TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 21 MAY
On 21 May 1923, Hans Goldschmidt died, a German chemist who invented the use of Thermite for welding (patented 1895). This provided a much-needed and effective solution for repairing castings or wrought work too heavy for the local forge. Engineers in charge of mining or milling plants located at remote points could use the Goldschmidt process for a quick, simple and effectual means of repair if a gear, a heavy shaft, or a connecting rod suddenly developed a flaw. Valuable down time from halted production was avoided when a duplicate was not on hand while a new part could be brought in from a distance. Goldschmidt named his process aluminothermics. An account of his Aluminothermics appeared in Mining Magazine (1904). The method is still used around the world for welding rails of train tracks.
On 21 May 1799, Mary Anning was born, whom Stephen Gould described as "probably the most important unsung (or inadequately sung) collecting force in the history of paleontology." By age 12 she had been collecting fossils from the local seashore, but it was her discovery of a 30-foot complete skeleton of an Ichthyosaurus which made her famous.
She corresponded with, and sold fossils to various noted paleontologists of the day. The sales supported her family, but she also took a keen scientific interest in them.
You can read The Fossil-Finder of Lyme-Regis, an article from Chambers's Magazine (1857) published within a decade after her death, to learn more of this remarkable woman's activities, which begin by surviving a lightning strike as an infant.
On 21 May 1845, Charles E. Bessey was born, the American botanist who started a tree planting experiment that initiated the Nebraska National Forest, the first man-made national forest in the world. He helped influence federal legislation to preserve the giant sequoia trees in California. Today's book pick is: Science With Practice: Charles E. Bessey and the Maturing of American Botany (Iowa State University Press Series in the History of Technology and science), by Richard A. Overfield, who describes the contributions to botany this scientist made in his 45-year career.
It is available from Amazon, typically about Used from $25.00. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | One major problem with any science is that people who don't know the conceptual history of their field go round re-inventing the elliptical wheel. — Walter M. Fitch, American evolutionary biologist (born 21 May 1929).  |
 | The basis of the discovery is imagination, careful reasoning and experimentation where the use of knowledge created by those who came before is an important component. — Bengt I. Samuelsson, Swedish biochemist (born 21 May 1934). |
 | An ignorant or half-informed teacher may present science as an accumulation of unconnected facts. … To teach in that fashion is like going to the tree of science with its glorious fruit in order to pick up a handful of the dry fallen leaves from the ground. — Lyon Playfair, Scottish chemist (born 21 May 1818). |
| 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 | |
 | On 21 May 1921 a Soviet nuclear physicist was born. At the end of World War II, he returned to pure science and the study of cosmic rays. But two years later, he began work with a secret research group on the development of the hydrogen bomb. It is believed he was principally responsible for the Soviets’ success in exploding their first thermonuclear bomb (1954). After this, he became politically more active in the 1960s, campaigned against nuclear proliferation, and from 1980 to 1986, he was banished and kept under police surveillance. By the time he died on 14 Dec 1989 he was as well known as an outspoken advocate of human rights in the Soviet Union. What is the name of this scientist? |
 | A French engineer and mathematician (1792-1843) first described a force resulting from the effect of motion on a rotating body, of paramount importance to meteorology, ballistics, and oceanography. Whereas pressure differences tend to push winds in straight paths, winds follow curved paths across the Earth. In 1835, he first gave a mathematical description of the effect. The force is now known by his name. What is the name of this force? |
| Deaths | |
 | August Kundt (1839-1894) was a German physicist who developed a method for determining a characteristic property of gases and solids. The principal parts of his apparatus were a long glass tube closed at one end, and a long metal rod with a disk closing the other end, though adjustable in the fashion of a piston. What property did he measure? |
 | Niccolò Zucchi (1586-1670) was an Italian astronomer who, in approximately 1616, designed one of the earliest reflecting telescopes, antedating those of James Gregory and Sir Isaac Newton. A professor at the Jesuit College in Rome, Zucchi developed an interest in astronomy from a meeting with Johannes Kepler. With this telescope examined heavenly bodies. Can you name two planets and their features he could observe with his telescope? |
| Events | |
 | On 21 May 1936, commercial production of a new plastic was begun in the U.S. by DuPont in Wilmington, Del. The plastic (polymethyl methacrylate), is crystal clear, highly non-conducting and has low moisture absorption. Other manufacturers in the world now use other names for this plastic, including Perspex. By what trademark name is this DuPont plastic known in the U.S.? |
 | On May 21 of a certain year, the U.S. President declared a state of emergency at Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York. The property had been a dumping site for Hooker Chemicals and Plastics. The following year, plans were made to evacuate 710 families. The evacuation was ordered after a study reported that 30 percent of the residents in the area had suffered chromosome damage caused by the toxic chemicals leaking through the ground into their homes. Which president issued this order? |
| | On 21 May of a certain year, the Aquatic Vivarium, the world’s first public aquarium, was opened in Regent’s Park, London, the inspiration of Philip Henry Gosse. He was an English self-taught naturalist who wrote popular illustrated books on nature, and especially marine biology. He thus invented the institutional aquarium when he opened the Aquatic Vivarium. In which quarter of which century was this first public aquarium opened? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for May 20: Hewlett-Packard Company • phonograph record disk • thalidamide • aphids • scurvy • Amelia Earhart • Charles Lindbergh.
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