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1851 in science
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<h2 id="astronomy">Astronomy</h2> <ul><li>February – First public exhibition of a <a href="/facts/Foucault_pendulum/IdB9XaGt">Foucault pendulum</a>, at the Meridian of the <a href="/facts/Paris_Observatory/Q4MUg7EW">Paris Observatory</a>, demonstrating the <a href="/facts/Earth%2527s_rotation/mDbXcKUx">Earth's rotation</a>. A few weeks later <a href="/facts/L%25C3%25A9on_Foucault/xG7tEDjk">Foucault</a> installs one at the <a href="/facts/Panth%25C3%25A9on%2c_Paris/4vSqDnaS">Panthéon</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li></ul> <ul><li>July 28 – <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse_of_July_28%2c_1851/LFF8L1AQ">Solar eclipse of July 28, 1851</a>: Total <a href="/facts/Solar_eclipse/2XsCFG1a">solar eclipse</a>. The first correctly exposed photograph, a <a href="/facts/Daguerrotype/22CYYBJq">daguerrotype</a>, of the <a href="/facts/Solar_corona/W4WNqV9u">solar corona</a> is made during the total phase of the eclipse by Berkowski at <a href="/facts/Koenigsberg_Observatory/yzlXJJHs">Koenigsberg Observatory</a> in <a href="/facts/Prussia/fs1wEGrk">Prussia</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> Astronomers <a href="/facts/Robert_Grant_(astronomer)/A2bIb04J">Robert Grant</a> and William Swan (of the <a href="/facts/United_Kingdom/kuPAILt2">United Kingdom</a>) and <a href="/facts/Karl_Ludwig_von_Littrow/4G6Q6aUB">Karl Ludwig von Littrow</a> (of <a href="/facts/Austria/4qWIMIyc">Austria</a>) observe this eclipse and determine that <a href="/facts/Solar_prominence/ShLDJjCn">solar prominences</a> are part of the Sun because the Moon is seen to cover and uncover them as it moves in front.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li> <li>October 24 – <a href="/facts/Ariel_(moon)/v7arpRGo">Ariel</a> and <a href="/facts/Umbriel/U16UuENx">Umbriel</a>, <a href="/facts/Natural_satellite/AE4KQKbq">moons</a> of <a href="/facts/Uranus/x7YwT1ar">Uranus</a>, were discovered by <a href="/facts/William_Lassell/JoEW3Ird">William Lassell</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li>The <a href="/facts/William_Brydone_Jack_Observatory/bYPwmdRz">William Brydone Jack Observatory</a> is completed at <a href="/facts/Fredericton/XwkNbfLY">Fredericton</a>, <a href="/facts/New_Brunswick/SLTqCmM2">New Brunswick</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li>March – <a href="/facts/English_people/IeI9c7BK">English</a> sculptor <a href="/facts/Frederick_Scott_Archer/RQqpoecD">Frederick Scott Archer</a> makes public the <a href="/facts/Collodion/uGTT3Bmq">wet plate collodion</a> photographic process.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Julius_Pintsch/Sxla1txd">Julius Pintsch</a> produces Pintsch gas.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Charles-Adolphe_Wurtz/dn7X6EwE">Charles-Adolphe Wurtz</a> produces compound <a href="/facts/Urea/6j84AoCG">ureas</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="history-of-science-and-technology">History of science and technology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/George_Wilson_(chemist)/2tUHTwgP">George Wilson</a> publishes <i>The Life of the Hon. Henry Cavendish</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li>Eugène Prouhet first applies the <a href="/facts/Thue%25E2%2580%2593Morse_sequence/1bvLMTBD">Thue–Morse sequence</a> to <a href="/facts/Number_theory/zhoa7zrc">number theory</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Bernhard_Riemann/oV2fL0k8">Bernhard Riemann</a> provides a proof of <a href="/facts/Green%2527s_theorem/WBDk654A">Green's theorem</a> in his inaugural dissertation.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/The_Royal_Marsden_NHS_Foundation_Trust/1lCuI4mS">The Royal Marsden</a> is established as the Free Cancer Hospital by surgeon <a href="/facts/William_Marsden_(surgeon)/lAEaMDPu">William Marsden</a> in London, the world's first specialist <a href="/facts/Cancer/PVW6n1D0">cancer</a> hospital.</li> <li>The <a href="/facts/Keratometer/5IhffcND">Keratometer</a> is invented by the <a href="/facts/Germans/F7mBCrJ4">German</a> <a href="/facts/Physiologist/fh25y2pQ">physiologist</a> <a href="/facts/Hermann_von_Helmholtz/oFISedae">Hermann von Helmholtz</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="physics">Physics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Hippolyte_Fizeau/Y3QrvXGf">Hippolyte Fizeau</a> carries out the <a href="/facts/Fizeau_experiment/oEH0CgbE">Fizeau experiment</a> to measure the relative speeds of light in moving water.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li>November 13 – First protected <a href="/facts/Submarine_communications_cable/WA4elMsQ">submarine telegraph cable</a> laid, across the <a href="/facts/English_Channel/UPjaSEXf">English Channel</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/William_Armstrong%2c_1st_Baron_Armstrong/yXcaSs3m">William Armstrong</a> introduces the weight-loaded <a href="/facts/Hydraulic_accumulator/JA9w8sPe">hydraulic accumulator</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Copley_Medal/bBwd6QzN">Copley Medal</a>: <a href="/facts/Richard_Owen/M8H3td41">Richard Owen</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Wollaston_Medal/uVkuXBYJ">Wollaston Medal</a> for geology: <a href="/facts/Adam_Sedgwick/3bc2ua7s">Adam Sedgwick</a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>January 19 – <a href="/facts/Jacobus_Kapteyn/GwwvINSR">Jacobus Kapteyn</a> (died <a href="/facts/1922_in_science/VFLMRogY">1922</a>), Dutch <a href="/facts/Astronomer/ronF8j4a">astronomer</a>.</li> <li>February 15 – <a href="/facts/Spiru_Haret/AhbbsDWz">Spiru Haret</a> (died <a href="/facts/1912_in_science/ro3op4mA">1912</a>), Romanian <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a>, astronomer and politician.</li> <li>March 16 – <a href="/facts/Martinus_Beijerinck/7UpuX9mR">Martinus Beijerinck</a> (died <a href="/facts/1931_in_science/oL52v7VX">1931</a>), Dutch <a href="/facts/Microbiologist/cqEyJwNK">microbiologist</a> and <a href="/facts/Botanist/PaIRoxnb">botanist</a>.</li> <li>April 12 – <a href="/facts/Edward_Walter_Maunder/M7xkcRq9">E. Walter Maunder</a> (died <a href="/facts/1928_in_science/C3E10xR9">1928</a>), English astronomer.</li> <li>July 8 – <a href="/facts/Arthur_Evans/e6ru1s8M">Arthur Evans</a> (died <a href="/facts/1941_in_science/JC6AnWC8">1941</a>), English <a href="/facts/Archaeologist/K3Q5P38R">archaeologist</a>.</li> <li>July 20 – <a href="/facts/Arnold_Pick/6GFtLQg0">Arnold Pick</a> (died <a href="/facts/1924_in_science/CFmNQjJJ">1924</a>), Jewish Czech <a href="/facts/Neurologist/TXYEMSYI">neurologist</a>.</li> <li>August 3 – <a href="/facts/George_Francis_FitzGerald/8M3Hnl4R">George FitzGerald</a> (died <a href="/facts/1901_in_science/PbHMXfG4">1901</a>), Irish mathematician.</li> <li>September 21 – <a href="/facts/Fanny_Searls/AnLDbL3e">Fanny Searls</a> (died <a href="/facts/1938_in_science/tUHHnx0z">1939</a>), American doctor and botanist.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li> <li>September 23 – <a href="/facts/Ellen_Hayes/sJML8RKb">Ellen Hayes</a> (died <a href="/facts/1930_in_science/5KHEm9z9">1930</a>), American mathematician and astronomer.</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 27 – <a href="/facts/John_James_Audubon/CwbUuNYM">John James Audubon</a> (born <a href="/facts/1785_in_science/GfLktnJv">1785</a>), <a href="/facts/Naturalist/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a> and <a href="/facts/Illustrator/6c7vjXyA">illustrator</a>.</li> <li>February 18 – <a href="/facts/Carl_Gustav_Jakob_Jacobi/4Syeauo5">Carl Gustav Jakob Jacobi</a> (born <a href="/facts/1804_in_science/KzxP1fXC">1804</a>), <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a>.</li> <li>March 9 – <a href="/facts/Hans_Christian_%25C3%2598rsted/qjmmHgIy">Hans Christian Ørsted</a> (born <a href="/facts/1777_in_science/E7k1lYKV">1777</a>), <a href="/facts/Physicist/cQcgvSIm">physicist</a>.</li> <li>July 6 – <a href="/facts/Thomas_Davenport_(inventor)/LtgLVH3u">Thomas Davenport</a> (born <a href="/facts/1802_in_science/a7zPbUNx">1802</a>), <a href="/facts/Electrical_engineer/YYXW1KLW">electrical engineer</a>.</li> <li>July 17 – <a href="/facts/John_Farey%2c_Jr./Mee7J3Jz">John Farey</a> (born <a href="/facts/1791_in_science/bCJAvN41">1791</a>), <a href="/facts/Mechanical_engineer/cbId4fye">mechanical engineer</a> and technical writer.</li> <li>September 2 – <a href="/facts/William_Nicol_(geologist)/Nwa08dUL">William Nicol</a> (born <a href="/facts/1770_in_science/poKYG3AN">1770</a>), <a href="/facts/Geologist/vGc0tBHB">geologist</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>Tobin, William (2003). The Life and Science of Léon Foucault, the Man who Proved the Earth Rotates. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-80855-3. <a href="0-521-80855-3" target="_blank">0-521-80855-3</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Schielicke, Reinhard; Wittmann, Axel D. (2005). "On the Berkowski daguerreotype (Königsberg, 1851 July 28): the first correctly-exposed photograph of the solar corona". Acta Historica Astronomiae. 25: 128–147. Bibcode:2005AcHA...25..128S. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Littmann, Mark; Willcox, Ken; Espenak, Fred (1999). "Chronology of Discoveries about the Sun". MrEclipse.com. Retrieved 2012-06-06. <a href="http://www.mreclipse.com/Totality2/TotalityApH.html" target="_blank">http://www.mreclipse.com/Totality2/TotalityApH.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Astronomical Journal 2(33):p. 70 (1851). <a href="/wiki/Astronomical_Journal" target="_blank">/wiki/Astronomical_Journal</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>The Chemist March 1851. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Riemann, Bernhard (1867). Grundlagen für einen allgemeine Theorie der Functionen einer veränderlichen complexen Grösse [Basis for a general theory of functions of a variable complex quantity]. Göttingen (Germany): Adalbert Rente. pp. 8–9. <a href="https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_PpALAAAAYAAJ" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_PpALAAAAYAAJ</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Fizeau, H. (1851). "Sur les hypothèses relatives à l'éther lumineux". Comptes rendus de l'Académie des sciences. 33. Paris: 349–355. <a href="http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k29901/f351.chemindefer" target="_blank">http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k29901/f351.chemindefer</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>McNeill, Ian (1972). Hydraulic Power. London: Longman. ISBN 0-582-12797-1. <a href="0-582-12797-1" target="_blank">0-582-12797-1</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Copley Medal | British scientific award". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 23 July 2020. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Tiehm, Arnold (1985). "Fanny Searls (1851-1939)". Brittonia. 37 (1): 41. doi:10.1007/BF02809668. S2CID 87755152. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>