1839 in science
Encyclopedia
The year 1839 in science
and technology
involved some significant events, listed below.
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
and technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
involved some significant events, listed below.
Astronomy
- January - The first parallaxParallaxParallax is a displacement or difference in the apparent position of an object viewed along two different lines of sight, and is measured by the angle or semi-angle of inclination between those two lines. The term is derived from the Greek παράλλαξις , meaning "alteration"...
measurement of the distance to Alpha CentauriAlpha CentauriAlpha Centauri is the brightest star in the southern constellation of Centaurus...
is published by Thomas HendersonThomas James HendersonThomas James Alan Henderson was a Scottish astronomer noted for being the first person to measure the distance to Alpha Centauri, the major component of the nearest stellar system to Earth, and for being the first Astronomer Royal for Scotland.-Early life:Born in Dundee, Scotland, he was educated...
.
Biology
- Theodor SchwannTheodor SchwannTheodor Schwann was a German physiologist. His many contributions to biology include the development of cell theory, the discovery of Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system, the discovery and study of pepsin, the discovery of the organic nature of yeast, and the invention of the term...
proposes that all living matter is made up of cells.
Exploration
- May 1 - Start of Eyre's expeditionsEyre's 1839 expeditionsEdward John Eyre's two expeditions of 1839 to the interior of South Australia were his first expeditions as an explorer, if one discounts the two earlier trips he made down the Murray River to Adelaide, herding cattle and then sheep.-North:...
to the interior of South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. - October 5 - James Clark RossJames Clark RossSir James Clark Ross , was a British naval officer and explorer. He explored the Arctic with his uncle Sir John Ross and Sir William Parry, and later led his own expedition to Antarctica.-Arctic explorer:...
sets off on the first scientific expedition to survey Antarctica. - Publication of Charles DarwinCharles DarwinCharles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's Journal of Researches into the Geology and Natural History of the Various Countries Visited by H.M.S. Beagle under the Command of Captain FitzRoy, R.N., from 1832 to 1839The Voyage of the BeagleThe Voyage of the Beagle is a title commonly given to the book written by Charles Darwin and published in 1839 as his Journal and Remarks, bringing him considerable fame and respect...
.
Geology
- Roderick MurchisonRoderick MurchisonSir Roderick Impey Murchison, 1st Baronet KCB DCL FRS FRSE FLS PRGS PBA MRIA was a Scottish geologist who first described and investigated the Silurian system.-Early life and work:...
publishes The Silurian System. - December 24 - An enormous landslideLandslideA landslide or landslip is a geological phenomenon which includes a wide range of ground movement, such as rockfalls, deep failure of slopes and shallow debris flows, which can occur in offshore, coastal and onshore environments...
occurs at AxmouthAxmouthAxmouth is a village and civil parish in the East Devon district of Devon, England, near the mouth of the River Axe. The village itself is about 1 km inland, although the parish extends to the sea. The village is near Seaton and Beer...
, DevonDevonDevon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. A report by geologists William Daniel ConybeareWilliam Daniel ConybeareWilliam Daniel Conybeare FRS , dean of Llandaff, was an English geologist, palaeontologist and clergyman. He is probably best known for his ground-breaking work on marine reptile fossils in the 1820s, including important papers for the Geological Society of London on ichthyosaur anatomy and the...
and William BucklandWilliam BucklandThe Very Rev. Dr William Buckland DD FRS was an English geologist, palaeontologist and Dean of Westminster, who wrote the first full account of a fossil dinosaur, which he named Megalosaurus...
is one of the earliest scientific descriptions of such an event.
Technology
- January 9 - The French Academy of SciencesFrench Academy of SciencesThe French Academy of Sciences is a learned society, founded in 1666 by Louis XIV at the suggestion of Jean-Baptiste Colbert, to encourage and protect the spirit of French scientific research...
announces the DaguerreotypeDaguerreotypeThe daguerreotype was the first commercially successful photographic process. The image is a direct positive made in the camera on a silvered copper plate....
photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
process. - January 25 - H. Fox Talbot shows his "photogenic drawings" at the Royal InstitutionRoyal InstitutionThe Royal Institution of Great Britain is an organization devoted to scientific education and research, based in London.-Overview:...
. - February 24 - William OtisWilliam OtisWilliam Otis was an American inventor of the steam shovel. Otis received a patent for his creation on February 24, 1839.In 1839, William Smith Otis, civil engineer of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, was issued a US patent for the steam shovel for excavating and removing earth for railroads or canals....
receives a patentPatentA patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
for the steam shovelSteam shovelA steam shovel is a large steam-powered excavating machine designed for lifting and moving material such as rock and soil. It is the earliest type of power shovel or excavator. They played a major role in public works in the 19th and early 20th century, being key to the construction of railroads...
. - April 9 - The world's first commercial electric telegraphTelegraphyTelegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages via some form of signalling technology. Telegraphy requires messages to be converted to a code which is known to both sender and receiver...
line comes into operation alongside the Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
in EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. - Michael FaradayMichael FaradayMichael Faraday, FRS was an English chemist and physicist who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry....
publishes Experimental Researches in Electricity clarifying the true nature of electricityElectricityElectricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
. - Invention of the GroveGrove cellThe Grove cell was an early electric primary cell named after its inventor, British chemist William Robert Grove, and consisted of a zinc anode in dilute sulfuric acid and a platinum cathode in concentrated nitric acid, the two separated by a porous ceramic pot.-Cell details:The Grove cell voltage...
fuel cell by William GroveWilliam Robert GroveSir William Robert Grove PC QC FRS was a judge and physical scientist. He anticipated the general theory of the conservation of energy, and was a pioneer of fuel cell technology.-Early life:...
. - Development of vulcanized rubber by Charles GoodyearCharles GoodyearCharles Goodyear was an American inventor who developed a process to vulcanize rubber in 1839 -- a method that he perfected while living and working in Springfield, Massachusetts in 1844, and for which he received patent number 3633 from the United States Patent Office on June 15, 1844Although...
. - Development of Babbitt metalBabbitt metalBabbitt, also called Babbitt metal or bearing metal, is any of several alloys used for the bearing surface in a plain bearing.The original Babbitt metal was invented in 1839 by Isaac Babbitt in Taunton, Massachusetts, USA. Other formulations were later developed...
by Isaac BabbittIsaac BabbittIsaac Babbitt was in 1839 the inventor of a low-friction tin-based metal alloy, Babbitt metal, that is used extensively in engine bearings today.-References:...
. - Claimed invention of the rear-wheel driven bicycle by Kirkpatrick MacmillanKirkpatrick MacmillanKirkpatrick Macmillan was a Scottish blacksmith generally credited with inventing the rear-wheel driven bicycle.-Invention of pedal driven bicycle?:...
in ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Awards
- Copley MedalCopley MedalThe Copley Medal is an award given by the Royal Society of London for "outstanding achievements in research in any branch of science, and alternates between the physical sciences and the biological sciences"...
: Robert BrownRobert Brown (botanist)Robert Brown was a Scottish botanist and palaeobotanist who made important contributions to botany largely through his pioneering use of the microscope... - Wollaston MedalWollaston MedalThe Wollaston Medal is a scientific award for geology, the highest award granted by the Geological Society of London.The medal is named after William Hyde Wollaston, and was first awarded in 1831...
: Christian Gottfried EhrenbergChristian Gottfried EhrenbergChristian Gottfried Ehrenberg , German naturalist, zoologist, comparative anatomist, geologist, and microscopist, was one of the most famous and productive scientists of his time.- Early collections :...
Births
- January 27 - Marie-Adolphe CarnotMarie-Adolphe CarnotMarie Adolphe Carnot was a French chemist, mining engineer and politician. He came from a distinguished family: his father, Hippolyte Carnot, and brother, Marie François Sadi Carnot, were politicians, the latter becoming President of the third French Republic.He was born in Paris and graduated...
(d. 19201920 in scienceThe year 1920 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-History of science and technology:* Newcomen Society founded in the United Kingdom for the study of the history of engineering and technology.-Medicine:...
), FrenchFrench peopleThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
chemistChemistA chemist is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties such as density and acidity. Chemists carefully describe the properties they study in terms of quantities, with detail on the level of molecules and their component atoms...
and mining engineer. - February 11
- Josiah Willard GibbsJosiah Willard GibbsJosiah Willard Gibbs was an American theoretical physicist, chemist, and mathematician. He devised much of the theoretical foundation for chemical thermodynamics as well as physical chemistry. As a mathematician, he invented vector analysis . Yale University awarded Gibbs the first American Ph.D...
(d. 19031903 in scienceThe year 1903 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Aeronautics:* December 17 - First documented, successful, controlled, powered flight of an aircraft with a petrol engine by Orville Wright in the Wright Flyer at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.* Konstantin...
), AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theoretical physicist and chemist. - Almon Strowger (d. 19021902 in scienceThe year 1902 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Aeronautics:*May 15 - Lyman Gilmore claims to have flown his steam-powered fixed-wing aircraft, although his proof was supposedly destroyed in a 1935 fire.-Chemistry:...
), American telecommunications engineerTelecommunications EngineerTelecommunications engineering, or telecom engineering, is a major field within electronic engineering. The work ranges from basic circuit design to strategic mass developments...
.
- Josiah Willard Gibbs
- February 15 - Hieronymus Georg ZeuthenHieronymus Georg ZeuthenHieronymus Georg Zeuthen was a Danish mathematician.He is known for work on the enumerative geometry of conic sections, algebraic surfaces, and history of mathematics.-Biography:...
(d. 1920), DanishDanesDanish people or Danes are the nation and ethnic group that is native to Denmark, and who speak Danish.The first mention of Danes within the Danish territory is on the Jelling Rune Stone which mentions how Harald Bluetooth converted the Danes to Christianity in the 10th century...
mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. - April 12 - Nikolai PrzhevalskyNikolai PrzhevalskyNikolai Mikhaylovich Przhevalsky and Prjevalsky, ; —), was a Russian geographer of Polish background and explorer of Central and Eastern Asia. Although he never reached his final goal, Lhasa in Tibet, he travelled through regions unknown to the west, such as northern Tibet, modern Qinghai and...
(d. 18881888 in scienceThe year 1888 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* January 3 - The 91 cm refracting telescope at Lick Observatory is first used...
), RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-born PolishPolesthumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
explorer.
Deaths
- April 8 - Pierre PrévostPierre PrévostPierre Prévost was a Swiss philosopher and physicist. In he showed that all bodies radiate heat, no matter how hot or cold they are.-Life:...
(b. 17511751 in scienceThe year 1751 in science and technology involved some significant events.#-Astronomy:* The globular cluster 47 Tucanae , visible with the unaided eye from the southern hemisphere, is discovered by the French astronomer Nicolas Louis de Lacaille, who catalogues it in his list of southern nebulous...
), Swiss physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
. - June 27 - Allan CunninghamAllan Cunningham (botanist)Allan Cunningham was an English botanist and explorer, primarily known for his travels in New South Wales to collect plants.- Early life :...
(b. 17911791 in scienceThe year 1791 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Biology:* Jean Baptiste François Pierre Bulliard begins publication of Histoire des champignons de la France, a significant text in mycology....
), EnglishEnglish peopleThe English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
botanist and explorer. - August 28 - William SmithWilliam Smith (geologist)William 'Strata' Smith was an English geologist, credited with creating the first nationwide geological map. He is known as the "Father of English Geology" for collating the geological history of England and Wales into a single record, although recognition was very slow in coming...
(b. 17691769 in scienceThe year 1769 in science and technology involved some significant events, listed below.-Astronomy:* June 3 - Transit of Venus is observed from many places in order to obtain data for measuring the distance from the Earth to the Sun...
), English geologistGeologistA geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes and history that has shaped it. Geologists usually engage in studying geology. Geologists, studying more of an applied science than a theoretical one, must approach Geology using... - September 29 - Friedrich MohsFriedrich MohsCarl Friedrich Christian Mohs was a German geologist/mineralogist.- Career :Mohs, born in Gernrode, Germany, studied chemistry, mathematics and physics at the University of Halle and also studied at the Mining Academy in Freiberg, Saxony...
(b. 17731773 in scienceThe year 1773 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* October 13 - French astronomer Charles Messier discovers the Whirlpool Galaxy , an interacting, grand-design spiral galaxy located at a distance of approximately 23 million light-years in the constellation Canes...
), German mineralogist - November 15 - William MurdochWilliam MurdochWilliam Murdoch was a Scottish engineer and long-term inventor.Murdoch was employed by the firm of Boulton and Watt and worked for them in Cornwall, as a steam engine erector for ten years, spending most of the rest of his life in Birmingham, England.He was the inventor of the oscillating steam...
(b. 17541754 in scienceThe year 1754 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Astronomy:* Immanuel Kant, German philosopher, postulates retardation of Earth's orbit.-Chemistry:* Joseph Black, Scottish chemist, discovers carbonic acid gas-Mathematics:...
), ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-born inventor and technicianTechnicianA technician is a worker in a field of technology who is proficient in the relevant skills and techniques, with a relatively practical understanding of the theoretical principles. Experienced technicians in a specific tool domain typically have intermediate understanding of theory and expert...
. - December 24 - Davies GilbertDavies GilbertDavies Gilbert FRS was a British engineer, author, and politician. He was elected to the Royal Society on 17 November 1791 and served as President of the Royal Society from 1827 to 1830....
(b. 17671767 in scienceThe year 1767 in science and technology involved some significant events.-Agriculture:* Arthur Young publishes The farmer's letters to the people of England, containing the sentiments of a practical husbandman .....
), English promoter of science.