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philosophy
John Wilkins and the Universal Language

John Wilkins and the Universal Language

Harald Sack
On February 14, 1614, Anglican clergyman, natural philosopher and author John Wilkins was born. Wilkins was one of the founders of the Royal Society and a polymath, although not one of the most important scientific innovators of the period. He is particularly known for An Essay towards a Real Character and a Philosophical Language (1668) in which, amongst other things, he proposed a universal language and a decimal system of measures which…
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geology
Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and the Science of Biomechanics

Giovanni Alfonso Borelli and the Science of Biomechanics

Harald Sack
On January 28, 1608, Renaissance Italian physiologist, physicist, and mathematician Giovanni Alfonso Borelli was born. Trained in mathematics, Borelli also made extensive studies of Jupiter’s moons, the mechanics of animal locomotion and, in microscopy, of the constituents of blood. He also used microscopy to investigate the stomatal movement of plants, and undertook studies in medicine and geology. “No sensible person will deny that the works of Nature are in the highest degree…
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mathematics
Henry Briggs and the Popularization on Logarithms

Henry Briggs and the Popularization on Logarithms

Tabea Tietz
On January 26, 1630, English mathematician and committed puritan Henry Briggs passed away. He is notable for changing the original logarithms invented by John Napier into common (base 10) logarithms, which are sometimes known as Briggsian logarithms in his honour. Henry Briggs’ Education Henry Briggs was born in Halifax, however, his exact date of birth remains unknown. His early family life is also not too well known, but it is believed that…
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communication
Louis Braille and the Braille System of Reading and Writing

Louis Braille and the Braille System of Reading and Writing

Tabea Tietz
On January 4, 1809, French educator Louis Braille was born. He is best known for being the inventor of a system of reading and writing for use by the blind or visually impaired. His system remains known worldwide simply as braille. “Access to communication in the widest sense is access to knowledge, and that is vitally important for us if we [the blind] are not to go on being despised or patronized by condescending sighted people. We do…
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mathematics
John von Neumann – Game Theory and the Digital Computer

John von Neumann – Game Theory and the Digital Computer

Harald Sack
On December 28, 1903, Hungarian and American pure and applied mathematician, physicist, inventor and polymath John von Neumann was born. He made major contributions to a number of fields including mathematics, physics, economics, computing, and statistics. He was a key figure in the development of game theory, the concepts of cellular automata, and the digital computer. He is definitely one of the candidates to write several biographical articles of, each with a…
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physics
John Michell and the Effect of Gravity on Light

John Michell and the Effect of Gravity on Light

Tabea Tietz
Probably on December 25, 1724, English natural philosopher and geologist John Michell was born. He is best known as both a theorist and an experimenter, who was the first to propose the effects of gravity on light, later resulting in the physics of general relativity and black holes. John Michell – Background John Michell was born in Eakring, Nottinghamshire, UK, the son of Gilbert Michell, a priest, and Obedience Gerrard. However, his exact…
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mathematics

Carl Jacobi and the Elliptic Functions

Tabea Tietz
On December 10, 1804, German mathematician Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi was born. He made fundamental contributions to elliptic functions, dynamics, differential equations, and number theory. “Any progress in the theory of partial differential equations must also bring about a progress in Mechanics.” – Carl Jacobi, Vorlesungen über Dynamik [Lectures on Dynamics] (1842/3) Carl Jacobi – A Child Prodigy Carl Jacobi was the son of a banker and grew up in a rather…
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medical science
Florence Sabin – Preparing the Ground for Women in Medical Science

Florence Sabin – Preparing the Ground for Women in Medical Science

Tabea Tietz
On November 9, 1871, American medical scientist Florence Rena Sabin was born. She was a pioneer for women in science. She was the first woman to hold a full professorship at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, the first woman elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and the first woman to head a department at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research. Florence Sabin Background Florence Rena Sabin was born in Central City, Colorado, to her…
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mathematics
Pythagoras and his Eponymous Theorem

Pythagoras and his Eponymous Theorem

Harald Sack
One of the founders of Western mathematics was the Greek philosopher Pythagoras of Samos. He is often revered as a great mathematician, mystic, and scientist and is best known for the Pythagorean theorem which bears his name. It was said that he was the first man to call himself a philosopher, or lover of wisdom. Anyway, his eponymous theorem possibly is the best known theorem in mathematics. Pythagoras Accurate facts about the life…
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art
Piero della Francesca and the Use of Geometric Forms and Perspective

Piero della Francesca and the Use of Geometric Forms and Perspective

Harald Sack
On October 12, 1492, Early Renaissance painter Piero della Francesca passed away. His painting is characterized by its serene humanism, its use of geometric forms and perspective. Piero della Franchesca – Early Years Piero della Franchesca probably spent his education and youth in Florence, where in the 1430s a bright, pastel coloration was cultivated, which was also propagated by Leon Battista Alberti in his painting treatise (trattato della pittura) in 1435. Above…
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