Contexts1800To1850

Contexts 1800 to 1850

 * 1800 - 1820 || ** Physics related to temperature and heat ** 1807 Jean Fourier publishes "On the Propagation of Heat in Solid Bodies" || **Other sciences**

1800 William Nicholson and Carlisle decomposed water into hydrogen and oxygen via electrolysis 1800 Herschel discovers that sunlight has an infrared region 1800 Lamarck publishes a theory of evolution 1800 Johann Wilhelm Ritter replicates Nicholson and Carlisle's electrochemical experiments and collects hydrogen and oxygen gases separately at the electrodes, a significant step in electrochemistry 1800 James Ross discovers the magnetic North Pole 1801 Thomas Young discovers interference of light 1801 Discovery of ultraviolet (UV) radiation by Johann Wilhelm Ritter 1801 Wollaston discovers dark absorption lines in the Solar spectrum 1803 John Dalton developed the first useful atomic theory of matter 1804 The Carbon Content of Soil is Produced by Vegetation Chemist [|Nicholas-Théodore de Saussure] publishes //Recherches chimiques sur la végetation.// In this foundation work on phytochemistry, Saussure analyzed the chief active components of plants, their synthesis and decomposition. He specified the relationships between vegetation and the environment. He showed that plants grown in closed vessels took their entire carbon content from the enclosed gas, and thus demolished the old theory that plants derive carbon from the so-called 'humus" of the soil. Conversely, he demonstrated that the carbon content of soil is produced by vegetation. 1805 Gay-Lussac proves that water is composed of two parts hydrogen to one part oxygen by volume 1805 Luigi Brugnatelli invents modern electroplating  1806 Humphry Davy lectures to the Royal Society, describing the use of electricity to decompose matter into its elements 1807 The Geological Society of London becomes the first scientific society devoted to the science of geology  1808 Modern atomic theory is put forward by John Dalton in his book 'A new system of chemical philosophy' 1808 - 1827 First Periodic Table of the Elements[| John Dalton] publishes in Manchester, England, [|//A New System of Chemical Philosophy//] in Volume 1, parts 1 and 2, and Volume II, part 1. Dalton's chemical [|atomic theory] was the first to give significance to the relative weights of the ultimate particles of all known compounds, and to provide a quantitative explanation of the phenomena of chemical reaction. Dalton believed that all matter was composed of indestructible and indivisible atoms of various weights, each weight corresponding to one of the chemical elements, and that these atoms remained unchanged during chemical processes. Dalton's work with relative atomic weights prompted him to construct the first periodic table of elements (in Vol. i, pt. 1), to formulate laws concerning their combination and to provide schematic representations of various possible combinations of atoms. His equation of the concepts "atom" and "chemical element" was of fundamental importance, as it provided the chemist with a new and enormously fruitful model of reality. 1813 Berzelius develops the chemical symbols and formulae used today 1816 Frenchman Rene Lannec invents the stethoscope 1819 The Natural History of Man Surgeon and scientist [|William Lawrence] publishes //Lectures on Physiology, Zoology and the Natural History of Man//. This work set out Lawrence’s radical—and to our eyes, remarkably advanced—ideas concerning evolution and heredity. || **Cultural**

1800 Phasing Out Latin as the International Language Around this time publication of scientific and medical books in Latin—the international language of science since the Roman Empire—has for the most part ceased. Most scientific and medical books will henceforth be published in their language of authorship, or in French, German or English. 1800 Foundation of Royal Institution of Great Britain 1800 The Industrial Revolution Advances At this stage in the [|Industrial Revolution] all phases of cloth production are performed by machines. 1801 First Edition of the Qur'an Printed by Muslims The Qur'an first appears in a printed edition issued by Muslims in Kazan (today the capital of Tatarstan 800 km from Moscow). Prior to this date, and for most of the nineteenth century, the Qur'an was primarily transmitted by manuscript copying. 1811 Luddites Workers and craftsmen concerned about the loss of jobs due to automation found the [|Luddite]movement. Among the examples of automation they destroy are Jacquard looms. 1815 Indonesia's Mount Tambora explodes, sending enough dust into the air to lower temperatures for a year and kill 12,000 1816 Three years after building the first textile mill, Francis Lowell builds a power loom 1817 First major cholera pandemic sweeps across Asia and lasts until 1823 || **Political** 1804 Haiti gains independence and becomes the first black-governed nation in the Western Hemisphere 1819 South Shetland Islands discovered by British explorer William Smith 1820 British explorer William Smith is the first to sight the Antarctic mainland || 1824 Sadi Carnot publishes a major work on thermodynamics, becoming an uncredited pioneer in the area 1842 Principle of conservation of energy put forward by Julius Mayer 1843 Joule describes the mechanical equivalent of heat 1846 Lord Kelvin uses the temperature of Earth to calculate that Earth is about 100 million years old. He does not take into account heat from radioactivity, which made his estimate very short of the true age 1848 Kelvin develops his temperature scale 1850 Seebeck discovers thermoelectricity, where the application of heat to a metal junction generates electric current 1850 Robert Bunsen invents the Bunsen burner || 1820 The Royal Astronomical Society is founded 1820 The laws of electrodynamics established by Andre Ampere 1821 Dynamo principle described by Faraday 1824 The Greenhouse Effect French mathematician and physicist [|Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier] publishes "Remarques générales sur les températures du globe terrestre et des espaces planétaires," //Annales de Chimie et de Physique//, **27**, 136–67. In this paper he shows how gases in the atmosphere might increase the surface temperature of the earth. This will later be called the [|greenhouse effect].
 * 1820 - 1850 || 1821 Seebeck invents the thermocouple

1824 Animal Ecology Physician and physiologist [|William Frederic Edwards]publishes //De l'influence des agents physiques sur la vie.// It is a founding work of animal ecology. 1826 Ampere publishes electrodynamic theory in 'Theorie des phenomenes electrodynamiques' ('Theory of Electrodynamic Phenomena') 1827 Jean-Baptiste Fourier proposed the existence of an atmospheric effect which keeps the Earth warmer than expected (ozone layer) 1827 Ohm's law of electrical resistance established 1828 Brownian Motion Botanist [|Robert Brown] publishes for private distribution a small number of copies of his 16-page pamphlet entitled //A Brief Account of Microscopical Observations Made in the Months of June, July, and August 1827, on the Particles Contained in the Pollen of Plants; and on the General Existence of Active Molecules in Organic and Inorganic bodies.// 1830 Charles Lyell published 'The principles of geology'. He suggests a subdivision of the Tertiary, (Pliocene, Miocene, Eocene) Period based on the relative number of fossils similar to living forms. His subdivision is still largely accepted. His studies show that the Earth must be several million years old 1831 Faraday discovers electromagnetic induction 1833 Michael Faraday revolutionises electrochemistry: he introduces the laws of electrolysis and coins terms such as electrode, anode, cathode, ion, cation, anion, and electrolyte 1839 William Robert Grove developed the first fuel cell, combining hydrogen and oxygen to produce electrical power 1849 French physicist Armand Fizeau measures the speed of light || 1822 The First Indigenous Arabic Press in Egypt A government press is set up at [|Bulaq, Egypt]. to print manuals for the military, an official manual for the administration, and textbooks for the new schools. This is the first indigenous Arabic press set up in Egypt by Muslims. It is also the first government press on the African continent, apart from the short-lived presses briefly established by Napoleon. By 1851 it will issue 526 works. 1822 The First Book to Argue for Birth Control by Contraception [| Francis Place], who works as a tailor, publishes //Illustrations and Proofs of the Principle of Population; Including an Examination of the Proposed Remedies of Mr. Malthus, and a Reply to the Objections of Mr. Godwin and Others.// It is the first book to argue for birth control by contraception. 1825 The First Railroad [| George Stephenson's] [|Locomotion No. 1],the first steam engine to carry passengers and freight on a regular basis, begins operation. The [|Stockton and Darlington Railway] opens for business. 1825 World population reached 1 billion 1825 Opening of Stockton and Darlington Railway, the world's first passenger railway, signalling the start of mass transport 1829 The Braille System [| Louis Braille], blind from the age of 5, publishes the Braille system of printing and reading for the blind that will eventually become the standard method. The system represents letters and numbers by combinations of six dots. The title of his book, published in French, is translated as the //Method of Writing Words, Music and Plain Song by Means of Dots, for Use by the Blind and Arranged by Them//. Most of the text of this book is published through the traditional Hauy system of printing for the blind using raised letters. However, Braille introduces his new system briefly in this work. In 1837 Braille will add symbols for mathematics and music to his system. 1831 British Association for the Advancement of Science founded 1832 Arkansas Hot Springs established as a national reservation, setting a precedent for Yellowstone and eventually, a national park system in the US 1833 Scrope publishes a world map containing population density 1833 First use of the term scientist, coined by William Whewell 1839 Daguerreotypes: The First Commonly Used Photographic Process January 7[| Francois Arago] makes the first brief announcement to the Academie des Sciences of the painter, Louis-Jacques Daguerre's, photographic process called [|Daguerreotype]. Later this year Daguerre will publish in Paris his first account of the process in a pamphlet called //Historique et Description des Procedes du Dagurreotype et du Diorama.// Daguerre's method of fixing an image on a metal plate becomes the //first// commonly used photographic process. It produces a single positive image.

1840 William Henry Fox Talbot developed the first latent photographic image on paper treated with a subtractum of silver iodide and washed in gallic acid in conjunction with silver nitrate and acetic acid. He named this process the Calotype. 1848 'Science' magazine first published 1848 Maria Mitchell became the first woman appointed to the US Academy of Arts and Sciences. She later earned the first advanced degree awarded to a woman and became the first female professor of astronomy in the US ||