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biology
Mikhail Tsvet – the Father of Chromatography

Mikhail Tsvet – the Father of Chromatography

Harald Sack
On June 26, 1919, Russian-Italian botanist Mikhail Semyonovich Tsvet passed away. Tsvet is credited with the invention of the adsorption chromatography, separating plant pigments by extracting them from leaves with ether and alcohol and percolating the solution through a column of calcium carbonate. Mikhail Tsvet – Youth and Education Mikhail Tsvet was born 14 May 1872 in Asti, Italy. His mother was Italian, and his father was a Russian official. His mother…
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physics
Anders Ångström and the Science of Spectroscopy

Anders Ångström and the Science of Spectroscopy

Harald Sack
On June 21, 1874, Swedish physicist Anders Jonas Ångström passed away. Anders Ångström is considered one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy. His pioneering use of spectroscopy is recognized in the name of the angstrom, a unit of length equal to 10-10 metre. Youth and Education Anders Ångström was born into a wealthy, upper class family in Logodo, Medelpad, Sweden, to Johan Ångström, a preacher at Lögdö Ironworks and later…
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communication
Do you speak ASCII?

Do you speak ASCII?

Tabea Tietz
On June 17, 1963, the American Standard Code for Information Interchange, or short better known as ASCII code was published as ASA X3.4-1963 by the American National Standards Institute. ASCII codes represent text in computers, communications equipment, and other devices that use text. Most modern character-encoding schemes are based on ASCII, though they support many additional characters. ASCII was the most common character encoding on the World Wide Web until December 2007,…
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physics
Alexander Friedmann and the Expanding Universe

Alexander Friedmann and the Expanding Universe

Harald Sack
On June 16, 1888, Russian mathematician and physicist Alexander Friedmann was born. Friedmann is best known for his pioneering theory that the universe was expanding, governed by a set of equations he developed now known as the Friedmann equations. The Youth of a Mathematician Alexander Friedmann was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to the composer and ballet dancer Alexander Friedmann and the pianist Ludmila Ignatievna Voyachek. However the parents divorced when Alexander…
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biology
The Wonderful World of Thomas Pennant, Zoologist

The Wonderful World of Thomas Pennant, Zoologist

Harald Sack
On June 14, 1726, Welsh naturalist, traveller, writer and antiquarian Thomas Pennant was born. As a naturalist he had a great curiosity, observing the geography, geology, plants, animals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish around him and recording what he saw and heard about. He wrote acclaimed books including British Zoology, the History of Quadrupeds, Arctic Zoology and Indian Zoology although he never travelled further afield than continental Europe. Thomans Pennant – Early…
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astronomy

Johannes Fabricius and the Observation of Sunspots

Tabea Tietz
Probably on June 13, 1611, Frisian astronomer Johannes Fabricius published his Narratio de maculis in sole observatis et apparente earum cum sole conversione (Account of Spots Observed on the Sun and of Their Apparent Rotation with the Sun), which counts as the first published description of sunspots. Nevertheless, sunspots have been discovered earlier, as the first record of a sunspot drawing dates back into the 12th century to John of Worcester in 1128. Johannes…
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anthropology
Alfred L. Kroeber and the Nature of Culture

Alfred L. Kroeber and the Nature of Culture

Tabea Tietz
On June 11, 1876, American cultural anthropologist Alfred Louis Kroeber was born. His primary concern was to understand the nature of culture and its processes. He developed the concept of cultures as patterned wholes, each with its own style, and each undergoing a growth process analogous to that of a biological organism. Kroeber also made valuable contributions to the archaeology of New Mexico, Mexico, and Peru. “Anthropology is the most humanistic of…
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physics
Pierre Duhem and the Role of Theory in Science

Pierre Duhem and the Role of Theory in Science

Harald Sack
On June 10, 1861, French physicist, mathematician, historian and philosopher of science Pierre Duhem was born. He is best known for his work on chemical thermodynamics, for his philosophical writings on the indeterminacy of experimental criteria, and for his historical research into the science of the European Middle Ages. As a scientist, Duhem also contributed to hydrodynamics and to the theory of elasticity. “A physical theory … is a system of mathematical…
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art
The Romantic Music of Robert Schumann

The Romantic Music of Robert Schumann

Tabea Tietz
On June 8, 1810, German composer and influential music critic Robert Schumann was born. Schumann is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career as a virtuoso pianist, but a hand injury ended this dream of becoming one of Europe‘s finest pianists. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing. “Look deeply into life, and study it…
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archeology
Amelia Edwards’ remarkable Travels in Egypt

Amelia Edwards’ remarkable Travels in Egypt

Tabea Tietz
On June 7, 1831, English novelist, journalist, traveller and Egyptologist Amelia B. Edwards was born. Her account of her travels in Egypt, A Thousand Miles Up the Nile (1877), was an immediate success. During the last two decades of her life, she became concerned by threats to Egyptian monuments and antiquities, raised funds for archaeological excavations and increased public awareness by lecturing at home and abroad. Born in London Amelia Edwards was…
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