TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER • 30 JULY
On 30 Jul 1916, Albert Neisser died, the German microbiologist who was the first to isolate and identify Bacillus lepræ, the causal agent of leprosy. His life had some close parallels to that of Paul Ehrlich (who is better known from being a Nobel Prize winner). Both were syphilologists of distinction, both were born in Silesia of Jewish descent and were educated at Breslau for medical careers, and their lifespans covered almost the same years.
Where we stand today is the result of contributions from many diligent scientists. Albert Neisser is probably not one whose name you know. Which means a look at this brief Obituary of Albert Neisser will fill in some gaps in your knowledge.
On 30 Jul 1889, Vladimir Zworykin was born, the Russian-American physicist and electronics engineer who is rightly known as “the Father of Television.” The television is a commonplace object in our lives now, and only the oldest people alive today will remember its development from a small black and white screen. But central to its development was a method of painting an image by scanning an electron beam in lines across a screen. A similar scanning system was needed to make a television camera to produce the video signal.
Today's book pick is: Zworykin, Pioneer of Television, by Albert Abramson, a retired TV engineer, who describes Zworykin as the RCA’s technical guru, the brilliance of his innovations, and the competitive environment in the industry. The author states, “his achievements rank him with Thomas Edison and Alexander Graham Bell,” Yet his name remains relatively obscure, even though he “did more to create our present system of cathode-ray television than any other person.” Like so many other inventions in our modern lives, there is a fascinating history of how they came to be. Zworkin deserves your recognition, and this book will inform you of his life’s work.
It is available from Amazon, typically about New from $48.09. Used from $3.05. (As of earlier time of writing - subject to change.)
 | Mr Edison gave America just what was needed at that moment in history. They say that when people think of me, they think of my assembly line. Mr. Edison, you built an assembly line which brought together the genius of invention, science and industry. — Henry Ford, American inventor and automobile manufacturer (born 30 Jul 1863).  |
 | The extracellular genesis of cells in animals seemed to me, ever since the publication of the cell theory [of Schwann], just as unlikely as the spontaneous generation of organisms. These doubts produced my observations on the multiplication of blood cells by division in bird and mammalian embryos and on the division of muscle bundles in frog larvae. Since then I have continued these observations in frog larvae, where it is possible to follow the history of tissues back to segmentation. — Robert Remak, Polish-German physician, neurologist and embryologist (born 30 Jul 1815). |
 | Scientific training gives its votaries freedom from the impositions of modern quackery. Those who know nothing of the laws and processes of Nature fall an easy prey to quacks and impostors. Perfectionism in the realm of religion; a score of frauds in the realm of medicine, as electric shoe soles, hair brushes and belts, electropises, oxydonors, insulating bed casters, and the like; Christian science. In the presence of whose unspeakable stillness and self-stultifying idealism a wise man knows not whether to laugh or cry; Prof. Weltmer's magnetic treatment of disease; divine healing and miracle working by long-haired peripatetics—these and a score of other contagious fads and rank impostures find their followers among those who have no scientific training. Among their deluded victims are thousands of men and women of high character, undoubted piety, good intentions, charitable impulses and literary culture, but none trained to scientific research. Vaccinate the general public with scientific training and these epidemics will become a thing of the past. — Henry Louis Smith, American physicist and administrator (born 30 Jul 1859). |
| 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 30 Jul 1889, Vladimir Zworykin was born, a Russian-American physicist and electronics engineer who is known as “the Father of Television.” He developed the electronic scanning cathode ray tube that made television practical as we first knew it. What device do research scientists now use that incorporate Zworykin innovations extending from his television technology? |
| | On 30 Jul 1863, an American inventor was born in Dearborn, Mich. He first experimented with internal combustion engines while he was an engineer with the Edison Illuminating Company. In 1903, he incorporated a company that within a few years had revolutionized his industry. He innovated with precision manufactured parts designed to be standardized and interchangeable parts. Production was increased using a continuous moving assembly line. Can you name this inventor? |
| Deaths | |
 | John Milne (1850-1913) was an English geologist who is known as the “Father of Modern Seismology.” It was because of his efforts that the first practical, worldwide net of earthquake monitoring stations were established. What did Milne invent? |
| Events | |
 | On 30 Jul 1898, Corn Flakes were invented at Battle Creek Sanitarium. The Sanitarium superintendent and his younger brother and business manager invented many grain-based foods, including a coffee substitute, a type of granola, and peanut butter to provide patients a strict nutritious diet. Can you name these inventors? |
 | On 30 Jul 1898, Scientific American carried the first magazine automobile advertisement to “dispense with a horse” this day. The cars were expensive, purchased by the upper-middle-class, a market which the company lost to competition, and closed in 1924. Which automobile company placed this advertisement? |
Fast answers for the previous newsletter for July 29: ballpoint pen • safety pin • X-ray crystallography • Law of Octaves • iron lung • the decade including the year 1920.
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