SciHi Blog

biology
Julius Richard Petri and the Petri Dish

Julius Richard Petri and the Petri Dish

Tabea Tietz
On May 31, 1852, German microbiologist Julius Richard Petri was born. Petri is generally credited with inventing the device known as the Petri dish after him, while working as assistant to bacteriologist Robert Koch. Julius Richard Petri – Background Information Julius Richard Petri studied medicine at the Kaiser Wilhelm Academy for Military Physicians from 1871-1875 and worked for a short time as a military doctor. He completed his doctorate as a physician at the Charité…
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physics
Hannes Alfvén – the Father of Plasma Physics

Hannes Alfvén – the Father of Plasma Physics

Tabea Tietz
On May 30, 1908. Swedish electrical engineer, plasma physicist, and Nobel laureate Hannes Alfvén was born. Alfvén won the 1970 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). He described the class of MHD waves now known as Alfvén waves. Alfvén made many contributions to plasma physics, including theories describing the behavior of aurorae, the Van Allen radiation belts, the effect of magnetic storms on the Earth’s magnetic field, the terrestrial magnetosphere, and the dynamics…
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explorer
Bartolomeu Dias and his Trip into the Pacific Ocean

Bartolomeu Dias and his Trip into the Pacific Ocean

Tabea Tietz
Most likely on May 29, 1500, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias died by drowning in a storm near Cabo das Tormentas. Dias sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, reaching the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic, the first European known to have done so. Little in known about Bartolomeu Dias’ Early Life Not too much is known about the life and achievements of Bartolomeu Dias. He may have been a descendant of João…
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physics
Alfred Nier – a Pioneer in Mass Spectroscopy

Alfred Nier – a Pioneer in Mass Spectroscopy

Tabea Tietz
On May 28, 1911, American physicist Alfred Otto Carl Nier was born. Nier pioneered the development of mass spectrometry. He was the first to use mass spectrometry to isolate uranium-235 which was used to demonstrate that 235U could undergo fission and developed the sector mass spectrometer configuration now known as Nier-Johnson geometry. “…You try to untangle all of these processes to get at the primordial ratio of the heliums in the cosmic…
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economics
Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Railroad and Steamship Empire

Cornelius Vanderbilt’s Railroad and Steamship Empire

Tabea Tietz
On May 27, 1794, American business magnate and philanthropist Cornelius Vanderbilt was born. Vanderbilt’s wealth was build on railroads and shipping. He was also the patriarch of the Vanderbilt family and one of the richest Americans in history. “Let them do what I have done.” – Cornelius Vanderbuilt Cornelius Vanderbilt – Starting a Ferry Business Cornelius Vanderbilt was born as the fourth child and second son of Cornelius and Phebe Vanderbilt (née Hand). Vanderbilt left…
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history
Bede the Venerable – Father of English History

Bede the Venerable – Father of English History

Harald Sack
On May 26, 735 CE, Anglo-Saxon Benedictine, theologian and historian Bede, also known as Saint Bede, The Venerable Bede, and Bede the Venerable, passed away. He is famous as a scholar and author of numerous works, of which the best known is the Historia ecclesiastica gentis Anglorum (Ecclesiastical History of the English People), which gained him the title “The Father of English History”.  Bede the Venerable – Early Life “It is reported…
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geology
Daniel Barringer and the Barringer Crater

Daniel Barringer and the Barringer Crater

Tabea Tietz
On May 25, 1860, American geologist Daniel Moreau Barringer was born. Barringer is best known as the first person to prove the existence of an impact crater on the Earth, the Meteor Crater in Arizona. The site has been renamed the Barringer Crater in his honor, although this name is mainly used in the scientific community. Daniel Barringer – Family Background and Early Years Daniel Barringer was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, USA,…
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psychology
Learning and Motivation according to Clark Leonard Hull

Learning and Motivation according to Clark Leonard Hull

Tabea Tietz
On May 24, 1884, American psychiatrist Clark Leonard Hull was born. Hull sought to explain learning and motivation by scientific laws of behavior and is also known for his work in drive theory. He was able to establish his analysis of animal learning and conditioning as the dominant learning theory of its time. He is perhaps best known for the “goal gradient” effect or hypothesis, wherein organisms spend disproportionate amounts of effort in…
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history
The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde

The Legend of Bonnie and Clyde

Tabea Tietz
On May 23, 1934, the American robbers Bonnie and Clyde are ambushed by police and killed in Black Lake, Louisiana. Bonnie Elizabeth Parker and Clyde Chestnut Barrow became American pop folklore as outlaws and robbers when traveling the central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. When Bonnie Parker met Clyde Barrow Bonnie Elizabeth Parker got married to Roy Thornton shortly after they had dropped out of high school. The marriage was…
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physics
Thomas Gold and the Steady-State Theory

Thomas Gold and the Steady-State Theory

Tabea Tietz
On May 22, 1920, Austrian-born American astrophysicist Thomas Gold was born. Gold was one of three young Cambridge scientists who in the 1950s proposed the now mostly abandoned ‘steady state‘ hypothesis of the universe. His work crossed academic and scientific boundaries, into biophysics, astronomy, aerospace engineering, and geophysics. Thomas Gold – Youth and Education Thomas Gold was born in Vienna, Austria to Max Gold, a wealthy Jewish industrialist (pre-war) who ran one of…
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