Henry Cavendish (1731 - 1810) - Genealogy Henry Cavendish Share your family tree and photos with the people you know and love Build your family tree online Share photos and videos Oct 10 1731 - Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France Death: Feb 24 1810 - Clapham, London, England Parents: Oct 10 1731 - Nice, France Death: Mar 10 1810 - *never married - Clapham, London, England Parents: Lord Charles Cavendish, Lady Ann Cavendish (born De Grey) Brother: Charles** Cavendish*, Anne* Cavendish* (born Grey*) Brother: Oct 10 1731 - Nice, France Death: Charles Cavendish, Ann Cavendish (born Grey) Brother: Oct 10 1731 - Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France Death: Feb 24 1810 - Clapham, London, England Parents: Charles Cavendish, Anne Cavendish (born Grey) Brother: Charles Cav

endish, Ann Cavendish (born Grey) Brother: Charles Cavendish, Anne Cavendish (born Grey) Brother: Oct 10 1731 - Nice, France Death: Charles Cavendish, Ann Cavendish (born Grey) Brother: Oct 10 1731 - Nice, Provence-Alpes-Côte d\'Azur, France Death: Charles Cavendish, Ann Cavendish (born Grey) Brother: Oct 10 1731 - Nice, France Death: About Henry Cavendish Wikipedia Biographical Summary: Henry Cavendish (10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air".[1] He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs".

Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and gave the element its name. Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment, his measurement of the Earth's density, and early research into electricity. Biography Henry Cavendish was born on 10 October 1731 in Nice, France, where his family was living at the time. His mother was Lady Anne Grey, daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent and his father was Lord Charles Cavendish, son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire. The family traces its lineage across eight centuries to Norman times and was closely connected to many aristocratic families of Great Britain. At age 11, Cavendish was a pupil at Peter Newcome's School in Hackney. At age 18 (on 24 November 1749) he entered the University of Cambridge in St Peter's College, now known as Peterhouse, but left four years later on 23 February 1753 without graduating.[2][3] His first paper, "Factitious Airs", appeared thirteen years later, in 1766.

Cavendish was silent and solitary, and was viewed as somewhat eccentric by many. He only spoke to his female servants by notes and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house in order to avoid encountering his housekeeper because he was especially shy of women. The contemporary accounts of his personality have led some modern commentators, such as Oliver Sacks, to speculate that he had Asperger syndrome, though he may merely have been painfully shy. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy.

If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply."[4] He also enjoyed collecting fine furniture exemplified by his purchase of a set of "ten inlaid satinwood chairs with matching cabriole legged sofa" documented to have been acquired by Cavendish himself.[5] Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists. In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions, Ohm's Law, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's Law), and Charles's Law of Gases. Cavendish died in 1810 (as one of the wealthiest men in Britain) and was buried, along with many of his ancestors, in the church that is now Derby Cathedral (and the road he used to live on in Derby has been named after him.

The University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory was endowed by one of Cavendish's later relatives, William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (Chancellor of the University from 1861 to 1891). Gases and the atmosphere Cavendish's apparatus for making and collecting hydrogen[1]Cavendish is considered to be one of the so-called pneumatic chemists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, along with, for example, Joseph Priestley, Joseph Black, and Daniel Rutherford. By combining metals with strong acids, Cavendish made hydrogen (H2) gas, which he isolated and studied. Although others, such as Robert Boyle, had prepared hydrogen gas earlier, Cavendish is usually given the credit for recognizing its elemental nature. Cavendish observed that hydrogen, which he called "inflammable air", reacts with oxygen, then known as "dephlogisticated air", to form water. James Watt and Antoine Lavoisier made a similar observation, resulting in a controversy as to who should receive credit for it. Cavendish also accurately determined the composition of Earth's atmosphere.

In a 1785 paper, he described experiments in which hydrogen and ordinary air were combined in known ratios, and then exploded with a spark of electricity. In each case, Cavendish observed both the formation of water and that the gas volume after the explosion was always less than it was before it. By careful measurements he was led to conclude that, "common air consists of one part of dephlogisticated air [oxygen], mixed with four of phlogisticated [nitrogen]".[6][7] The same paper described an experiment in which Cavendish was able to remove, in modern terminology, both the oxygen and nitrogen gases from a sample of atmospheric air until only a small bubble of unreacted gas was left in the original sample. From this experiment Cavendish concluded that not more than 1/120 of the Earth's atmosphere was other than oxygen and nitrogen.[8] Although a seemingly small fraction, about 100 years later William Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh showed that this residual gas contained argon, an element that was unknown at the time.

Density of the Earth Main article: Cavendish experiment In addition to his achievements in chemistry, Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment, the first to measure the force of gravity between masses in a laboratory and to produce an accurate value for Earth's density. His work led others to accurate values for the gravitational constant (G) and Earth's mass. Based on his results, one can calculate a value for G of 6.754 × 10−11N-m2/kg2 [9], which compares favourably with the modern value of 6.67428 × 10−11N-m2/kg2.[10] The equipment Cavendish used was designed and built by geologist John Michell, who died before he could begin the experiment. The apparatus was sent in crates to Cavendish, who completed the experiment in 1797 – 1798,[4] and published the results.[11] Cavendish noticed that Michell's apparatus would be sensitive to temperature differences and induced air currents so he made modifications by isolating the apparatus in a separate room with external controls and telescopes for making observations.

The experimental apparatus consisted of a torsion balance to measure the gravitational attraction between two 350-pound lead spheres and a pair of 2-inch 1.61-pound lead spheres.[4] Using this equipment, Cavendish found that the Earth's average density is 5.48 times greater than that of water. John Henry Poynting later noted that the data should have led to a value of 5.448, and indeed that is the average value of the twenty-nine determinations Cavendish included in his paper. It is not unusual to find books that erroneously describe Cavendish's work as a measurement either of the gravitational constant (G) or the Earth's mass[15][16], and this mistake has been pointed out by several authors. In reality, Cavendish's stated goal was to measure the Earth's density, and his result was later used to calculate G. The first time that this constant was used was in 1873, almost 100 years after the Cavendish experiment.[19] Cavendish's results also can be used to calculate the Earth’s mass.

Cavendish performed his experiment in an outbuilding in the garden of his Clapham Commons estate. For years afterward, his neighbours would point out the building and tell their children that it was where the world was weighed. Electrical researches Cavendish wrote papers on electrical topics for the Royal Society but the bulk of his electrical experiments did not become known until they were collected and published by James Clerk Maxwell a century later, in 1879, long after other scientists had been credited with the same results. Among Cavendish's discoveries were the following: The concept of electric potential, which he called the "degree of electrification" An early unit of capacitance, that of a sphere one inch in diameter The formula for the capacitance of a plate capacitor The concept of the dielectric constant of a material The relationship between electric potential and current, now called Ohm's Law. (1781) Laws for the division of current in parallel circuits, now attributed to Charles Wheatstone Inverse square law of variation of electric force with distance, now called Coulomb's Law Henry Cavendish - Mrs. Lowry's Science Class Mrs.

Lowry's Science Class Henry Cavendish posted Oct 3, 2011, 2:18 PM by Amanda Lowry Henry Cavendish (10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and gave the element its name. Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment, his measurement of the Earth's density, and early research into electricity. Henry Cavendish was born on 10 October 1731 in Nice, France, where his family was living at the time. His mother was Lady Anne Grey, daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent and his father was Lord Charles Cavendish, son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire. The family traces its lineage across eight centuries to Norman times and was closely connected to many aristocratic families of Great Britain.

Cavendish was silent and solitary, and was viewed as somewhat eccentric by many. He only communicated with his female servants by notes and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. The contemporary accounts of his personality have led some modern commentators, such as Oliver Sacks, to speculate that he had Asperger syndrome, though he may merely have been painfully shy. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy. If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply, but more often than not they would hear a peeved squeak (his voice appears to have been high-pitched) and turn to find an actual vacancy and the sight of Cavendish fleeing to find a more peaceful corner" Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists.

In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions, Ohm's Law, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's Law), and Charles's Law of Gases. A manuscript "Heat", tentatively dated between 1783 and 1790, describes a "mechanical theory of heat". Hitherto unknown, the manuscript was analyzed in the early 21st century. Historian of science Russell McCormmach proposed that "Heat" is the only 18th century work prefiguring thermodynamics. Theoretical physicist Dietrich Belitz concluded that in this work Cavendish "got the nature of heat essentially right." Cavendish died in 1810 (as one of the wealthiest men in Britain) and was buried, along with many of his ancestors, in the church that is now Derby Cathedral (and the road he used to live on in Derby has been named after him.

The University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory was endowed by one of Cavendish's later relatives, William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (Chancellor of the University from 1861 to 1891). Henry_Cavendish Henry_Cavendish Henry Cavendish Henry Cavendish, FRS (October 10, 1731 - February 24, 1810) was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". [1] He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and gave the element its name. Cavendish is also known for his measurement of the Earth's density and early research into electricity. Contents 6 Notes and references Personal life Henry Cavendish was born on October 10, 1731 in Nice, France, where his family was living at the time.

His mother was Lady Anne Grey, daughter of the Duke of Kent and his father was Lord Charles Cavendish, son of the second Duke of Devonshire. The family traces its lineage across eight centuries to Norman times and was closely connected to many aristocratic families of Great Britain. At age 11, Henry Cavendish was a pupil at Dr. Newcome's School in Hackney. At age 18 (in 1749) he entered the University of Cambridge in St Peter's College, now known as Peterhouse, but left four years later without graduating. His first paper, "Factitious Airs", appeared 13 years later, in 1766. Cavendish was silent and solitary, viewed as somewhat eccentric, and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house in order to avoid encountering his housekeeper because he was especially shy of women. The contemporary accounts of his personality have led some modern commentators, such as Oliver Sacks, to speculate that he had Asperger's syndrome, though he may have been merely painfully shy. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings.

Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy. If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply." [2] He also enjoyed collecting fine furniture exemplified by his purchase of a set of "ten inlaid satinwood chairs with matching cabriole legged sofa" documented to have been acquired by Cavendish himself. [3] Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists. It wasn't until the late nineteenth century, long after his death, that James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found discoveries for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions, Ohm's Law, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures , principles of electrical conductivity and Charles's Law of Gases . Cavendish died in 1810 and was buried in Derby Cathedral, along with many of his ancestors.

The University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory was endowed by several of Henry Cavendish's later relatives, especially William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (Chancellor of the University from 1861 to 1891). Gases and the atmosphere Cavendish is considered to be one of the so-called pneumatic chemists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, along with, for example, Joseph Priestley , Joseph Black , and Daniel Rutherford . By combining metals with strong acids, Cavendish made hydrogen (H2) gas, which he isolated and studied. Although others, such as Robert Boyle , had prepared hydrogen gas earlier, Cavendish is usually given the credit for recognizing its elemental nature. Cavendish observed that hydrogen, which he called "inflammable air", reacts with oxygen, then known as "dephlogisticated air", to form water. James Watt and Antoine Lavoisier made a similar observation, resulting in a controversy as to who should receive credit for it. Cavendish also accurately determined the composition of Earth's atmosphere.

He found that 79.167% is " phlogisticated air ", now known to be nitrogen and argon , and 20.8333% is "dephlogisticated air", now known to be 20.95% oxygen . Cavendish also found that 1/120 of the Earth's atmosphere is a third gas, which was identified as argon about 100 years later by William Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh . Density of the Earth Main article: Cavendish experiment In addition to his achievements in chemistry, Henry Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment, the first to measure the force of gravity between masses in a laboratory and to produce an accurate value for the Earth's density. His work led others to accurate values for the gravitational constant (G) and the Earth's mass. The equipment Cavendish used was designed and built by geologist John Michell, who died before he could begin the experiment. The apparatus was sent in crates to Cavendish, who completed the experiment in 1797 – 1798, [2] and published the results.

[4] The experimental apparatus consisted of a torsion balance to measure the gravitational attraction between two 350-pound lead spheres and a pair of 2-inch 1.61-pound lead spheres. [2] Using this equipment, Cavendish found that the Earth's average density is 5.48 times greater than that of water. Poynting later noted that the data should have led to a value of 5.448 [5] , and indeed that is the average value of the twenty-nine determinations Cavendish included in his paper. [6] It is not unusual to find books that erroneously describe Cavendish's work as a measurement either of the gravitational constant (G) or the Earth's mass [7] [8] , and this mistake has been pointed out by several authors. [9] [10] In reality, Cavendish's stated goal was to measure the Earth's density, and his result was later used to calculate G. The first time that this constant was used was in 1873, almost 100 years after the Cavendish experiment. [11] Cavendish's results also can be used to calculate the Earth’s mass.

Henry Cavendish performed his experiment in an outbuilding in the garden of his Clapham Commons estate. For years afterward, his neighbors would point out the building and tell their children that it was where the world was weighed. [3] Electrical researches Cavendish's electrical experiments did not become known until they were collected and published by James Clerk Maxwell a century later, in 1879, long after other scientists had been credited with the same results. Among Cavendish's discoveries were the following: [12] The concept of electric potential, which he called the "degree of electrification" An early unit of capacitance, that of a sphere one inch in diameter The formula for the capacitance of a plate capacitor The concept of the dielectric constant of a material The relationship between electric potential and current, now called Ohm's Law. (1781) Laws for the division of current in parallel circuits, now attributed to Charles Wheatstone Inverse square law of variation of electric force with distance, now called Coulomb's Law For further reading Dictionary of National Biography, Vol. 3, p.1261. Cavendish: The Experimental Life, C. Jungnickel and R.

McCormmach, Bucknell University Press, 1999. Notes and references Henry Cavendish - The Full Wiki The Full Wiki More info on Henry Cavendish Wikis Note: Many of our articles have direct quotes from sources you can cite, within the Wikipedia article! This article doesn't yet, but we're working on it! See more info or our list of citable articles . Related top topics From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia For other persons named Henry Cavendish, see Henry Cavendish (disambiguation) . Henry Cavendish 24 February 1810 (aged 78) Nationality Measured the Earth's density Henry Cavendish FRS (10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". [1] He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and gave the element its name.

Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment , his measurement of the Earth's density, and early research into electricity. Contents 9 External links Personal life Henry Cavendish was born on 10 October 1731 in Nice , France, where his family was living at the time. His mother was Lady Anne Grey, daughter of the Duke of Kent and his father was Lord Charles Cavendish , son of 2nd Duke of Devonshire . The family traces its lineage across eight centuries to Norman times and was closely connected to many aristocratic families of Great Britain. At age 11, Cavendish was a pupil at Peter Newcome's School in Hackney . At age 18 (on 24 November 1749) he entered the University of Cambridge in St Peter's College, now known as Peterhouse , but left four years later on 23 February 1753 without graduating. [2] [3] His first paper, "Factitious Airs", appeared thirteen years later, in 1766.

Cavendish was silent, and solitary, viewed as somewhat eccentric,he only spoke to his female servants by notes and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house in order to avoid encountering his housekeeper because he was especially shy of women. The contemporary accounts of his personality have led some modern commentators, such as Oliver Sacks , to speculate that he had Asperger syndrome , though he may merely have been painfully shy. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy. If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply." [4] He also enjoyed collecting fine furniture exemplified by his purchase of a set of "ten inlaid satinwood chairs with matching cabriole legged sofa" documented to have been acquired by Cavendish himself. [5] Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists.

In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions , Ohm's Law , Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures , principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's Law), and Charles's Law of Gases . Cavendish died in 1810 and was buried, along with many of his ancestors, in the church that is now Derby Cathedral (and the road he used to live on in Derby has been named after him. The University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory was endowed by one of Cavendish's later relatives, William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (Chancellor of the University from 1861 to 1891). Gases and the atmosphere Cavendish's apparatus for making and collecting hydrogen [1] Cavendish is considered to be one of the so-called pneumatic chemists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, along with, for example, Joseph Priestley , Joseph Black , and Daniel Rutherford .

By combining metals with strong acids, Cavendish made hydrogen (H2) gas, which he isolated and studied. Although others, such as Robert Boyle , had prepared hydrogen gas earlier, Cavendish is usually given the credit for recognizing its elemental nature. Cavendish observed that hydrogen, which he called "inflammable air", reacts with oxygen, then known as "dephlogisticated air", to form water. James Watt and Antoine Lavoisier made a similar observation, resulting in a controversy as to who should receive credit for it. Cavendish also accurately determined the composition of Earth's atmosphere. In a 1785 paper, he described experiments in which hydrogen and ordinary air were combined in known ratios, and then exploded with a spark of electricity. In each case, Cavendish observed both the formation of water and that the gas volume after the explosion was always less than it was before it. By careful measurements he was led to conclude that, "common air consists of one part of dephlogisticated air [oxygen], mixed with four of phlogisticated [nitrogen]".

[6] [7] The same paper described an experiment in which Cavendish was able to remove, in modern terminology, both the oxygen and nitrogen gases from a sample of atmospheric air until only a small bubble of unreacted gas was left in the original sample. From this experiment Cavendish concluded that not more than 1/120 of the Earth's atmosphere was other than oxygen and nitrogen. [8] Although a seemingly small fraction, about 100 years later William Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh showed that this residual gas contained argon , an element that was unknown at the time. Density of the Earth Main article: Cavendish experiment In addition to his achievements in chemistry, Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment , the first to measure the force of gravity between masses in a laboratory and to produce an accurate value for Earth's density. His work led others to accurate values for the gravitational constant (G) and Earth's mass.

Based on his results, one can calculate a value for G of 6.754 × 10−11N-m2/kg2 [9] , which compares favourably with the modern value of 6.67428 × 10−11N-m2/kg2. [10] The equipment Cavendish used was designed and built by geologist John Michell , who died before he could begin the experiment. The apparatus was sent in crates to Cavendish, who completed the experiment in 1797 – 1798, [4] and published the results. [11] Cavendish noticed that Michell's apparatus would be sensitive to temperature differences and induced air currents so he made modifications by isolating the apparatus in a separate room with external controls and telescopes for making observations. [12] The experimental apparatus consisted of a torsion balance to measure the gravitational attraction between two 350-pound lead spheres and a pair of 2-inch 1.61-pound lead spheres. [4] Using this equipment, Cavendish found that the Earth's average density is 5.48 times greater than that of water.

John Henry Poynting later noted that the data should have led to a value of 5.448 [13] , and indeed that is the average value of the twenty-nine determinations Cavendish included in his paper. [14] It is not unusual to find books that erroneously describe Cavendish's work as a measurement either of the gravitational constant (G) or the Earth's mass [15] [16] , and this mistake has been pointed out by several authors. [17] [18] In reality, Cavendish's stated goal was to measure the Earth's density, and his result was later used to calculate G. The first time that this constant was used was in 1873, almost 100 years after the Cavendish experiment. [19] Cavendish's results also can be used to calculate the Earth’s mass . Cavendish performed his experiment in an outbuilding in the garden of his Clapham Commons estate. For years afterward, his neighbours would point out the building and tell their children that it was where the world was weighed.

[5] Electrical researches Cavendish wrote papers on electrical topics for the Royal Society [20] [21] but the bulk of his electrical experiments did not become known until they were collected and published by James Clerk Maxwell a century later, in 1879, long after other scientists had been credited with the same results. Among Cavendish's discoveries were the following: [22] The concept of electric potential , which he called the "degree of electrification" An early unit of capacitance , that of a sphere one inch in diameter The formula for the capacitance of a plate capacitor The concept of the dielectric constant of a material The relationship between electric potential and current, now called Ohm's Law . (1781) Laws for the division of current in parallel circuits, now attributed to Charles Wheatstone Inverse square law of variation of electric force with distance, now called Coulomb's Law Selected writings Cavendish, Henry (1921). Scientific Papers . 1. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . - edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor Cavendish, Henry (1921). Scientific Papers . 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. .

- edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor Scientist of the Month - Mrs. Lowry's Science Class Mrs. Lowry's Science Class Science Fair Project is Due Peoria Heights Grade School Born:February 8, 1834 in Tobolsk, a town in Siberia, Russia. He was the youngest of a large family. The exact size of the family is a matter of dispute with sources putting the number of siblings between eleven and seventeen. Died: February 2, 1907 (age 72) of influenza in St. Petersburg, Russia. Claim to Fame: Formulated a periodic table of the elements similar to the one used today. Element 101 Md (Mendelevium) named after him. Periodic Table of the Elements: While writing his textbook, Principles of Chemistry, Mendeleev found that if you arrange the elements in order of increasing atomic mass, their chemical properties demonstrated definite trends. This lead to his periodic table, which is the basis for the current periodic table of the elements. His table had blank spaces where he predicted three unknown elements which turned out to be germanium, gallium and scandium.

Image from Wikimedia Commons Other Interesting Facts: Mendeleev is credited for bringing the metric system to Russia and was director of Russia's Bureau of Weights and Measures. Due to a legal technicality, he was considered a bigamist for not waiting the required seven years after a divorce before marrying his second wife. In his later years, he became known for his large beard and long hair. It was said he would only cut his hair and beard once a year. Jane Goodall posted Apr 6, 2012, 12:34 PM by Amanda Lowry Dame Jane Morris Goodall , DBE (born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), is a British primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace. Considered to be the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best known for her 45-year study of social and family interactions of wild chimpanzees in Gombe Stream National Park, Tanzania. She is the founder of the Jane Goodall Institute and has worked extensively on conservation and animal welfare issues.

Jane Goodall was born in London, England in 1934 to Mortimer Herbert Morris-Goodall, a businessman, and Margaret Myfanwe Joseph, a novelist who wrote under the name Vanne Morris-Goodall. As a child she was given a lifelike chimpanzee toy named Jubilee by her father; her fondness for the toy started her early love of animals. Today, the toy still sits on her dresser in London. As she writes in her book, Reason For Hope: "My mother's friends were horrified by this toy, thinking it would frighten me and give me nightmares." Goodall has a sister, Judith, who shares the same birthday, though the two were born four years apart. Goodall had always been passionate about animals and Africa, which brought her to the farm of a friend in the Kenya highlands in 1957. From there, she obtained work as a secretary, and acting on her friend's advice she telephoned Louis Leakey, a Kenyan archaeologist and paleontologist, with no other thought than to make an appointment to discuss animals.

Leakey, believing that the study of existing great apes could provide indications of the behavior of early hominids, was looking for a chimpanzee researcher though he kept the idea to himself. Instead, he proposed that Goodall work for him as a secretary. After obtaining his wife Mary Leakey's approval, Louis sent Goodall to Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania, where he laid out his plans. In 1958, Leakey sent Goodall to London to study primate behavior with Osman Hill and primate anatomy with John Napier. Leakey raised funds, and on 14 July 1960 Goodall went to Gombe Stream National Park becoming the first of "Leakey's Angels". She was accompanied by her mother whose presence was necessary to satisfy the requirements of David Anstey, chief warden, who was concerned for their safety; Tanzania was "Tanganyika" at that time and a British protectorate. Leakey arranged funding and in 1962 sent Goodall, who had no degree, to Cambridge University where she obtained a Ph.D degree in Ethology.

She became only the eighth person to be allowed to study for a Ph.D there without first obtaining a BA or B.Sc. Her thesis was completed in 1965 under the tutorship of Robert Hinde, former master of St. John's College, Cambridge, titled "Behavior of the Free-Ranging Chimpanzee," detailing her first five years of study at the Gombe Reserve posted Mar 13, 2012, 11:29 PM by Amanda Lowry Alexander Graham Bell (March 3, 1847 – August 2, 1922) was an eminent scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator who is credited with inventing the first practical telephone. Bell's father, grandfather, and brother had all been associated with work on elocution and speech, and both his mother and wife were deaf, profoundly influencing Bell's life's work. His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first US patent for the telephone in 1876. In retrospect, Bell considered his most famous invention an intrusion on his real work as a scientist and refused to have a telephone in his study.

Many other inventions marked Bell's later life, including groundbreaking work in optical telecommunications, hydrofoils and aeronautics. In 1888, Alexander Graham Bell became one of the founding members of the National Geographic Society. Bell has been described as one of the most influential figures in human history. Michael Faraday posted Feb 5, 2012, 9:58 PM by Amanda Lowry Michael Faraday , FRS (22 September 1791 – 25 August 1867) was an English chemist and physicist (or natural philosopher, in the terminology of the time) who contributed to the fields of electromagnetism and electrochemistry. Although Faraday received little formal education and knew little of higher mathematics such as calculus, he was one of the most influential scientists in history; historians of science refer to him as having been the best experimentalist in the history of science. It was on account of his research regarding the magnetic field around a conductor carrying a DC electric current that Faraday established the basis for the concept of the electromagnetic field in physics, which was subsequently enlarged upon by James Clerk Maxwell.

Faraday established that magnetism could affect rays of light and that there was an underlying relationship between the two phenomena. He similarly discovered the principle of electromagnetic induction, diamagnetism, and the laws of electrolysis. His inventions of electromagnetic rotary devices formed the foundation of electric motor technology, and it was largely due to his efforts that electricity became viable for use in technology. As a chemist, Faraday discovered benzene, investigated the clathrate hydrate of chlorine, invented an early form of the Bunsen burner and the system of oxidation numbers, and popularized terminology such as anode, cathode, electrode, and ion. Faraday ultimately became the first and foremost Fullerian Professor of Chemistry at the Royal Institution of Great Britain, a life-time position. Faraday was an excellent experimentalist who conveyed his ideas in clear and simple language; his mathematical abilities, however, did not extend as far as trigonometry or any but the simplest algebra. It was James Clerk Maxwell who took the work of Faraday, and others, and consolidated them with a set of equations that lay at the base of all modern theories regarding electromagnetic phenomena.

On Faraday's uses of the lines of force, Maxwell wrote that they show Faraday "to have been in reality a mathematician of a very high order – one from whom the mathematicians of the future may derive valuable and fertile methods." It is said that Albert Einstein kept a picture of Faraday on his study wall, alongside the picture of Isaac Newton and the photograph of James Clerk Maxwell. posted Jan 8, 2012, 9:04 PM by Amanda Lowry Florence Bascom (July 14, 1862 – June 18, 1945) was the first woman hired by the United States Geological Survey. She was of Huguenot and Basque ancestry. She was born in Williamstown, Massachusetts on the 14th July 1862. She came from an academic background as her father, John Bascom, was a professor at Williams College and later President of University of Wisconsin-Madison. In the 1880s she received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

She received her doctorate from Johns Hopkins University in 1893 and taught for two years at Ohio State university before beginning her teaching career at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She retired from Bryn Mawr in 1928. She received her position at the USGS in 1896 and continued there until 1936. She also had three students who would also become members of the USGS. Two of those students, Eleanora Bliss and Anna Jonas Stose, were also important in other respects to her story. Bascom retired from teaching in 1928 but continued to work at the USGS until 1936. A great deal of her work involved the crystalline rocks and geomorphology of the Piedmont. This led to an unusual, for the time, example of a scientific dispute solely among women. The two students of Florence Bascom's mentioned above came to a different conclusion than her regarding the age of Wissahickon schist/gneiss. She contradicted them in a dispassionate way and the dispute is recorded as civil on the part of the three.

That said by the 1930s it had broadened to most of those studying Appalachian geology and at times these individuals became more vehement than the original disputants. George Washington Carver posted Dec 5, 2011, 9:40 PM by Amanda Lowry George Washington Carver (January 1864 – January 5, 1943), was an American scientist, botanist, educator, and inventor. The exact day and year of his birth are unknown; he is believed to have been born into slavery in Missouri in January 1864. Carver's reputation is based on his research into and promotion of alternative crops to cotton, such as peanuts, soybeans and sweet potatoes, which also aided nutrition for farm families. He wanted poor farmers to grow alternative crops both as a source of their own food and as a source of other products to improve their quality of life. The most popular of his 44 practical bulletins for farmers contained 105 food recipes using peanuts.

He also developed and promoted about 100 products made from peanuts that were useful for the house and farm, including cosmetics, dyes, paints, plastics, gasoline, and nitroglycerin. He received numerous honors for his work, including the Spingarn Medal of the NAACP. During the Reconstruction-era South, monoculture of cotton depleted the soil in many areas. In the early 20th century, the boll weevil destroyed much of the cotton crop, and planters and farm workers suffered. Carver's work on peanuts was intended to provide an alternative crop. He was recognized for his many achievements and talents. In 1941, Time magazine dubbed Carver a "Black Leonardo", a reference to the Renaissance Italian polymath, Leonardo da Vinci. Rachel Carson posted Nov 1, 2011, 7:51 PM by Amanda Lowry Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist and conservationist whose writings are credited with advancing the global environmental movement. Carson began her career as a biologist in the U.S.

Bureau of Fisheries, and became a full-time nature writer in the 1950s. Her widely praised 1951 bestseller The Sea Around Us won her financial security and recognition as a gifted writer. Her next book, The Edge of the Sea, and the republished version of her first book, Under the Sea Wind, were also bestsellers. Together, her sea trilogy explores the whole of ocean life, from the shores to the surface to the deep sea. In the late 1950s, Carson turned her attention to conservation and the environmental problems caused by synthetic pesticides. The result was Silent Spring (1962), which brought environmental concerns to an unprecedented portion of the American public. Silent Spring, while met with fierce denial from chemical companies, spurred a reversal in national pesticide policy—leading to a nationwide ban on DDT and other pesticides—and the grassroots environmental movement the book inspired led to the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency. Carson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Jimmy Carter.

Henry Cavendish posted Oct 3, 2011, 2:18 PM by Amanda Lowry Henry Cavendish (10 October 1731 – 24 February 1810) was a British scientist noted for his discovery of hydrogen or what he called "inflammable air". He described the density of inflammable air, which formed water on combustion, in a 1766 paper "On Factitious Airs". Antoine Lavoisier later reproduced Cavendish's experiment and gave the element its name. Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment, his measurement of the Earth's density, and early research into electricity. Henry Cavendish was born on 10 October 1731 in Nice, France, where his family was living at the time. His mother was Lady Anne Grey, daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent and his father was Lord Charles Cavendish, son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire. The family traces its lineage across eight centuries to Norman times and was closely connected to many aristocratic families of Great Britain.

Cavendish was silent and solitary, and was viewed as somewhat eccentric by many. He only communicated with his female servants by notes and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. The contemporary accounts of his personality have led some modern commentators, such as Oliver Sacks, to speculate that he had Asperger syndrome, though he may merely have been painfully shy. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy. If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply, but more often than not they would hear a peeved squeak (his voice appears to have been high-pitched) and turn to find an actual vacancy and the sight of Cavendish fleeing to find a more peaceful corner" Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists.

In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions, Ohm's Law, Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures, principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's Law), and Charles's Law of Gases. A manuscript "Heat", tentatively dated between 1783 and 1790, describes a "mechanical theory of heat". Hitherto unknown, the manuscript was analyzed in the early 21st century. Historian of science Russell McCormmach proposed that "Heat" is the only 18th century work prefiguring thermodynamics. Theoretical physicist Dietrich Belitz concluded that in this work Cavendish "got the nature of heat essentially right." Cavendish died in 1810 (as one of the wealthiest men in Britain) and was buried, along with many of his ancestors, in the church that is now Derby Cathedral (and the road he used to live on in Derby has been named after him.

The University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory was endowed by one of Cavendish's later relatives, William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (Chancellor of the University from 1861 to 1891). Gertrude B. Elion posted Aug 31, 2011, 7:51 PM by Amanda Lowry Gertrude Belle Elion (January 23, 1918 – February 21, 1999) was an American biochemist and pharmacologist, and a 1988 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Working alone as well as with George H. Hitchings, Elion developed a multitude of new drugs, using innovative research methods that would later lead to the development of the AIDS drug AZT. Born in New York City to immigrant parents, she graduated from Hunter College in 1937 and New York University (M.Sc.) in 1941. Unable to obtain a graduate research position due to her gender, she worked as a lab assistant and a high school teacher. Later, she left to work as an assistant to George H.

Hitchings at the Burroughs-Wellcome pharmaceutical company (now GlaxoSmithKline). She never obtained a formal Ph.D., but was later awarded an honorary Ph.D from Polytechnic University of New York in 1989 and honorary SD degree from Harvard university in 1998. Rather than relying on trial-and-error, Elion and Hitchings used the differences in biochemistry between normal human cells and pathogens (disease-causing agents) to design drugs that could kill or inhibit the reproduction of particular pathogens without harming the host cells. Elion's inventions include: 6-mercaptopurine (Purinethol), the first treatment for leukemia. Azathioprine (Imuran), the first immuno-suppressive agent, used for organ transplants. Allopurinol (Zyloprim), for gout. Trimethoprim (Septra), for meningitis, septicemia, and bacterial infections of the urinary and respiratory tracts. Acyclovir (Zovirax), for viral herpes. In 1988 Elion received the Nobel Prize in Medicine, together with Hitchings and Sir James Black.

Other awards include the National Medal of Science (1991) and the Lemelson-MIT Lifetime Achievement Award (1997). In 1991 she became the first woman to be inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. In Tom Brokaw's Greatest Generation, there is a chapter devoted to her. Gertrude Elion died in North Carolina in 1999, aged 81. She had moved to the Research Triangle in 1970, and for a time served as a research professor at Duke University. She was unmarried. Gerty Cori posted Aug 16, 2011, 11:02 PM by Amanda Lowry Gerty Theresa Cori (née Radnitz, August 15, 1896 – October 26, 1957) was an American biochemist who became the third woman—and first American woman—to win a Nobel Prize in science, and the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Cori was born in Prague (then in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now the Czech Republic).

Growing up at a time when women were marginalized in science and allowed few educational opportunities, she gained admittance to medical school, where she met her future husband Carl Ferdinand Cori; upon their graduation in 1920, they married. Because of deteriorating conditions in Europe, the couple immigrated to the United States in 1922. Gerty Cori continued her early interest in medical research, collaborating in the laboratory with Carl. She published research findings coauthored with her husband, as well as publishing singly. Unlike her husband, she had difficulty securing research positions, and the ones she obtained provided meager pay. Her husband insisted on continuing their collaboration, though he was discouraged from doing so by the institutions that employed him. With her husband Carl and Argentine physiologist Bernardo Houssay, Gerty Cori received the Nobel Prize in 1947 for the discovery of the mechanism by which glycogen—a derivative of glucose—is broken down in muscle tissue into lactic acid and then re-synthesized in the body and stored as source of energy (known as the Cori cycle). They also identified the important catalyzing compound, the Cori ester.

In 2004, both Gerty and Carl Cori were designated an ACS National Historical Chemical Landmark in recognition of their work in clarifying carbohydrate metabolism. In 1957, Gerty Cori died after a ten year struggle with myelosclerosis. She remained active in the research laboratory until the end. She has received recognition for her achievements through multiple awards and honors. The crater Cori on the Moon is named after her. 1-10 of 20 Henry Cavendish : definition of Henry Cavendish and synonyms of Henry Cavendish (English) 9 External links Biography Henry Cavendish was born on 10 October 1731 in Nice , France , where his family was living at the time. His mother was Lady Anne Grey, daughter of Henry Grey, 1st Duke of Kent and his father was Lord Charles Cavendish , son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire . The family traces its lineage across eight centuries to Norman times and was closely connected to many aristocratic families of Great Britain. At age 11, Cavendish was a pupil at Peter Newcome's School in Hackney .

At age 18 (on 24 November 1749) he entered the University of Cambridge in St Peter's College, now known as Peterhouse , but left four years later on 23 February 1753 without graduating. [2] [3] His first paper, "Factitious Airs", appeared thirteen years later, in 1766. Cavendish was silent and solitary, and was viewed as somewhat eccentric by many. He only communicated with his female servants by notes and formed no close personal relationships outside his family. By one account, Cavendish had a back staircase added to his house in order to avoid encountering his housekeeper because he was especially shy of women. The contemporary accounts of his personality have led some modern commentators, such as Oliver Sacks , to speculate that he had Asperger syndrome , though he may merely have been painfully shy. His only social outlet was the Royal Society Club, whose members dined together before weekly meetings. Cavendish seldom missed these meetings, and was profoundly respected by his contemporaries. However his shyness made those who "sought his views... speak as if into vacancy.

If their remarks were...worthy, they might receive a mumbled reply, but more often than not they would hear a peeved squeak (his voice appears to have been high-pitched) and turn to find an actual vacancy and the sight of Cavendish fleeing to find a more peaceful corner" [4] He also enjoyed collecting fine furniture exemplified by his purchase of a set of "ten inlaid satinwood chairs with matching cabriole legged sofa". [5] Because of his asocial and secretive behaviour, Cavendish often avoided publishing his work, and much of his findings were not even told to his fellow scientists. In the late nineteenth century, long after his death, James Clerk Maxwell looked through Cavendish's papers and found things for which others had been given credit. Examples of what was included in Cavendish's discoveries or anticipations were Richter's Law of Reciprocal Proportions , Ohm's Law , Dalton's Law of Partial Pressures , principles of electrical conductivity (including Coulomb's Law ), and Charles's Law of Gases . A manuscript "Heat", tentatively dated between 1783 and 1790, describes a "mechanical theory of heat".

Hitherto unknown, the manuscript was analyzed in the early 21st century. Historian of science Russell McCormmach proposed that "Heat" is the only 18th century work prefiguring thermodynamics . Theoretical physicist Dietrich Belitz concluded that in this work Cavendish "got the nature of heat essentially right." [6] Cavendish died in 1810 (as one of the wealthiest men in Britain) and was buried, along with many of his ancestors, in the church that is now Derby Cathedral and the road he used to live on in Derby has been named after him. The University of Cambridge's Cavendish Laboratory was endowed by one of Cavendish's later relatives, William Cavendish, 7th Duke of Devonshire (Chancellor of the University from 1861 to 1891). Gases and the atmosphere Cavendish's apparatus for making and collecting hydrogen [1] Cavendish is considered to be one of the so-called pneumatic chemists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, along with, for example, Joseph Priestley , Joseph Black , and Daniel Rutherford .

By combining metals with strong acids, Cavendish made hydrogen (H2) gas, which he isolated and studied. Although others, such as Robert Boyle , had prepared hydrogen gas earlier, Cavendish is usually given the credit for recognizing its elemental nature. Cavendish observed that hydrogen, which he called "inflammable air", reacts with oxygen, then known as "dephlogisticated air", to form water. James Watt and Antoine Lavoisier made a similar observation, resulting in a controversy as to who should receive credit for it . Cavendish however resisted Lavoisier's theory of chemical compounds , and attempted to explain his experiment in terms of phlogiston . [7] [8] Cavendish also accurately determined the composition of Earth's atmosphere. In a 1785 paper, he described experiments in which hydrogen and ordinary air were combined in known ratios, and then exploded with a spark of electricity. In each case, Cavendish observed both the formation of water and that the gas volume after the explosion was always less than it was before it.

By careful measurements he was led to conclude that, "common air consists of one part of dephlogisticated air [oxygen], mixed with four of phlogisticated [nitrogen]". [9] [10] The same paper described an experiment in which Cavendish was able to remove, in modern terminology, both the oxygen and nitrogen gases from a sample of atmospheric air until only a small bubble of unreacted gas was left in the original sample. From this experiment Cavendish concluded that not more than 1/120 of the Earth's atmosphere was other than oxygen and nitrogen. [11] Although a seemingly small fraction, about 100 years later William Ramsay and Lord Rayleigh showed that this residual gas contained argon , an element that was unknown at the time. Density of the Earth Main article: Cavendish experiment In addition to his achievements in chemistry, Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment , the first to measure the force of gravity between masses in a laboratory and to produce an accurate value for Earth's density. His work led others to accurate values for the gravitational constant (G) and Earth's mass.

Based on his results, one can calculate a value for G of 6.754 × 10−11N-m2/kg2, [12] which compares favourably with the modern value of 6.67428 × 10−11N-m2/kg2. [13] The equipment Cavendish used was designed and built by geologist John Michell , who died before he could begin the experiment. The apparatus was sent in crates to Cavendish, who completed the experiment in 1797 – 1798, [4] and published the results. [14] Cavendish noticed that Michell's apparatus would be sensitive to temperature differences and induced air currents so he made modifications by isolating the apparatus in a separate room with external controls and telescopes for making observations. [15] The experimental apparatus consisted of a torsion balance to measure the gravitational attraction between two 350-pound lead spheres and a pair of 2-inch 1.61-pound lead spheres. [4] Using this equipment, Cavendish found that the Earth's average density is 5.48 times greater than that of water.

John Henry Poynting later noted that the data should have led to a value of 5.448, [16] and indeed that is the average value of the twenty-nine determinations Cavendish included in his paper. [17] Books often describe Cavendish's work as a measurement either of the gravitational constant (G) , or of the Earth's mass. Since these are related to the Earth's density by a trivial web of algebraic relations, none of these sources are wrong, but they do not match the exact word choice of Cavendish, [18] [19] and this mistake has been pointed out by several authors. [20] [21] Cavendish's stated goal was to measure the Earth's density, although his result obviously calculates G in order to do so. The first time that the constant got this name was in 1873, almost 100 years after the Cavendish experiment, but the constant was in use since the time of Newton. [22] Cavendish's results obviously also give the Earth’s mass . Cavendish performed his experiment in an outbuilding in the garden of his Clapham Common estate.

For years afterward, his neighbours would point out the building and tell their children that it was where the world was weighed. [5] Electrical research Cavendish wrote papers on electrical topics for the Royal Society [23] [24] but the bulk of his electrical experiments did not become known until they were collected and published by James Clerk Maxwell a century later, in 1879, long after other scientists had been credited with the same results. According to the 1911 edition of Encyclopædia Britannica , among Cavendish's discoveries were the following: [25] The concept of electric potential , which he called the "degree of electrification" An early unit of capacitance , that of a sphere one inch in diameter The formula for the capacitance of a plate capacitor The concept of the dielectric constant of a material The relationship between electric potential and current, now called Ohm's Law . (1781) Laws for the division of current in parallel circuits, now attributed to Charles Wheatstone Inverse square law of variation of electric force with distance, now called Coulomb's Law [26] Selected writings Cavendish, Henry (1921). Scientific Papers . 1.

Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . - edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor Cavendish, Henry (1921). Scientific Papers . 2. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. . - edited by James Clerk Maxwell and revised by Joseph Larmor

Question: Henry Cavendish, whose tomb is in Derby Cathedral, discovered which element?
Answer: Hydrogen