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chemistry
Frederick Sanger and the Structure of Proteins

Frederick Sanger and the Structure of Proteins

Harald Sack
On August 13, 1918, British biochemist Frederick Sanger was born. In 1958, he was awarded a Nobel Prize in chemistry “for his work on the structure of proteins, especially that of insulin“. In 1980, Walter Gilbert and Sanger shared half of the chemistry prize “for their contributions concerning the determination of base sequences in nucleic acids“. “Scientific research is one of the most exciting and rewarding of occupations. It is like a…
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biology
The Fruit Breeding of Thomas Andrew Knight

The Fruit Breeding of Thomas Andrew Knight

Tabea Tietz
On August 12, 1759, English horticulturalist and botanist Thomas Andrew Knight was born. Knight initiated the field of fruit breeding, experimental horticulture while also studying plant physiology with botanical experiments. He made studies on the movement of sap in plants, the nature of the cambium, and phototropism in tendrils. To investigate the geotropism of roots and stems, he invented a machine, rotating to simulate gravity with centrifugal force in either horizontal or vertical position. The…
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medical science
Christiaan Eijkman and the Cause of Beriberi

Christiaan Eijkman and the Cause of Beriberi

Harald Sack
On August 11, 1858, Dutch physiologist Christiaan Eijkman was born. Eijkman‘s demonstrated that beriberi is caused by poor diet led to the discovery of antineuritic vitamins (thiamine). Together with Sir Frederick Hopkins, he received the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Education in the Netherlands Christiaan Eijkman was born at Nijkerk, Netherlands as the seventh child of Christiaan Eijkman, the headmaster of a local school, and Johanna Alida Pool. In 1859, the…
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astronomy
Abu Ma’shar – the Greatest Astronomer of Baghdad

Abu Ma’shar – the Greatest Astronomer of Baghdad

Tabea Tietz
Dear reader, we’ve realized that our daily blog on History of Science somehow is focussed on the Western view of history and the World. Of course it’s because we ourselves are part of this Western world of science. Nevertheless, we have also to include scientists and other people important for the history of science, who are not part of this Western canon of science. Today, we begin with the famous Persian astrologer, astronomer, and philosopher Abu Ma’shar al-Balkhi. Probably on August 10, 787, Persian astrologer Abu Ma’shar, Latinized as Albumasar,…
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engineering
Thomas Telford – the Colossus of Roads

Thomas Telford – the Colossus of Roads

Harald Sack
On August 9, 1757, Scottish civil engineer, architect and stonemason Thomas Telford was born. After establishing himself as an engineer of road and canal projects in Shropshire, he designed numerous infrastructure projects in his native Scotland, as well as harbors and tunnels. Such was his reputation as a prolific designer of highways and related bridges, he was dubbed The Colossus of Roads (a pun on the Colossus of Rhodes), and, reflecting his…
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biology
William Bateson and the Birth of Genetics

William Bateson and the Birth of Genetics

Tabea Tietz
On August 8 1861, English biologist William Bateson was born. Bateson was the first person to use the term genetics to describe the study of heredity, and the chief popularizer of the ideas of Gregor Mendel [7] following their rediscovery in 1900 by Hugo de Vries and Carl Correns. “The concept of evolution as proceeding through the gradual transformation of masses of individuals by the accumulation of impalpable changes is one that the study…
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art
Emil Nolde – the First Expressionist

Emil Nolde – the First Expressionist

Harald Sack
On August 7, 1867, German-Danish painter and printmaker Emil Nolde was born. Nolde was one of the first Expressionists, a member of Die Brücke, and was one of the first oil painting and watercolor painters of the early 20th century to explore color. He is known for his brushwork and expressive choice of colors. “Pictures are spiritual beings. The soul of the painter lives within them.” – Emil Nolde, ‘Years of Struggle…
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philosophy
Nicolas Malebranche’s Dualism of Religion and Science

Nicolas Malebranche’s Dualism of Religion and Science

Tabea Tietz
On August 6, 1638, French priest and rationalist philosopher Nicolas Malebranche was born. Malebranche sought to synthesize the thought of St. Augustine and Descartes, in order to demonstrate the active role of God in every aspect of the world. Malebranche is best known for his doctrines of Vision in God, Occasionalism and Ontologism. “I am not my own light unto myself.” – Nicholas Malebranche, Dialogues on Metaphysics (1688) Family Background and Education Malebranche’s father…
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medical science
Ewald Hering’s Facsinating Research in Colour Vision

Ewald Hering’s Facsinating Research in Colour Vision

Harald Sack
On August 5, 1834, German physiologist Ewald Hering was born. Hering is best known for his research into color vision, binocular perception and eye movements. Hering challenged the color-vision theory of Hermann von Helmholtz. Visual sensations, according to Hering‘s view, were due to three color receptors responding in an “opponent” fashion in color-pairs (white/black, yellow/blue, and red/green) to take account of the after-images of colors. Philosophy, Zoology, and Medicine Ewald Hering was…
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photography
How Richard Leach Maddox revolutionized Photography

How Richard Leach Maddox revolutionized Photography

Tabea Tietz
On August 4, 1816, English photographer and physician Richard Leach Maddox was born. Maddox is best known for his invention lightweight gelatin negative plates for photography in 1871, which enabled photographers to use commercial dry plates off the shelf instead of having to prepare their own emulsions in a mobile darkroom. Also, for the first time, cameras could be made small enough to be hand-held. How to Work with a Microscope In…
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