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1857 in science
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<h2 id="astronomy">Astronomy</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Peter_Andreas_Hansen/S4n9vJJr">Peter Andreas Hansen</a>'s <i>Tables of the Moon</i> are published in London.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="biology">Biology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Miles_Joseph_Berkeley/9LqCxBRN">Rev. M. J. Berkeley</a> publishes <i>Introduction to Cryptogamic Botany</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Robert_Bunsen/HYqSh9tH">Robert Bunsen</a> invents apparatus for measuring <a href="/facts/Effusion/2mTFdQau">effusion</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/August_Kekul%25C3%25A9/w1lFwWY9">August Kekulé</a> proposes that <a href="/facts/Carbon/ukrgQexo">carbon</a> is tetravalent, or forms exactly four <a href="/facts/Chemical_bond/ArNUMnIB">chemical bonds</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> <li><a href="/facts/Carl_Wilhelm_Siemens/auwGreMd">Carl Wilhelm Siemens</a> patents the <a href="/facts/Siemens_cycle/f3rgjphk">Siemens cycle</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="earth-sciences">Earth sciences</h2> <ul><li>January 9 – The 7.9 Mw <a href="/facts/1857_Fort_Tejon_earthquake/wLkklcAD">Fort Tejon earthquake</a> shakes <a href="/facts/Central_California/9xm4hSUa">Central</a> and <a href="/facts/Southern_California/1CaAWjd2">Southern California</a> with a maximum <a href="/facts/Mercalli_intensity_scale/4g4ESKmq">Mercalli intensity</a> of IX (<i>Violent</i>). The event, which involves slip on the southern segment of the <a href="/facts/San_Andreas_Fault/cxcmWKfc">San Andreas Fault</a>, leaves two people dead.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Friedrich_Albert_Fallou/wLN0kzAT">Friedrich Albert Fallou</a> publishes <i>Anfangsgründe der Bodenkunde</i> [First Principles of Soil Science], laying the foundations for the modern study of <a href="/facts/Soil_science/nJ9SxpEE">soil science</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="exploration">Exploration</h2> <ul><li>May 16 – The <a href="/facts/Palliser_expedition/HJYLPQPe">British North American Exploring Expedition</a>, led by Irish geographer Capt. <a href="/facts/John_Palliser/X1Fgqrd2">John Palliser</a>, sets off for a three-year exploration of <a href="/facts/Western_Canada/2jEGmMd2">Western Canada</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Galen_Clark/RT02Hu2U">Galen Clark</a> becomes the first European American to see the <a href="/facts/Mariposa_Grove/SlhzpmjT">Mariposa Grove</a> of <a href="/facts/Giant_sequoia/lh4ApHTz">giant sequoias</a> in <a href="/facts/California/zLW2vdQJ">California</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="history-of-science-and-technology">History of science and technology</h2> <ul><li>The <a href="/facts/Stockton_and_Darlington_Railway/xd8HgeKA">Stockton and Darlington Railway</a>'s <a href="/facts/Locomotion_No._1/lvxblX5E"><i>Locomotion</i> No. 1</a> of 1825 is set aside for preservation in England.</li></ul> <h2 id="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/William_Rowan_Hamilton/U86CqUlt">William Rowan Hamilton</a> invents the <a href="/facts/Icosian_game/WGbjvq0p">Icosian game</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li>March 12 – <a href="/facts/Elizabeth_Blackwell/s9jbj6ng">Elizabeth Blackwell</a> opens the <a href="/facts/New_York_Infirmary_for_Indigent_Women_and_Children/2HTQ4ByV">New York Infirmary for Indigent Women and Children</a>.</li> <li>French surgeon Jean-Louis-Paul Denucé gives the first description of a <a href="/facts/Incubator_(neonatal)/XvQ9LaM2">neonatal incubator</a>.</li> <li>French psychiatrist <a href="/facts/B%25C3%25A9n%25C3%25A9dict_Morel/Hpkq50pg">Bénédict Morel</a> publishes <i>Traité des dégénérescences physiques, intellectuelles et morales de l'espèce humaine et des causes qui produisent ces variétés maladives</i>.</li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li>March 23 – <a href="/facts/Elisha_Otis/wqFp6XW1">Elisha Otis</a>' first <a href="/facts/Elevator/ug3nh0o8">elevator</a> is installed (at 488 <a href="/facts/Broadway_(Manhattan)/9EqgXlp2">Broadway (Manhattan)</a>).</li> <li>The first <a href="/facts/Track_(rail_transport)/erncmXfX">rails</a> made from <a href="/facts/Steel/aN6qWo4H">steel</a> are made by <a href="/facts/Robert_Forester_Mushet/mTFzHLBe">Robert Forester Mushet</a> early in the year and laid experimentally at <a href="/facts/Derby_railway_station/vP0tMGs0">Derby railway station</a> on the <a href="/facts/Midland_Railway/53LQqKyx">Midland Railway</a> in <a href="/facts/England/U9mE5bGL">England</a>. They prove far more durable than the iron rails they replace and remain in use until 1873.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="publications">Publications</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Naturalist/pSlAvbTX">Naturalist</a> <a href="/facts/Philip_Henry_Gosse/fl7zDreU">P. H. Gosse</a>'s <a href="/facts/Creationism/IIhQyYTo">creationist</a> text <i><a href="/facts/Omphalos_(book)/p3eneRRf">Omphalos: An Attempt to Untie the Geological Knot</a></i> is published in England.</li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Copley_Medal/bBwd6QzN">Copley Medal</a>: <a href="/facts/Michel_Eug%25C3%25A8ne_Chevreul/C8KcEHKa">Michel Eugène Chevreul</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Wollaston_Medal/uVkuXBYJ">Wollaston Medal</a> for geology: <a href="/facts/Joachim_Barrande/KcA2N6VR">Joachim Barrande</a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>January 20 – <a href="/facts/Vladimir_Bekhterev/5IN21yKh">Vladimir Bekhterev</a> (died <a href="/facts/1927_in_science/zk9YrBCk">1927</a>), Russian <a href="/facts/Psychologist/J4l4QdX2">psychologist</a>.</li> <li>February 3 – <a href="/facts/Wilhelm_Johannsen/JGpJfHbj">Wilhelm Johannsen</a> (died 1927), Danish <a href="/facts/Plant_physiologist/zAh2o1Ao">plant physiologist</a> and <a href="/facts/Geneticist/cCvzvuKU">geneticist</a>.</li> <li>February 22 – <a href="/facts/Heinrich_Hertz/sbL2MSpM">Heinrich Hertz</a> (died <a href="/facts/1894_in_science/butQ5Utu">1894</a>), German physicist</li> <li>March 27 – <a href="/facts/Karl_Pearson/fXB7GT5Q">Carl Pearson</a> (died <a href="/facts/1936_in_science/1gmpcGC3">1936</a>), English <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a>.</li> <li>April 30 – <a href="/facts/Eugen_Bleuler/LgJF5WWY">Eugen Bleuler</a> (died <a href="/facts/1939_in_science/krmaIvm6">1939</a>), Swiss <a href="/facts/Psychiatrist/hS7EnAU6">psychiatrist</a>.</li> <li>May 13 – <a href="/facts/Ronald_Ross/qJqD5MNS">Ronald Ross</a> (died <a href="/facts/1932_in_science/P11Ig2d5">1932</a>), Indian-born British <a href="/facts/Physiologist/fh25y2pQ">physiologist</a>, winner of the <a href="/facts/Nobel_Prize_in_Physiology_or_Medicine/rlnpJX84">Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine</a> 1902.</li> <li>May 15 – <a href="/facts/Williamina_Fleming/KL7uxDgL">Williamina Fleming</a> (died <a href="/facts/1911_in_science/gnx7WAwC">1911</a>), Scottish-born American astronomer.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a></li> <li>June 28 – <a href="/facts/Sir_Robert_Jones%2c_1st_Baronet/DaYy0B4V">Robert Jones</a> (died <a href="/facts/1933_in_science/3R88mjlY">1933</a>), Welsh <a href="/facts/Orthopaedic_surgeon/ahXDk3gD">orthopaedic surgeon</a>.</li> <li>July 11 – <a href="/facts/Joseph_Larmor/huR0HA90">Joseph Larmor</a> (died <a href="/facts/1942_in_science/U4slv5ob">1942</a>), Irish physicist.</li> <li>August 8 – <a href="/facts/Henry_Fairfield_Osborn/jnULPElT">Henry Fairfield Osborn</a> (died <a href="/facts/1935_in_science/Bv2tQnCb">1935</a>), American <a href="/facts/Paleontologist/60n5yldd">paleontologist</a>.</li> <li>October 2 – <a href="/facts/John_Macintyre/Jf5mAcCc">John Macintyre</a> (died <a href="/facts/1928_in_science/C3E10xR9">1928</a>), Scottish <a href="/facts/Laryngologist/0bhtXI3Q">laryngologist</a> and pioneer <a href="/facts/Radiographer/ekNv8xMp">radiographer</a>.</li> <li>November 1 – <a href="/facts/John_Joly/yVwbmaaL">John Joly</a> (died <a href="/facts/1933_in_science/3R88mjlY">1933</a>), Anglo-Irish <a href="/facts/Physicist/cQcgvSIm">physicist</a>.</li> <li>November 27 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Scott_Sherrington/f88X9oft">Charles Sherrington</a> (died <a href="/facts/1952_in_science/0unqKB6j">1952</a>), English <a href="/facts/Neurophysiologist/XLkEyW8c">neurophysiologist</a> and <a href="/facts/Bacteriologist/Xk70D2YU">bacteriologist</a>, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1932.</li> <li>November 29 – <a href="/facts/Theodor_Escherich/yrX1eCdV">Theodor Escherich</a> (died <a href="/facts/1911_in_science/gnx7WAwC">1911</a>), German-born pediatric bacteriologist.</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 2 – <a href="/facts/Andrew_Ure/cG7jhBUK">Andrew Ure</a> (born <a href="/facts/1778_in_science/r81Wezja">1778</a>), Scottish <a href="/facts/Industrial_chemistry/3M6gfHer">industrial chemist</a> and <a href="/facts/Encyclopaedist/fRsmb4q6">encyclopaedist</a>.</li> <li>May 23 – <a href="/facts/Augustin-Louis_Cauchy/aoTjgj6j">Augustin-Louis Cauchy</a> (born <a href="/facts/1789_in_science/F2JRm7sz">1789</a>), French <a href="/facts/Mathematician/eaFSR8Fx">mathematician</a>.</li> <li>June 21 – <a href="/facts/Louis_Jacques_Th%25C3%25A9nard/Le32ptEm">Louis Jacques Thénard</a> (born <a href="/facts/1777_in_science/E7k1lYKV">1777</a>), French <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a>.</li> <li>July 13 – <a href="/facts/Karl_Wilhelm_Gottlob_Kastner/hhYJMf5h">Karl Wilhelm Gottlob Kastner</a> (born <a href="/facts/1783_in_science/9kHSMVd9">1783</a>), German chemist.</li> <li>July 29 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Lucien_Bonaparte/PunLn0Xz">Charles Lucien Bonaparte</a> (born <a href="/facts/1803_in_science/Qbwd2cxM">1803</a>), French <a href="/facts/Natural_history/pSlAvbTX">naturalist</a>.</li> <li>August 12 – <a href="/facts/William_Conybeare_(geologist)/WYNWnGbe">William Conybeare</a> (born <a href="/facts/1787_in_science/5QrRoAHS">1787</a>), English <a href="/facts/Geologist/vGc0tBHB">geologist</a>.</li> <li>November 30 – <a href="/facts/Mary_Buckland/j6DC1Bra">Mary Buckland</a> (born <a href="/facts/1797_in_science/DTbxw61U">1797</a>), English <a href="/facts/Paleontologist/60n5yldd">paleontologist</a> and marine biologist.</li> <li>December 15 – <a href="/facts/George_Cayley/QLjawlkb">George Cayley</a> (born <a href="/facts/1773_in_science/xaDVo9u4">1773</a>), English aviation pioneer.</li> <li>December 17 – <a href="/facts/Francis_Beaufort/QkNx1Jcg">Francis Beaufort</a> (born <a href="/facts/1774_in_science/T5ByrBMR">1774</a>), British <a href="/facts/Hydrographer/FP9yHxSv">hydrographer</a>.</li> <li><i>date unknown</i> – <a href="/facts/Elizabeth_Philpot/0PYsBy3X">Elizabeth Philpot</a> (born <a href="/facts/1780_in_science/RSenqQ6M">1780</a>), English paleontologist.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>W. T. L. (1875). "Peter Andreas Hansen". Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. 35 (4): 168–170. Bibcode:1875MNRAS..35..168.. doi:10.1093/mnras/35.4.168. Retrieved 2011-08-26. <a href="http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0035//0000170.000.html" target="_blank">http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/seri/MNRAS/0035//0000170.000.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>"August Kekulé and Archibald Scott Couper". Science History Institute. Archived from the original on 21 March 2018. Retrieved 21 March 2018. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20180321132315/https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/august-kekul%C3%A9-and-archibald-scott-couper" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20180321132315/https://www.sciencehistory.org/historical-profile/august-kekul%C3%A9-and-archibald-scott-couper</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>Bowden, Mary Ellen (1997). Chemical achievers : the human face of the chemical sciences. Philadelphia, PA: Chemical Heritage Foundation. pp. 91–93. ISBN 9780941901123. <a href="9780941901123" target="_blank">9780941901123</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Biggs, Norman L.; Lloyd, E. Keith; Wilson, Robin J. (1976). Graph Theory 1736–1936. Oxford: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198539010. <a href="0198539010" target="_blank">0198539010</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Marshall, John (1979). The Guinness Book of Rail Facts & Feats. Guinness Superlatives. ISBN 0-900424-56-7. <a href="0-900424-56-7" target="_blank">0-900424-56-7</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><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:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Todd, Deborah; Angelo, Joseph (2003). A to Z of Scientists in Space and Astronomy. New York: Facts of File. p. 117. ISBN 978-0-81604-639-3. <a href="978-0-81604-639-3" target="_blank">978-0-81604-639-3</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>