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1870 in science
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<h2 id="biology">Biology</h2> <ul><li>January 18 – Gerhardt Krefft first describes the <a href="/facts/Queensland_lungfish/YDNWyVpb">Queensland lungfish</a>, in <i><a href="/facts/The_Sydney_Morning_Herald/YuSeY0QN">The Sydney Morning Herald</a></i>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Charles_Valentine_Riley/DcnmCmNF">Charles Valentine Riley</a> confirms <i><a href="/facts/Phylloxera/sY6NecVY">Phylloxera</a></i> as the cause of the <a href="/facts/Great_French_Wine_Blight/f8ywAcgA">Great French Wine Blight</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Heinrich_Wilhelm_Gottfried_von_Waldeyer-Hartz/2llxn3kT">Heinrich Wilhelm Gottfried von Waldeyer-Hartz</a> postulates that the number of ova in the female is fixed.</li></ul> <h2 id="chemistry">Chemistry</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Norman_Lockyer/Uh3no29f">Norman Lockyer</a> and <a href="/facts/Edward_Frankland/LsmhvHnM">Edward Frankland</a> propose that the gas detected in solar observations should be called '<a href="/facts/Helium/yRul93TG">helium</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="mathematics">Mathematics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Felix_Klein/WmL9guqK">Felix Klein</a> constructs a <a href="/facts/Mathematical_model/CGhyuxgz">model</a> for <a href="/facts/Hyperbolic_geometry/DjTMKdgy">hyperbolic geometry</a> establishing its self-consistency and the logical independence of <a href="/facts/Euclid/dHpVyL4R">Euclid</a>'s fifth postulate. (Note: <a href="/facts/Eugenio_Beltrami/vkp9UPR9">Eugenio Beltrami</a> had previously given such a model in 1868.)</li> <li><a href="/facts/William_Stanley_Jevons/guTGxIYP">W. Stanley Jevons</a> publishes the popular textbook <i>Elementary Lessons on Logic</i>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="medicine">Medicine</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Louis_Pasteur/lboGfpy0">Louis Pasteur</a> and <a href="/facts/Robert_Koch/cUDapauh">Robert Koch</a> establish the <a href="/facts/Germ_theory_of_disease/VReJjyw7">germ theory of disease</a>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Henry_Maudsley/khtQUUcI">Henry Maudsley</a> publishes his lectures on <i>Body and Mind: an Inquiry into their Connection and Mutual Influence</i>.</li> <li><a href="/facts/Frances_Hoggan/5NDtKfrb">Frances Morgan</a> becomes the first British woman to receive a <a href="/facts/Doctor_of_Medicine/oojYTemI">Doctor of Medicine</a> degree from a European university, the <a href="/facts/University_of_Zurich/BXmxTYKh">University of Zurich</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="meteorology">Meteorology</h2> <ul><li>November 1 – In the United States, the newly created Weather Bureau (later renamed the <a href="/facts/National_Weather_Service/gcWCQRzr">National Weather Service</a>) makes its first official <a href="/facts/Meteorology/xblFr28q">meteorological</a> <a href="/facts/Weather_forecast/nzqyMFCa">forecast</a>: "High winds at <a href="/facts/Chicago/yPMokrXH">Chicago</a> and <a href="/facts/Milwaukee/Ucx5PVHn">Milwaukee</a>... and along the Lakes".</li></ul> <h2 id="paleontology">Paleontology</h2> <ul><li><i><a href="/facts/Eustreptospondylus_oxoniensis/NfktUcsj">Eustreptospondylus oxoniensis</a></i> juvenile dinosaur fossil found in <a href="/facts/Summertown%2c_Oxford/skU6AE8M">Summertown, Oxford</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:5" href="#fn:5"><sup>5</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="physics">Physics</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Clausius/RMgFgY7I">Rudolf Clausius</a> proves the scalar virial theorem.</li></ul> <h2 id="psychology">Psychology</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Ludimar_Hermann/RpteCuQS">Ludimar Hermann</a> observes the Hermann <a href="/facts/Grid_illusion/A1tI0j9a">grid illusion</a>.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:6" href="#fn:6"><sup>6</sup></a></li></ul> <h2 id="technology">Technology</h2> <ul><li>February 26 – The <a href="/facts/Beach_Pneumatic_Transit/3EWg70Ak">Beach Pneumatic Transit</a> subway in New York City is opened.</li> <li>March 8 – <a href="/facts/Joy_valve_gear/d15lgChv">Joy valve gear</a> for <a href="/facts/Steam_locomotive/cXEQwhFk">steam locomotives</a> is <a href="/facts/Patent/LjT2bG3A">patented</a> in the United Kingdom by David Joy.</li> <li>August 2 – Official opening of the <a href="/facts/Tower_Subway/VP7sFSL7">Tower Subway</a> beneath the <a href="/facts/River_Thames/XnQWN52L">River Thames</a> in London, first use of the cylindrical <a href="/facts/Wrought_iron/zynpjrIv">wrought iron</a> <a href="/facts/Tunnelling_shield/0QFlUVNo">tunnelling shield</a> devised by <a href="/facts/Peter_W._Barlow/ssuMgyFg">Peter W. Barlow</a> and <a href="/facts/James_Henry_Greathead/QkJ2IR2j">James Henry Greathead</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:7" href="#fn:7"><sup>7</sup></a> and of a permanent tunnel lining of <a href="/facts/Cast_iron/lASt55k2">cast iron</a> segments.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:8" href="#fn:8"><sup>8</sup></a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Svend_Foyn/sqP4z6mw">Svend Foyn</a> receives a Norwegian patent for the grenade <a href="/facts/Harpoon_cannon/VpHYPTzv">harpoon cannon</a> for <a href="/facts/Whaling/rvUqYp0E">whaling</a>.</li> <li>Henry R. Heyl receives a <a href="/facts/United_States_patent_law/uxtfSzha">United States patent</a> for a <a href="/facts/Magic_lantern/kh1814Nr">magic lantern</a> movie projector.</li> <li>A practical <a href="/facts/Stock_ticker/6XUgu2LW">stock ticker</a> is introduced by <a href="/facts/Thomas_Edison/IeDbdyP4">Thomas Edison</a>.</li> <li>First known use of weapons for <a href="/facts/Anti-aircraft_warfare/fHtGQpLy">anti-aircraft warfare</a>, at Paris during the <a href="/facts/Franco-Prussian_War/DU9aBkVB">Franco-Prussian War</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="institutions">Institutions</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Ellen_Swallow_Richards/HBo3JBcE">Ellen Swallow Richards</a> becomes the first woman admitted to study at the <a href="/facts/Massachusetts_Institute_of_Technology/Xk49vNA8">Massachusetts Institute of Technology</a>.</li> <li>December 20 – <a href="/facts/Missouri_University_of_Science_and_Technology/gdU3G8Tb">Missouri University of Science and Technology</a> established as the Missouri School of Mines and Metallurgy.</li></ul> <h2 id="awards">Awards</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/Copley_Medal/bBwd6QzN">Copley Medal</a>: <a href="/facts/James_Prescott_Joule/uzfj0eSG">James Prescott Joule</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 for geology</a>: <a href="/facts/G%25C3%25A9rard_Paul_Deshayes/3HHVhowF">Gerard Paul Deshayes</a></li></ul> <h2 id="births">Births</h2> <ul><li>January 9 – <a href="/facts/Joseph_Strauss_(engineer)/nkU13St2">Joseph Strauss</a> (died <a href="/facts/1938_in_science/tUHHnx0z">1938</a>), American bridge engineer.</li> <li>January 13 – <a href="/facts/Ross_Granville_Harrison/cHfNGBd7">Ross Granville Harrison</a> (died <a href="/facts/1959_in_science/DyvFC0TJ">1959</a>), American <a href="/facts/Physiologist/fh25y2pQ">physiologist</a>.</li> <li>February 7 – <a href="/facts/Alfred_Adler/4G9Q00PX">Alfred Adler</a> (died <a href="/facts/1937_in_science/QeTneV8B">1937</a>), Austrian <a href="/facts/Psychotherapist/n2hDjaop">psychotherapist</a>.</li> <li>March 17 – <a href="/facts/Horace_Donisthorpe/hdoAolv3">Horace Donisthorpe</a> (died <a href="/facts/1951_in_science/2H50d4c5">1951</a>), English <a href="/facts/Entomologist/zTtUNTWm">entomologist</a>.</li> <li>May 20 – <a href="/facts/Arthur_Korn/cvkBTKLd">Arthur Korn</a> (died <a href="/facts/1945_in_science/Nb05Rd7S">1945</a>), German inventor.</li> <li>May 27 – <a href="/facts/Anna_Stecks%25C3%25A9n/uGX7Wd3u">Anna Stecksén</a> (died <a href="/facts/1904_in_science/qfWv7vt5">1904</a>), Swedish scientist, physician and pathologist.</li> <li>June 21 – <a href="/facts/Clara_Immerwahr/NtSeKPJH">Clara Immerwahr</a> (suicide <a href="/facts/1915_in_science/NMYGub5y">1915</a>), German <a href="/facts/Chemist/N09K7Bdm">chemist</a>.</li> <li>August 25 – <a href="/facts/Mihran_Kassabian/kb6cTNhq">Mihran Kassabian</a> (died <a href="/facts/1910_in_science/Auegqwd7">1910</a>), American radiologist.</li> <li>October 23 – <a href="/facts/George_Newman_(doctor)/V8bCGlew">George Newman</a> (died <a href="/facts/1948_in_science/PQCw4Ndc">1948</a>), English public health physician.</li></ul> <h2 id="deaths">Deaths</h2> <ul><li>January 25 – <a href="/facts/Janet_Taylor/zdbwwMkh">Janet Taylor</a> (born <a href="/facts/1804_in_science/KzxP1fXC">1804</a>), English mathematician and navigational instrument maker.</li> <li>March 9 – 'Granny' <a href="/facts/Granny_Smith/e9ddlsJs">Maria Ann Smith</a> (born <a href="/facts/1799_in_science/sXtz2JKb">1799</a>), English-born Australian <a href="/facts/Horticulturalist/m8qBLuT3">horticulturalist</a>.</li> <li>March 12 – <a href="/facts/Charles_Xavier_Thomas/SmAq1rJR">Charles Xavier Thomas</a> (born <a href="/facts/1785_in_science/GfLktnJv">1785</a>), French inventor of the first mass-produced calculator.</li> <li>July 12 – <a href="/facts/Alexander_Henry_Haliday/N00F4HqU">Alexander Henry Haliday</a> (born <a href="/facts/1806_in_science/q3CoyVIt">1806</a>), <a href="/facts/Anglo_Irish/6pkxMTxU">Anglo Irish</a> entomologist.</li> <li>November 14 – <a href="/facts/Karl_Weltzien/btaqyHCT">Karl Weltzien</a> (born <a href="/facts/1813_in_science/z2PuMIQM">1813</a>), German <a href="/facts/Inorganic_chemist/ErD6ypnb">inorganic chemist</a>.</li> <li>December 27 (O.S. December 15) – Nikolai N. Kaufman (born <a href="/facts/1834_in_science/bT4QNHSb">1834</a>), Russian <a href="/facts/Botanist/PaIRoxnb">botanist</a>.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"The Great French Wine Blight". Wine Tidings. 96. July–August 1986. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-08-01. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110717235415/http://www.wampumkeeper.com/wineblight.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110717235415/http://www.wampumkeeper.com/wineblight.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Thomson, W. (1872) Report of the British Association for the Advancement of Science 99. <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Discovery of Helium". Sir Joseph Norman Lockyer. Archived from the original on 2011-02-26. Retrieved 2011-03-30. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110226230800/http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/Lockyer/helium.html" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20110226230800/http://www-solar.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/~clare/Lockyer/helium.html</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Grattan-Guinness, Ivor (2000). The Search for Mathematical Roots, 1870–1940. Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-05858-0. <a href="978-0-691-05858-0" target="_blank">978-0-691-05858-0</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:5"><p>Phillips, John (1871). Geology of Oxford and the Valley of the Thames. Oxford: Clarendon Press. Display in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. <a href="/wiki/John_Phillips_(geologist)" target="_blank">/wiki/John_Phillips_(geologist)</a> <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:6"><p>Hermann, L. (1870). "Eine Erscheinung simultanen Contrastes". Pflügers Archiv für die gesamte Physiologie. 3: 13–15. doi:10.1007/BF01855743. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Doi_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:7"><p>Smith, Denis (2001). Civil Engineering Heritage: London and the Thames Valley. Thomas Telford. pp. 22–23. ISBN 0-7277-2876-8. <a href="0-7277-2876-8" target="_blank">0-7277-2876-8</a> <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:8"><p>West, Graham (2005). Innovation and the Rise of the Tunnelling Industry. Cambridge University Press. pp. 116–118. ISBN 0-521-33512-4. <a href="0-521-33512-4" target="_blank">0-521-33512-4</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:9"><p>"Copley Medal | British scientific award". Encyclopædia 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> </ol>