Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
1803 in science
open-in-new
<h2 id="astronomy">Astronomy</h2> <ul><li>April 26 – A <a href="/facts/Meteorite/NsmHlBlX">meteorite</a> shower falls on <a href="/facts/L%2527Aigle_(meteorite)/yvYp8hH7">L'Aigle</a> in Normandy; <a href="/facts/Jean_Baptiste_Biot/DoJDp358">Jean Baptiste Biot</a> demonstrates that it is of extraterrestrial origin.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="botany">Botany</h2> <ul><li>Publication (posthumously) of <a href="/facts/Andr%25C3%25A9_Michaux/MX3nmaBj">André Michaux</a>'s <i>Flora Boreali-Americana</i> in Paris, the first <a href="/facts/Flora_(publication)/hdt9NtTh">flora</a> of North America.</li> <li><a href="/facts/University_of_Tartu_Botanical_Gardens/xNkBacTw">University of Tartu Botanical Gardens</a> established.</li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li>January 1 – <a href="/facts/William_Henry_(chemist)/oXKocDt2">William Henry</a>'s formulation of <a href="/facts/Henry%2527s_law/z7JuDFrh">his law on the solubility of gases</a> first published.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li> <li>September 3 – English scientist <a href="/facts/John_Dalton/oS8grQR4">John Dalton</a> starts using symbols to represent the atoms of different <a href="/facts/Chemical_elements/0jducgWD">chemical elements</a>.</li> <li>October 21 – <a href="/facts/John_Dalton/oS8grQR4">John Dalton</a>'s <a href="/facts/Atomic_theory/B2WvuLf6">atomic theory</a> and list of <a href="/facts/Molecular_weight/FWueGMed">molecular weights</a> first made known, at a lecture in <a href="/facts/Manchester/2Do01QHs">Manchester</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/William_Hyde_Wollaston/U0MXYKA3">William Hyde Wollaston</a> discovers the chemical element <a href="/facts/Rhodium/xmBd9aFG">rhodium</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Smithson_Tennant/l9PB5HCw">Smithson Tennant</a> discovers the chemical elements <a href="/facts/Iridium/TFQutoj1">iridium</a> and <a href="/facts/Osmium/1TjXD69n">osmium</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Cerium/a7UjMBQ6">Cerium</a> is discovered in <a href="/facts/Bastn%25C3%25A4s/oVVqSJPW">Bastnäs</a> (<a href="/facts/Sweden/u3qC7lyj">Sweden</a>) by <a href="/facts/J%25C3%25B6ns_Jakob_Berzelius/HakSv3sP">Jöns Jakob Berzelius</a> and <a href="/facts/Wilhelm_Hisinger/09AEPVFQ">Wilhelm Hisinger</a>, and independently in Germany by <a href="/facts/Martin_Heinrich_Klaproth/5DAt7l6Q">Martin Heinrich Klaproth</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Claude_Louis_Berthollet/JeduoWk5">Claude Louis Berthollet</a> publishes <i><a href="https://archive.org/details/essaidestatiquec01bert">Essai de statique chimique</a></i> in Paris.</li></ul> <h2 id="exploration">Exploration</h2> <ul><li>June 9 – <a href="/facts/Matthew_Flinders/GmY2zpcS">Matthew Flinders</a> completes the first known circumnavigation of Australia.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Gian_Francesco_Malfatti/v8lck1yg">Gian Francesco Malfatti</a> presents his conjecture regarding <a href="/facts/Malfatti_circles/EfqSEl2m">Malfatti circles</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:9" href="#fn:9"><sup>9</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:10" href="#fn:10"><sup>10</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:11" href="#fn:11"><sup>11</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Jean_Marc_Gaspard_Itard/tgugjuP8">Jean Marc Gaspard Itard</a> first recognises <a href="/facts/Pneumothorax/oaCPSynh">pneumothorax</a>.</li> <li>Dr <a href="/facts/Thomas_Percival/oBTPy3VR">Thomas Percival</a> of <a href="/facts/Manchester/2Do01QHs">Manchester</a> publishes his <i><a href="/facts/Medical_Ethics_(book)/VbsxwjTy">Medical Ethics; or, a Code of Institutes and Precepts, Adapted to the Professional Conduct of Physicians and Surgeons</a></i>, coining the expression <i><a href="/facts/Medical_ethics/Dm4TCznf">medical ethics</a></i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:12" href="#fn:12"><sup>12</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="meteorology">Meteorology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Luke_Howard/LFdp01yY">Luke Howard</a> publishes the basis of the modern classification and nomenclature of clouds.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:13" href="#fn:13"><sup>13</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:14" href="#fn:14"><sup>14</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Robert_Ransome/LQxRDgnc">Robert Ransome</a> invents the self-sharpening chilled cast-iron <a href="/facts/Ploughshare/2Bwv8vjg">ploughshare</a> in <a href="/facts/Ipswich/nyGbLBJa">Ipswich</a>, England.</li> <li>The first <a href="/facts/Henry_Fourdrinier/5yc5ejGM">Fourdrinier</a> <a href="/facts/Paper_machine/b5ymWGhS">continuous papermaking machine</a> is installed in <a href="/facts/Hertfordshire/TcBlCoSp">Hertfordshire</a>, England.</li></ul> <h2 id="transport">Transport</h2> <ul><li>January 4 – <a href="/facts/William_Symington/LmhcPPD9">William Symington</a> demonstrates his <i><a href="/facts/Charlotte_Dundas/GXSmbAwh">Charlotte Dundas</a></i>, the "first practical steamboat", in <a href="/facts/Scotland/VGwbbxB2">Scotland</a>.</li> <li>July 26 – The <a href="/facts/Surrey_Iron_Railway/HUtNDcz8">Surrey Iron Railway</a>, a <a href="/facts/Wagonway/KWF0o66h">wagonway</a> between <a href="/facts/Wandsworth/D2mBBAS4">Wandsworth</a> and <a href="/facts/Croydon/5D2Assbk">Croydon</a>, is opened, being the first public railway line in England.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Thomas_Telford/AEtkYsSe">Thomas Telford</a> begins work on construction of the <a href="/facts/Caledonian_Canal/AYFtUXqT">Caledonian Canal</a> and improving roads in Scotland.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:15" href="#fn:15"><sup>15</sup></a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16"><sup>16</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Copley_Medal/bBwd6QzN">Copley Medal</a>: <a href="/facts/Richard_Chenevix_(chemist)/kqdD0MPd">Richard Chenevix</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17"><sup>17</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>February 26 – <a href="/facts/Arnold_Adolph_Berthold/n4bslhrD">Arnold Adolph Berthold</a>, German <a href="/facts/Physiologist/fh25y2pQ">physiologist</a> (died 1861)</li> <li>February 28 – <a href="/facts/Christian_Heinrich_von_Nagel/tx0UuuWl">Christian Heinrich von Nagel</a>, German <a href="/facts/Geometer/lg9o1Pjo">geometer</a> (died 1882)</li> <li>April 1 – <a href="/facts/Miles_Joseph_Berkeley/9LqCxBRN">Miles Joseph Berkeley</a>, English <a href="/facts/Cryptogam/M09JIxcs">cryptogamist</a> (died 1889)</li> <li>May 12 – <a href="/facts/Justus_von_Liebig/0vKzMlDA">Justus von Liebig</a>, German <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a> (died 1873)</li> <li>May 24 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Lucien_Bonaparte/PunLn0Xz">Charles Lucien Bonaparte</a>, French <a href="/facts/Naturalist/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a> (died 1857)</li> <li>June 8 – <a href="/facts/Amalia_Assur/LN6dS3Qv">Amalia Assur</a>, <a href="/facts/Swedes/gAeGfw2N">Swedish</a> dentist (died <a href="/facts/1889/sj8hh5fz">1889</a>)</li> <li>July 31 – <a href="/facts/John_Ericsson/HAkAYjTH">John Ericsson</a>, Swedish-born mechanical engineer and inventor (died 1889)</li> <li>October 3 – <a href="/facts/John_Gorrie/dYWtNr94">John Gorrie</a>, American physician and inventor (died 1855)</li> <li>October 6 – <a href="/facts/Heinrich_Wilhelm_Dove/7pH1I7QX">Heinrich Wilhelm Dove</a>, <a href="/facts/Prussia/fs1wEGrk">Prussian</a> physicist and climatologist (died 1879)</li> <li>October 16 – <a href="/facts/Robert_Stephenson/bITLIgA1">Robert Stephenson</a>, English railway engineer (died 1859)</li> <li>November 29 – <a href="/facts/Christian_Doppler/RoyG6Qsn">Christian Doppler</a>, Austrian mathematician and discoverer of the <a href="/facts/Doppler_effect/bzrK1BKf">Doppler effect</a> (died 1853)</li> <li>December 21 – <a href="/facts/Joseph_Whitworth/K4kQJpJ2">Joseph Whitworth</a>, English mechanical engineer (died 1887)</li> <li><a href="/facts/Choe_Han-gi/tQGlDQCl">Choe Han-gi</a>, Korean philosopher of science (died 1877)</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>May 8 – <a href="/facts/John_Joseph_Merlin/uJrm2NXg">John Joseph Merlin</a>, Liège-born English inventor (born 1735)</li> <li>October 14 – <a href="/facts/Ami_Argand/P1uFmyEU">Ami Argand</a>, <a href="/facts/Republic_of_Geneva/zPCUL8HH">Genevan</a> physicist and chemist (born 1750)</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Ernst Florens Friedrich Chladni". Institute for Learning Technologies, Columbia University. Archived from the original on May 14, 2011. Retrieved May 8, 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110514140121/http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/projects/bluetelephone/html/chladni.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110514140121/http://www.ilt.columbia.edu/projects/bluetelephone/html/chladni.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Oxford Dictionary of Scientists. Oxford University Press. 1999. p. 101. Bibcode:1999ods..book.....D. <a href="https://archive.org/details/dictionaryscient00dain" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/dictionaryscient00dain</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Gounelle, M. (2003). "The meteorite fall at L'Aigle on April 26th 1803 and the Biot report" (PDF). Retrieved August 18, 2011. <a href="http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2003/pdf/5251.pdf" target="_blank">http://www.lpi.usra.edu/meetings/metsoc2003/pdf/5251.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Henry, William (January 1, 1803). "Experiments on the Quantity of Gases Absorbed by Water, at Different Temperatures, and under Different Pressures". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. 93. London: 29–274. doi:10.1098/rstl.1803.0004. <a href="/wiki/File:William_Henry-Experiments_on_the_Quantity_of_Gases_Absorbed_by_Water.pdf" target="_blank">/wiki/File:William_Henry-Experiments_on_the_Quantity_of_Gases_Absorbed_by_Water.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Dalton, John (1805). "On the Absorption of Gases by Water and Other Liquids". Memoirs of the Literary and Philosophical Society of Manchester. 2nd Series. 1: 271–87. Archived from the original on June 11, 2011. Retrieved April 27, 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110611205519/http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/dalton52.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110611205519/http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/dalton52.html</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Lappert, Michael F.; Murrell, John N. (2003). "John Dalton, the man and his legacy: the bicentenary of his Atomic Theory". Dalton Transactions (20): 3811–3820. doi:10.1039/B307622A. Retrieved February 17, 2008. <a href="http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=b307622a&JournalCode=DT" target="_blank">http://www.rsc.org/delivery/_ArticleLinking/DisplayArticleForFree.cfm?doi=b307622a&JournalCode=DT</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>"Cerium". Visual Elements. London: Royal Society of Chemistry. 1999–2005. Retrieved November 21, 2011. <a href="http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelements/pages/data/cerium_data.html" target="_blank">http://www.rsc.org/chemsoc/visualelements/pages/data/cerium_data.html</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>"British History Timeline". BBC History. Retrieved February 17, 2008. <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/empireseapower_timeline_noflash.shtml" target="_blank">https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/empireseapower_timeline_noflash.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>Dörrie, H. (1965). "Malfatti's Problem". 100 Great Problems of Elementary Mathematics: their History and Solutions. New York: Dover. pp. 147–151. ISBN 0-486-61348-8. <a href="0-486-61348-8" target="_blank">0-486-61348-8</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:10"><p>Goldberg, M. (1967). "On the Original Malfatti Problem". Mathematics Magazine. 40 (5): 241–247. doi:10.2307/2688277. JSTOR 2688277. <a href="/wiki/Mathematics_Magazine" target="_blank">/wiki/Mathematics_Magazine</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:11"><p>"Malfatti's Problem". cut-the-knot. Retrieved May 16, 2011. <a href="http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Geometry/Malfatti.shtml" target="_blank">http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Curriculum/Geometry/Malfatti.shtml</a> <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:12"><p>Davis, Michael (Fall 1999). "Writing a Code of Ethics" (PDF). Perspectives on the Professions. 19 (1). Chicago: Center for the Study of Ethics in the Professions at IIT: 1–3. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 25, 2021. Retrieved September 30, 2011. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20210225045509/http://ethics.iit.edu/perspective/v19n1%20perspective.pdf" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20210225045509/http://ethics.iit.edu/perspective/v19n1%20perspective.pdf</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:13"><p>Howard, Luke (1803). "On the modifications of clouds, and on the principles of their production, suspension and destruction". Philosophical Magazine. 16 (62): 97–107, 344–57. doi:10.1080/14786440308676310. <a href="https://zenodo.org/record/1430688" target="_blank">https://zenodo.org/record/1430688</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:14"><p>Thornes, John E. (1999). John Constable's Skies. The University of Birmingham Press. ISBN 1-902459-02-4. <a href="1-902459-02-4" target="_blank">1-902459-02-4</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:15"><p>Williams, Hywel (2005). Cassell's Chronology of World History. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 354. ISBN 0-304-35730-8. <a href="0-304-35730-8" target="_blank">0-304-35730-8</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:16"><p>Palmer, Alan; Palmer, Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 239–240. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2. <a href="0-7126-5616-2" target="_blank">0-7126-5616-2</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:17"><p>"Copley Medal | British scientific award". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved July 21, 2020. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal" target="_blank">https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>