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<h2 id="astronomy-and-space-science">Astronomy and space science</h2> <ul><li>January 13 – <i><a href="/facts/The_New_York_Times/T9marWVX">The New York Times</a></i> ridicules rocket scientist <a href="/facts/Robert_H._Goddard/tYmyRRta">Robert H. Goddard</a>, stating that <a href="/facts/Spaceflight/zPrnATzo">spaceflight</a> is impossible. In 1969, with <a href="/facts/Apollo_11/BdUKVnQP">Apollo 11</a> on its way to the Moon, the newspaper will publicly retract this position.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li> <li>December 13 – The red giant star <a href="/facts/Betelgeuse/BsD9Ap7C">Betelgeuse</a> is the first to have its diameter determined by an optical <a href="/facts/Astronomical_interferometer/rn1J8Kew">astronomical interferometer</a>, the <a href="/facts/Michelson_stellar_interferometer/VgPANAM4">Michelson stellar interferometer</a> on <a href="/facts/Mount_Wilson_Observatory/pYrLP2uH">Mount Wilson Observatory</a>'s reflector telescope.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="biology">Biology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Andrew_Douglass/0Y6T2mU0">Andrew Douglass</a> proposes <a href="/facts/Dendrochronology/bXK8Km2M">dendrochronology</a> dating.</li> <li>Approximate date – The <a href="/facts/HIV/ulY2rgzu">HIV</a> <a href="/facts/Epidemiology_of_HIV/AIDS/gUeGhxs0">pandemic</a> almost certainly originates in Léopoldville, modern-day <a href="/facts/Kinshasa/REHVNkdc">Kinshasa</a>, the capital of the <a href="/facts/Belgian_Congo/KeenpcUJ">Belgian Congo</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li>July 15 – <a href="/facts/Francis_William_Aston/DVoj9ebB">F. W. Aston</a> shows that the molar mass of <a href="/facts/Chlorine/y27UwYBM">chlorine</a> (35.45) is a weighted average of the almost integral masses for the two <a href="/facts/Isotope/KD9B1y6o">isotopes</a> 35Cl and 37Cl.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="history-of-science-and-technology">History of science and technology</h2> <ul><li>September 10 – <a href="/facts/Newcomen_Society/PSyN0mEQ">Newcomen Society</a> founded in the United Kingdom for the study of the history of engineering and technology.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li>October 31 – Dr. <a href="/facts/Frederick_Banting/gTqf4aEJ">Frederick Banting</a> of Ontario first records his insight on how to isolate <a href="/facts/Insulin/oXG0myt1">insulin</a> for the treatment of <a href="/facts/Diabetes/2xeHXbsI">diabetes</a>; working with <a href="/facts/Charles_Best_(medical_scientist)/ItV9A7PH">Charles Best</a>, the first successful human trial of insulin will occur 15 months later.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hans_Gerhard_Creutzfeldt/uVz0nsP4">Hans Gerhard Creutzfeldt</a> first describes some of the symptoms of what will become known as <a href="/facts/Creutzfeldt%E2%80%93Jakob_disease/pq3lqB1y">Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Hydrocodone/PjvCI4wN">Hydrocodone</a>, a <a href="/facts/Narcotic/XPC65A8f">narcotic</a> <a href="/facts/Analgesic/xLj4XBcq">analgesic</a> closely related to <a href="/facts/Codeine/lr7WHXmX">codeine</a>, is first synthesized in Germany by <a href="/facts/Carl_Mannich/kVqbHcM9">Carl Mannich</a> and Helene Löwenheim.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Black_Cross_Nurses/jNSe0RcH">Black Cross Nurses</a> founded in the United States.</li></ul> <h2 id="meteorology">Meteorology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Milutin_Milankovi%C4%87/MLMcBXmp">Milutin Milanković</a> proposes that long term climatic cycles may be due to changes in the eccentricity of the Earth's orbit and changes in the Earth's obliquity ("<a href="/facts/Milankovitch_cycles/SxLbHrWX">Milankovitch cycles</a>").<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="physics">Physics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Megh_Nad_Saha/uJDVzRVo">Megh Nad Saha</a> states his ionization equation.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Albert_Einstein/CNTet8qu">Albert Einstein</a> delivers his Leiden Lecture.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Ernest_Rutherford/hjjMEskl">Ernest Rutherford</a> predicts the existence of the <a href="/facts/Neutron/oRCM1geb">neutron</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/James_Jeans/fFbJttMj">James Jeans</a> discovers that the dynamical constants of motion determine the distribution function for a system of particles.</li> <li>Publication of <a href="/facts/Alan_Arnold_Griffith/6Hp56TQ4">Alan A. Griffith</a>'s analysis of the process of <a href="/facts/Brittle_fracture/nxDNAj0d">brittle fracture</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="psychology">Psychology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/John_B._Watson/fqy4Q5ng">John B. Watson</a> conducts the <a href="/facts/Little_Albert_experiment/sLE5jc35">Little Albert experiment</a> in <a href="/facts/Classical_conditioning/ddtohoz3">classical conditioning</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li>July 25 – The first transatlantic two-way radio broadcast is made.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a></li> <li>September 29 – First domestic radio sets come to stores in the United States – a <a href="/facts/Westinghouse_Electric_Corporation/Nln2BzI3">Westinghouse</a> radio costs $10. </li> <li>October – Young Russian physicist <a href="/facts/L%C3%A9on_Theremin/hLrsbHh2">Lev Sergeyevich Termen</a> first develops the <a href="/facts/Electronic_musical_instrument/dQSuuYtF">electronic musical instrument</a> which will become the <a href="/facts/Theremin/qygjqB7S">Theremin</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="events">Events</h2> <ul><li>April 26 – <a href="/facts/Emil_Racovi%C8%9B%C4%83/a0mQyJHc">Emil Racoviță</a> establishes the world's first institute for the academic study of <a href="/facts/Speleology/P0WkvXsS">speleology</a> at the <a href="/facts/Babe%C8%99-Bolyai_University/uHysovff">Upper Dacia University</a> in <a href="/facts/Cluj-Napoca/Mbz4SrUY">Cluj</a> (Romania).</li> <li>Publication in <a href="/facts/Prague/txpRNTUE">Prague</a> of <a href="/facts/Karel_%C4%8Capek/Ak5gs92Y">Karel Čapek</a>'s drama <i><a href="/facts/R.U.R./JL4h9kvw">R.U.R: Rossum's Universal Robots</a></i>, introducing the word <i><a href="/facts/Robot/S5mDzWYk">Robot</a></i> to the world.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>January 20 – <a href="/facts/John_Maynard_Smith/yBusnLXU">John Maynard Smith</a>, British theoretical <a href="/facts/Evolutionary_biologist/8tBoG55U">evolutionary biologist</a> and <a href="/facts/Geneticist/cCvzvuKU">geneticist</a> (died <a href="/facts/2004_in_science/Hv6XlPBW">2004</a>).</li> <li>February 7 – <a href="/facts/An_Wang/CAtcP1ju">An Wang</a>, Chinese-born computer engineer (died <a href="/facts/1990_in_science/udD0xxpR">1990</a>).</li> <li>February 3 – <a href="/facts/Henry_Heimlich/6hhzJhUl">Henry Heimlich</a>, American thoracic surgeon (died <a href="/facts/2016_in_science/xaChyHmT">2016</a>).</li> <li>March 11 – <a href="/facts/Nicolaas_Bloembergen/vbvgSQwb">Nicolaas Bloembergen</a>, <a href="/facts/Dutch_people/QhHtJ2WK">Dutch</a> <a href="/facts/Physicist/cQcgvSIm">physicist</a>, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (died <a href="/facts/2017_in_science/qFe0XI9H">2017</a>).</li> <li>March 15 – <a href="/facts/E._Donnall_Thomas/5hnx0azy">E. Donnall Thomas</a>, American <a href="/facts/Physician/qJ3woFvG">physician</a>, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Nobel Prize</a> laureate.</li> <li>March 22 – <a href="/facts/Katsuko_Saruhashi/jpTtqkL7">Katsuko Saruhashi</a> Japanese <a href="/facts/Geochemist/05094gDu">geochemist</a> (died <a href="/facts/2007_in_science/whoJWyrv">2007</a>).</li> <li>March 23 – <a href="/facts/Barbara_Low_(biochemist)/n0JCSBds">Barbara Low</a>, English-born <a href="/facts/Biochemist/gAWNAY5v">biochemist</a> (died <a href="/facts/2019_in_science/kw3fMjnA">2019</a>).</li> <li>April 6 – <a href="/facts/Edmond_H._Fischer/GKosp0NK">Edmond H. Fischer</a>, <a href="/facts/Swiss_American/Mc9lRRXs">Swiss American</a> <a href="/facts/Biochemist/gAWNAY5v">biochemist</a>, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (died <a href="/facts/2012_in_science/LJKMAdSd">2012</a>)</li> <li>April 9 – <a href="/facts/Alex_Moulton/fwk6oJtJ">Alex Moulton</a>, English <a href="/facts/Mechanical_engineer/cbId4fye">mechanical engineer</a> and <a href="/facts/Inventor/P3LdUHBY">inventor</a> (died 2012).</li> <li>May 12 – <a href="/facts/Tang_Dingyuan/xhpsuFhr">Tang Dingyuan</a>, Chinese physicist (died <a href="/facts/2019_in_science/kw3fMjnA">2019</a>).</li> <li>June 17 – <a href="/facts/Fran%C3%A7ois_Jacob/PILPVmN8">François Jacob</a>, French <a href="/facts/Biologist/yJJGXyKR">biologist</a>, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (died <a href="/facts/2013_in_science/WueRPaAd">2013</a>).</li> <li>July 10 – <a href="/facts/Owen_Chamberlain/cGhJpu6J">Owen Chamberlain</a>, American physicist, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physics/o6w1nCbr">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (died <a href="/facts/2006_in_science/0vs4BdRx">2006</a>).</li> <li>July 11 – <a href="/facts/David_Challinor/166SHBnR">David Challinor</a>, American <a href="/facts/Biologist/yJJGXyKR">biologist</a>, <a href="/facts/Natural_history/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a> and scientific administrator at the <a href="/facts/Smithsonian_Institution/pqC74ta9">Smithsonian Institution</a> (died <a href="/facts/2008_in_science/NLKwU0lC">2008</a>).</li> <li>July 25 – <a href="/facts/Rosalind_Franklin/RL6AYVPM">Rosalind Franklin</a>, English <a href="/facts/X-ray_crystallography/WtI0F5DN">crystallographer</a> (died <a href="/facts/1958_in_science/k61WDI3E">1958</a>).</li> <li>July 30 – <a href="/facts/Marie_Tharp/Rq5kE4pD">Marie Tharp</a>, American geologist (died <a href="/facts/2006_in_science/0vs4BdRx">2006</a>).</li> <li>August 15 – <a href="/facts/Eleonore_Trefftz/EwYrbGzW">Eleonore Trefftz</a>, German molecular and nuclear physicist (died <a href="/facts/2017_in_science/qFe0XI9H">2017</a>).</li> <li>August 22 – <a href="/facts/Denton_Cooley/1TbshaRh">Denton Cooley</a>, American cardiac surgeon (died <a href="/facts/2016_in_science/xaChyHmT">2016</a>).</li> <li>September 29 – <a href="/facts/Peter_D._Mitchell/2VuXJ99T">Peter D. Mitchell</a>, English <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a>, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (died <a href="/facts/1992_in_science/puY1hQq9">1992</a>).</li> <li>October 29 – <a href="/facts/Baruj_Benacerraf/NNzBfEd5">Baruj Benacerraf</a>, <a href="/facts/Venezuela/eX1qnkln">Venezuelan</a> <a href="/facts/Immunologist/vylm0L8e">immunologist</a>, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (died <a href="/facts/2011_in_science/wT16UWvG">2011</a>).</li> <li>November 13 – <a href="/facts/Abraham_Lilienfeld/aXxYlsqF">Abraham Lilienfeld</a>, American <a href="/facts/Epidemiologist/wgTmxoMA">epidemiologist</a> (died <a href="/facts/1984_in_science/Vp4423W0">1984</a>).</li> <li>December 6 – <a href="/facts/George_Porter/50lUuA6c">George Porter</a>, English <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a>, <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Chemistry/8Nb8Ajjy">Nobel Prize</a> laureate (died <a href="/facts/2002_in_science/LP4lLXeB">2002</a>).</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 3 – <a href="/facts/Zygmunt_Janiszewski/hVrI47tl">Zygmunt Janiszewski</a>, <a href="/facts/Poland/eXJ7fd0D">Polish</a> <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a> (born <a href="/facts/1888_in_science/fyVznYuU">1888</a>).</li> <li>January 6 – <a href="/facts/Hieronymus_Georg_Zeuthen/M189vW81">Hieronymus Georg Zeuthen</a>, <a href="/facts/Denmark/KVtykzsw">Danish</a> mathematician (born <a href="/facts/1839_in_science/Y7P9ukYx">1839</a>).</li> <li>March 13 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Lapworth/7JCtkwy7">Charles Lapworth</a>, English <a href="/facts/Geologist/vGc0tBHB">geologist</a> (born <a href="/facts/1842_in_science/cTr4lNw4">1842</a>).</li> <li>March 26 – <a href="/facts/William_Chester_Minor/HdXIB7DJ">William Chester Minor</a>, American <a href="/facts/Surgeon/Hm0R9t6n">surgeon</a> (born <a href="/facts/1834_in_science/bT4QNHSb">1834</a>).</li> <li>March 31 – <a href="/facts/Paul_Bachmann/cc16kVy1">Paul Bachmann</a>, German mathematician (born <a href="/facts/1837_in_science/gPd7datI">1837</a>).</li> <li>April 3 – <a href="/facts/Mary_Katharine_Brandegee/jlVY1Mx5">Mary Katharine Brandegee</a>, American botanist (born <a href="/facts/1844_in_science/Kt34sQQ5">1844</a>).</li> <li>April 8 – <a href="/facts/John_Brashear/dun1dMol">John Brashear</a>, American astronomer (born <a href="/facts/1840_in_science/fY8Ru4uU">1840</a>).</li> <li>April 9 – <a href="/facts/Moritz_Cantor/pzGRxhbq">Moritz Cantor</a>, German historian of mathematics (born <a href="/facts/1829_in_science/L1KDALdh">1829</a>).</li> <li>April 26 – <a href="/facts/Srinivasa_Ramanujan/HBPr4bzd">Srinivasa Ramanujan</a>, Indian mathematician (born <a href="/facts/1887_in_science/3TPmT9t4">1887</a>).</li> <li>June 20 <ul><li><a href="/facts/Marie_Adolphe_Carnot/NYApMyVQ">Marie Adolphe Carnot</a>, French chemist and mining engineer (born <a href="/facts/1839_in_science/Y7P9ukYx">1839</a>).</li> <li><a href="/facts/John_Grigg_(astronomer)/3QBwbany">John Grigg</a>, New Zealand <a href="/facts/Astronomer/ronF8j4a">astronomer</a> (born <a href="/facts/1838_in_science/rynCmVy0">1838</a>).</li></ul></li> <li>August 10 – <a href="/facts/%C3%81d%C3%A1m_Politzer/HstAApAl">Ádám Politzer</a>, <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Hungary/91tLqn81">Hungarian</a> <a href="/facts/Otologist/JQUWMCzy">otologist</a> (born <a href="/facts/1835_in_science/27n5ehaF">1835</a>).</li> <li>August 12 – <a href="/facts/Hermann_Struve/PeItKQoT">Hermann Struve</a>, Russian-born astronomer (born <a href="/facts/1854_in_science/jsrGlvtb">1854</a>).</li> <li>August 16 – <a href="/facts/Joseph_Norman_Lockyer/Uh3no29f">Norman Lockyer</a>, English <a href="/facts/Astronomer/ronF8j4a">astronomer</a> (born <a href="/facts/1836_in_science/nb0FPxUj">1836</a>).</li> <li>August 31 – <a href="/facts/Wilhelm_Wundt/hcUsPDoA">Wilhelm Wundt</a>, German <a href="/facts/Physiologist/fh25y2pQ">physiologist</a> and <a href="/facts/Psychologist/J4l4QdX2">psychologist</a> (born <a href="/facts/1832_in_science/mwlEp7qT">1832</a>).</li> <li>October 17 – <a href="/facts/Reginald_Farrer/qqoAjKI2">Reginald Farrer</a>, English <a href="/facts/Botanist/PaIRoxnb">botanist</a> (born <a href="/facts/1880_in_science/AbBHWLbX">1880</a>).</li> <li>November 4 – <a href="/facts/Ludwig_Struve/j1KPHG9Y">Ludwig Struve</a>, Russian astronomer (born <a href="/facts/1858_in_science/bxUykk1b">1858</a>).</li> <li>December 3 – <a href="/facts/William_de_Wiveleslie_Abney/shTz6YRw">William de Wiveleslie Abney</a>, English astronomer and photographer (born <a href="/facts/1843_in_science/pxl7z0Tq">1843</a>).</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Robert H. Goddard Story". astronauticsnow. Retrieved 2019-07-19. <a href="http://www.astronauticsnow.com/history/goddard/index.html" target="_blank">http://www.astronauticsnow.com/history/goddard/index.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Michelson, Albert Abraham; Pease, Francis G. (1921). "Measurement of the diameter of alpha Orionis with the interferometer". Astrophysical Journal (PDF). 53 (5): 249–59. Bibcode:1921ApJ....53..249M. doi:10.1086/142603. <a href="/wiki/Astrophysical_Journal" target="_blank">/wiki/Astrophysical_Journal</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Based on its genetic history. "HIV pandemic's origins located". University of Oxford. 2014-10-03. Retrieved 2014-10-05. <a href="http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2014-10-03-hiv-pandemics-origins-located#" target="_blank">http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2014-10-03-hiv-pandemics-origins-located#</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Aston, F. W. (1920). "Isotopes and Atomic Weights". Nature. 105 (2646): 617–619. doi:10.1038/105617a0. S2CID 4267919. Retrieved 2023-04-25. <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/1531300" target="_blank">https://zenodo.org/record/1531300</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Russell, Ben (2023). "A curator at the height of his power: H. W. Dickinson... and the Newcomen Society, 1919–1930". International Journal for the History of Engineering and Technology. 93: 1–15. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Mannich, C.; Löwenheim, Helene (1920). "Ueber zwei neue Reduktionsprodukte des Kodeins". Archiv der Pharmazie. 258 (2–4): 295–316. doi:10.1002/ardp.19202580218. <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/1424591" target="_blank">https://zenodo.org/record/1424591</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Théorie mathématique des phénomènes thermiques produits par la radiation solaire (Paris). <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>Griffith, A. A. (February 1920). "The Phenomenon of Rupture and Flow in Solids". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. A221 (582–593): 163–98. Bibcode:1921RSPTA.221..163G. doi:10.1098/rsta.1921.0006. hdl:2027/uiug.30112007702761. JSTOR 91192. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsta.1921.0006" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.1098%2Frsta.1921.0006</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"What happened on July 25". Dates in History. Retrieved 2012-01-09. <a href="http://www.datesinhistory.com/jul25.php" target="_blank">http://www.datesinhistory.com/jul25.php</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Glinsky, Albert (2000). Theremin: Ether Music and Espionage. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-252-02582-2. Retrieved 2012-01-09. <a href="0-252-02582-2" target="_blank">0-252-02582-2</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>Asimov, Isaac (September 1979). "The Vocabulary of Science Fiction". Asimov's Science Fiction. <a href="/wiki/Isaac_Asimov" target="_blank">/wiki/Isaac_Asimov</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Zunt, Dominik (2004). "Who did actually invent the word "robot" and what does it mean?". Karel Čapek (1890–1938). Archived from the original on 2012-02-04. Retrieved 2011-12-06. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20120204135259/http://capek.misto.cz/english/robot.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20120204135259/http://capek.misto.cz/english/robot.html</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>