and food processing wastes, had become a foul-smelling, toxic stew. With the Houses of Parliament on its bank, one hot summer day, the Members of Parliament could no longer bear the stench. Something had to be done. Today's book pick is: , by . The authors write about how Bazalgette took on a task of unprecedented scale and complexity. In addition, his diverse engineering work is covered—the various bridges, buildings and other projects around London. He was a busy and capable man. This book is a good read, after which you may never look at a modern city the same way.
It is available from Amazon, typically about (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
| no image | [All phenomena] are equally susceptible of being calculated, and all that is necessary, to reduce the whole of nature to laws similar to those which Newton discovered with the aid of the calculus, is to have a sufficient number of observations and a mathematics that is complex enough. — Marquis Marie Jean Antoine Nicolas Caritat Condorcet, French mathematician and natural philosopher (died 28 Mar 1794).  |
| no image | Science is not, as so many seem to think, something apart, which has to do with telescopes, retorts, and test-tubes, and especially with nasty smells, but it is a way of searching out by observation, trial and classification; whether the phenomena investigated be the outcome of human activities, or of the more direct workings of nature's laws. Its methods admit of nothing untidy or slip-shod; its keynote is accuracy and its goal is truth. — Archibald Garrod, English physician and biochemist (died 28 Mar 1936). |
 | Statistics is, or should be, about scientific investigation and how to do it better, but many statisticians believe it is a branch of mathematics. — George E.P. Box, English-American engineer and statistician (died 28 Mar 2013). |
| 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 Joseph William Bazalgette, born 28 Mar 1819, was a British civil engineer built some major bridges in London, but his greatest accomplishment was a project that took 20 years. It was a response to what was known as the "Great Stink" crisis, and combatted cholera outbreaks. What was his great project? |
| Deaths | |
 | A French engineer (1845-1903) received a patent (1874) on a telegraph code that by the mid-20th century had supplanted Morse Code as the most commonly used telegraphic alphabet. He dedicated his life to the development of a fast-printing telegraph, eventually perfecting a model which could transmit six simultaneous messages. His system was used throughout the world for terrestrial and undersea links for over 70 years. What is the name of this engineer? |
| Events | |
 | On 28 Mar 1979, the worst U.S. nuclear accident occurred, though disaster was avoided. Caused by human and mechanical errors, a cooling system malfunctioned and permitted a partial meltdown of a nuclear reactor’s core. Some radioactivity leaked into the atmosphere. Where did this American nuclear accident take place? |
 | On 28 Mar 1946, the Census Bureau and the National Bureau of Standards met to discuss the purchase of a computer. The agencies agreed to buy one from the company formed by inventors Presper Eckert and John Mauchly to build and sell the world’s first general all-purpose business computer. By what name was this computer known? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for March 27: X-rays • Yury Alekseyevich Gagarin • Sir James Dewar • polyethylene • kerosene.
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