Week 19

Week 19: May 7 – 13 (Archive)

May 7

  • Edwin H. Land, born 1909, invented inexpensive filters for a polarizing light; invented instant polaroid photography and Polaroid Land camera; founded Polaroid Corporation.
  • Sidney Altman, born 1939, proved that ribonucleic acid (RNA) can act as catalyst in cells; Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1989).

May 8

  • Bohuslav Brauner, born 1855, researcher in chemistry of tellurium and rare earths; predicted existence of promethium (Pm, 61).
  • Nevil V. Sidgwick, born 1873, researcher on molecular structure and theory of valency.

May 9

  • Edward Weston, born 1850, improved nickel plating.
  • James C. Irvine, born 1877, researcher on chemistry of sugars.

May 10

  • Francois M. Raoult, born 1830, discovered vapor pressure of solution is proportional to number of molecules per unit volume in solution (Raoult's law).
  • Robert Bunsen & Gustav R. Kirchhoff, announced the discovery of cesium (Cs, 55) in 1860.

May 11

  • Donald F. Othmer, born 1904, co-founder and editor of Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology; chemical engineer who developed Othmner still.

May 12

  • Justus von Liebig, born 1803, "Father of agricultural chemistry"; perfected methods for quantitative organic analysis; developed Leibig condenser; divided foods into fats, carbohydrates, & protein.
  • William F. Giauque, born 1895, researcher on thermodynamics, particularly behavior of substances at extremely low temperatures; Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1949).
  • Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin, born 1910, determined structure of vitamin B12 using X-rays; Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1964).

May 13

  • Ronald Ross, born 1857, discovered that malaria was transmitted by Anopheles mosquito; Nobel Prize in Medicine (1902).