SciHi Blog

engineering
Leo Fender and the Success of the Electric Guitar

Leo Fender and the Success of the Electric Guitar

Tabea Tietz
On March 21, 1991, American inventor  “Clarence Leonidas “Leo” Fender passed away. Fender developed the first solid-body electric guitar to be mass-produced: the Fender Broadcaster in 1948. His Stratocaster (1954) should become one of the most favored model of rock guitarists. “The design of each element should be thought out in order to be easy to make and easy to repair.” – Leo Fender [8] Leo Fender – Early Years Leo Fender was born…
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biology
Frederick William Twort and the Bacteriophages

Frederick William Twort and the Bacteriophages

Tabea Tietz
On March 20, 1955, English bacteriologist Frederick William Twort passed away. Twort was the original discoverer in 1915 of bacteriophages, i.e. viruses that infect bacteria. He researched into Johne’s disease, a chronic intestinal infection of cattle, and also discovered that vitamin K is needed by growing leprosy bacteria. Early Years Frederick William Twort was born in Camberley, Surrey, the eldest of the eleven children of Dr. William Henry Twort. He initially only received a limited…
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explorer
The Adventures of Sir Richard Francis Burton in Africa

The Adventures of Sir Richard Francis Burton in Africa

Tabea Tietz
On March 19, 1821, Sir Richard Francis Burton, British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat was born. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas, as well as his extrardinary knowledge of languages and cultures, among them also his journey together with John Hanning Speke [4] as the first Europeans to visit the Great Lakes of Africa in search of the source…
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engineering
Rudolf Diesel and his famous Engine

Rudolf Diesel and his famous Engine

Tabea Tietz
On March 18, 1858, German inventor and mechanical engineer Rudolf Diesel was born, who invented the eponymous Diesel engine that uses the heat of compression to initiate ignition to burn the fuel. “The automobile engine will come, and then I will consider my life’s work complete.” – Rudolf Diesel Early Years Rudolf Diesel was born and grew up in Paris, known as an excellent student and awarded with a medal for his achievements…
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archeology
Carsten Niebuhr and the Decipherment of Cuneiform

Carsten Niebuhr and the Decipherment of Cuneiform

Tabea Tietz
On March 17, 1733, German mathematician, cartographer, and explorer in the service of Denmark, Carsten Niebuhr was born. He is best known for his role in the decipherment of ancient cuneiform inscriptions, which up to Niebuhr‘s publications was considered to be merely decorations and embellishment. »Since Arabia is still so little known to us, I have deemed it necessary to note not only all the villages, but also all the coffee huts…
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history
Egon Friedell’s Fascinating Cutural Histories

Egon Friedell’s Fascinating Cutural Histories

Harald Sack
On 16 March 1938, at about 22:00, two SA men arrived at the house of prominent Austrian philosopher, historian, journalist and critic Egon Friedell to arrest him. While they were still arguing with his housekeeper, Friedell committed suicide by jumping out of the window. Before leaping, he warned pedestrians walking on the sideway where he hit by shouting “Watch out! Get out of the way!“. This was the tragic end of a brilliant…
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literature
H.P. Lovecraft and the Inconceivable Terror

H.P. Lovecraft and the Inconceivable Terror

Harald Sack
On March 15, 1937, Howard Philips Lovecraft – better known as H.P. Lovecraft – author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction, passed away. He is renown as the originator of the Cthulhu Mythos story cycle and the Necronomicon, a fictional magical textbook of rites and forbidden lore. My first acquaintance with the weird literary fiction of H.P. Lovecraft dates back to my schooldays, when hanging…
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physics
Pieter van Musschenbroek and the Leyden Jar

Pieter van Musschenbroek and the Leyden Jar

Harald Sack
On March 14, 1692, Dutch scientist Pieter van Musschenbroek was born. Musschenbroek is credited with the invention of the first capacitor in 1746: the Leyden jar. He performed pioneering work on the buckling of compressed struts. Musschenbroek was also one of the first scientists (1729) to provide detailed descriptions of testing machines for tension, compression, and flexure testing. Youth and Education Pieter van Musschenbroek was born in Leiden, Holland, Dutch Republic. His…
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architecture
Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the Prussian City Scapes

Karl Friedrich Schinkel and the Prussian City Scapes

Tabea Tietz
On March 13, 1781, Prussian architect, city planner, and painter Karl Friedrich Schinkel was born, who was one of the most prominent architects of Germany of the neoclassical and neogothic epoch. He shaped the city scapes of Berlin and Potsdam with his neoclassical buildings and palaces. “Phlegm, whether physical or mental, is a sinful state for the one who lives in times of education.” — Karl Friedrich Schinkel Karl Friedrich Schinkel –…
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geology
William Buckland’s Eccentricities and the Discovery of Megalosaurus

William Buckland’s Eccentricities and the Discovery of Megalosaurus

Tabea Tietz
On March 12, 1784, English theologian, geologist and eccentric palaeontologist William Buckland was born, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus. “Geology holds the keys of one of the kingdoms of nature; and it cannot be said that a science which extends our Knowledge, and by consequence our Power, over a third part of nature, holds a low place among intellectual employments.” — William Buckland, as…
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