On September 13, 1851, American army physician Walter Reed was born. After completing his medical education and internship, He entered the U S Army Medical Corps. For almost two decades he practiced medicine while serving at frontier army stations. When he returned east, he…
On September 1, 1854, American scientific illustrator, conservationist, and educator Anna Botsford Comstock was born. She mastered wood engraving to illustrate articles on insects written by her husband, John Henry Comstock, an entomologist who taught at Cornell. She illustrated many books, some of which…
On April 23, 1775, Joseph Mallord William Turner was born. English landscape painter and skilled architectural draughtsman, he produced sketches and paintings that capture historical images of landscapes, seascapes, and cityscapes. Attracted to qualities of light, Turner studied its effects on the subjects of…
April 22, Earth Day, is celebrated around the world as tens of millions of people make time to attend their environment. The United Nations calls this International Mother Earth Day because “Mother Earth” is a multi-national common expression used in most cultural references to…
On April 17, 1899, English entomologist Sir Vincent Brian Wigglesworth was born. He created a new science – the study of insect physiology – and researched extensively into the role of hormones in insect growth, metamorphosis, and reproduction. Wigglesworth detailed many physical mechanisms and…
On April 16, 1682, English mathematician and instrument maker John Hadley was born. He developed precision mirrors to improve the accuracy and power of the reflecting telescope. Until Hadley, telescopes used mirrors that were spherical in shape. These were often blurry and/or distorted the…
On March 14, 1854, German physician, biochemist and bacteriologist Dr. Paul Ehrlich was born. German universities teemed with brilliant doctor-scientist-researchers during Ehrlich’s time. He began as an assistant to bacteriologist Dr. Robert Koch, one of the founders of microbiology, who was only 10 years…
On March 8, 1712, English physician and naturalist John Fothergill was born. At the University of Edinburgh, Fothergill moved from studying to become an apothecary to studying medicine, graduating as a doctor. After being licensed to practice in London, he distinguished himself during city…
On March 7, 1974, Swiss molecular biologist Martin Oeggerli was born. Although he was 26 when he received his first digital camera and enjoyed the clarity of its close-up detail, Oeggerli came to prefer the images available to him from the Scanning Electron Microscope.…
On March 5, 1512, Gerhard Mercator was born in Flanders. He received as fine an education as he could from church tutors and used this formal education and his selection of master craftsmen to work with to become a cross-discipline 16th century businessman –…