SciHi Blog

photography
Robert Cornelius shoots the very first Selfie

Robert Cornelius shoots the very first Selfie

Tabea Tietz
On March 1, 1809, American photographic pioneer and business man Robert Cornelius was born. He is credited of making the very first selfie in the U.S. With his own knowledge of chemistry and metallurgy, Cornelius attempted to perfect the daguerreotype. “I to myself am dearer than a friend.” – William Shakespeare, The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1590s) A Self-centered Society? As we all know, ‘selfies’ have become really popular in the past years. There…
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architecture
Leo von Klenze and the Greek Revival Style

Leo von Klenze and the Greek Revival Style

Harald Sack
On February 29, 1784, German neoclassicist architect, painter and writer Leo von Klenze was born. Court architect of Bavarian King Ludwig I, Leo von Klenze was one of the most prominent representatives of Greek revival style. Among his famous buildings are amongst others the Glyptothek in Munich, the New Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, or the Walhalla temple near Regensburg. Early Years Klenze was born in Buchladen, near Schladen, Lower Saxonia, Germany, to…
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philosophy
Michel de Montaigne and the Art of Writing an Essay

Michel de Montaigne and the Art of Writing an Essay

Harald Sack
On February 28, 1533, French philosopher Michel de Montaigne was born. Montaigne was one of the most significant philosophers of the French Renaissance, known for popularizing the essay as a literary genre. His work is noted for its merging of casual anecdotes and autobiography with intellectual insight. His massive volume Essais contains some of the most influential essays ever written. “We are, I know not how, double in ourselves, so that what…
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aviation
Samuel Pierpont Langley and his Aviation Work

Samuel Pierpont Langley and his Aviation Work

Tabea Tietz
On February 27, 1906, American astronomer, physicist, inventor of the bolometer and pioneer of aviation Samuel Pierpont Langley passed away. Langley attempted to make a working piloted heavier-than-air aircraft. His models flew, but his two attempts at piloted flight were not successful. Background Samuel Pierpont Langley Samuel Pierpont Langley was born in 1834 in Roxbury. He started his education at the Boston Latin School and was interested in astronomy immediately. His brother helped him…
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astronomy
Camille Flammarion and his Balancing Act between Popular Science and Science Fiction

Camille Flammarion and his Balancing Act between Popular Science and Science Fiction

Harald Sack
On February 26, 1848, French astronomer and author Nicolas Camille Flammarion was born. He maintained a private observatory, where he studied double and multiple stars, the moon and Mars. He is best known as a prolific author of more than fifty titles, including popular science works about astronomy, several notable early science fiction novels, and works on psychical research and related topics. “May we attribute to the color of the herbage and…
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medical science
Giovanni Battista Morgagni and the Science of Anatomy

Giovanni Battista Morgagni and the Science of Anatomy

Tabea Tietz
On February 25, 1682, Italian anatomist Giovanni Battista Morgagni was born. His works helped to make anatomy an exact science. Thus, he often is celebrated as the father of modern anatomical pathology. Background Giovanni Battista Morgagni Giovanni Battista Morgagni was born at Forli, in the Romagna and received a decent scientific education from early years. Already at the age of 14, Morgagni managed to read verses of his compositions and take part in…
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explorer
Ibn Battuta and the Marvels of Traveling the Medieval World

Ibn Battuta and the Marvels of Traveling the Medieval World

Harald Sack
On 24 February 1304, Muslim Berber Moroccan scholar, and explorer Ibn Battuta was born. Over a period of thirty years, Ibn Battuta visited most of the Islamic world and many non-Muslim lands, including Central Asia, Southeast Asia, India and China. Near the end of his life, he dictated an account of his journeys, titled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Traveling. “I arrived at…
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archeology
The Sky Disc of Nebra

The Sky Disc of Nebra

Tabea Tietz
On February 23, 2002, the state archaeologist Harald Meller succeeded to acquire the now famous Nebra Sky Disc in a police-led sting operation in Basel, Switzerland. The Nebra Sky Disc is a Bronze age artifact shaped like a disk with a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols, representing a map of the sky. The Disk The disk weighs about 2,3 kg and consists of bronze as well as an alloy made…
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mathematics
Frank P. Ramsey and the Ramsey Theory

Frank P. Ramsey and the Ramsey Theory

Harald Sack
On February 22, 1903, precocious British philosopher, mathematician and economist Frank Plumpton Ramsey was born. Although he died already at age 26, he had made significant contributions to logic, philosophy of mathematics, philosophy of language and decision theory. He remains noted for his Ramsey Theory, a mathematical study of combinatorial objects in which a certain degree of order must occur as the scale of the object becomes large. “The first problem I…
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chemistry
John Mercer and the Cotton Mercerisation

John Mercer and the Cotton Mercerisation

Tabea Tietz
On February 21, 1791, English dye and fabric chemist John Mercer was born. He invented the mercerisation process for treating cotton which is still in use today and was a pioneer in color photography. Background John Mercer John Mercer grew up in Lancashire, England. He entered the textile industry as a bobbin-winder when he was still a boy. His father died in 1802, and the family were left very poor. John moved about…
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