1796 in science

none 1796 science 1796 The year 1796 in science and technology involved some significant events. Astronomy Pierre-Simon Laplace publishes Exposition du système du monde, his work on astronomy (mainly celestial mechanics) following Newton and Lagrange. He develops an analytical theory of tides, deduces the mass of the Moon, improves the calculation of cosmic orbits, and predicts that Saturn's rings will be found to rotate. Most notably, he propounds the modern nebular hypothesis, independently outlined by Kant. Chemistry Rev. James Parker is granted a patent in Britain for Roman cement ("A certain Cement or Terras to be used in Aquatic and other Buildings and Stucco Work"). Exploration June 21 – Mungo Park becomes the first European to reach the Niger River.Williams Hywel Cassell's Chronology of World History https://archive.org/details/cassellschronolo0000will registration London Weidenfeld & Nicolson 2005 978-0-304-35730-7 346 Mathematics This is a productive year for the German mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss (born 1777) and his work in number theory:Dunnington G. Waldo G. Waldo Dunnington Carl Friedrich Gauss: Titan of Science Washington, DC Mathematical Association of America new 2004 978-0-88385-538-6 53933110Hall Tord Carl Friedrich Gauss: a Biography Cambridge, MA MIT Press 1970 978-0-262-08040-8 185662235 registration https://archive.org/details/carlfriedrichgau00tord March 30 – He obtains conditions for the constructibility by ruler and compass of regular polygons, including the heptadecagon.Carl Friedrich Gauss §§365–366 Disquisitiones Arithmeticae Leipzig 1801 Disquisitiones Arithmeticae April 8 – He becomes the first to prove the quadratic reciprocity law, enabling determination of the solvability of any quadratic equation in modular arithmetic. May 31 – He puts forward his prime number theorem on the distribution of prime numbers among the integers. July 10 – He discovers that every positive integer is representable as a sum of at most three triangular numbers, noting in his diary "Heureka! num = Δ + Δ + Δ." October 1 – He publishes a result on the number of solutions of polynomials with coefficients in finite fields. Adrien-Marie Legendre conjectures the prime number theorem. Medicine May 14 – Edward Jenner administers the first smallpox vaccination.Waldman Thomas A. 2003 http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nm/journal/v9/n3/full/nm0303-269.html&filetype=pdf Immunotherapy: past, present and future PDF Nature Medicine 9 269–277 10.1038/nm0303-269 12612576 3 9745527 2011-07-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20090303133316/http://www.nature.com/cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=%2Fnm%2Fjournal%2Fv9%2Fn3%2Ffull%2Fnm0303-269.html&filetype=pdf March 3, 2009 dead free subscription Franz Joseph Gall develops his theory of 'cranioscopy', a forerunner of phrenology.Graham Patrick 2001 Phrenology: revealing the mysteries of the mind videorecording (DVD) Richmond Hill, Ont. American Home Treasures 0-7792-5135-0 The Retreat established in York, England; it pioneers the humane treatment of people with mental disorders. Paleontology April 4 – Georges Cuvier reads his paper Mémoires sur les espèces d'éléphants vivants et fossiles at the opening of the Institut National in Paris, demonstrating that species had become extinct. Technology Completion of the first cast iron aqueducts, on the English canals February – Holmes Aqueduct on the Derby Canal, designed by Benjamin Outram (demolished 1971).Benjamin Outram (1764–1805) http://www.brocross.com/iwps/pages/outram/bn-outram.htm 2011-07-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20110718024035/http://www.brocross.com/iwps/pages/outram/bn-outram.htm 18 July 2011 March – Longdon-on-Tern Aqueduct on the Shrewsbury Canal, designed by Thomas Telford (extant).Peter Brown Thomas Telford http://www.peter-quita.demon.co.uk/articles/Telford.pdf 2011-07-18 2011-09-27 https://web.archive.org/web/20110927235031/http://www.peter-quita.demon.co.uk/articles/Telford.pdf dead August 9 – Opening to traffic of the Wearmouth Bridge in England, designed by Thomas Paine in cast iron. The second in this material built after that at Ironbridge, but over twice as long, its span of 237 feet (72 m) makes it the world's longest single-span vehicular bridge extant at this date.Tyrrell Henry Grattan https://books.google.com/books?id=l0pDAAAAIAAJ&q=210.%20The%20Sunderland%20bridge%20over%20the%20Wear%20at%20Wearmouth&pg=PA153 History of Bridge Engineering 153–154 Chicago 1911 2011-08-16Leonardo Fernández Troyano Bridge Engineering: a Global Perspective Thomas Telford Publishing London 2003 978-0-7277-3215-6 49Wearside Online Sunderland Wearmouth Bridge http://www.wearsideonline.com/Sunderland_Wearmouth_Bridge.html 2011-08-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20111127114349/http://www.wearsideonline.com/sunderland_wearmouth_bridge.html 2011-11-27 dead Printing by lithography is invented by Alois Senefelder in Bohemia.Meggs Philip B. A History of Graphic Design 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 146 978-0-471-29198-5 Zoology Pierre André Latreille publishes Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel. Awards Copley Medal: George AtwoodCopley Medal British scientific award https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal Encyclopedia Britannica 21 July 2020 en Births February 6 – John Stevens Henslow, English botanist (died 1861) February 10 – Henry De la Beche, English geologist (died 1855) February 17 – Philipp Franz von Siebold, German physician, botanist and traveler in Japan (died 1866) February 22 – Adolphe Quetelet, Belgian mathematician and astronomer (died 1874) March 27 – Robert James Graves, Irish physician (died 1853) June 1 – Sadi Carnot, French physicist (died 1832) July 29 – Walter Hunt, American inventor (died 1859) August – William Marsden, English surgeon (died 1867) August 15 – John Torrey, American botanist (died 1873) August 21 – James Lick, American philanthropist who endows the Lick Observatory (died 1876) September 19 – Richard Harlan, American zoologist (died 1843) December (approx. date) – William Banting, English undertaker and dietician (died 1878) Deaths January 1 – Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde, French mathematician known for Vandermonde matrices. January 5 – Anna Barbara Reinhart, Swiss mathematician (born 1730) May 1 – Alexandre Guy Pingré, French astronomer and naval geographer (born 1711 December 11 – Johann Daniel Titius, German astronomer (born 1729) References Category:18th century in science Category:1790s in science