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Feb 15, 1564
Galileo
Galileo di Vincenzo Bonaiuti de Galilei was born on February 15, 1564, and died on January 8, 1642 at the age of 78. Galileo had many claim to fame’s but one in particular was his claim to a thermometer made of a sealed glass cylinder containing a clear liquid and several glass ovals containing different density’s. As the temperature changes around it, the ovals float, rise or fall in proportion to their density. He made his claim to fame at the between the age of 30 to the age of 40. Another i -
Otto Von Guericke
Otto Von Guericke was born on November 20, 1602 and died at the age of 83 on May 11, 1686. His claim to fame was when he invented the first air pump, in 1650. This was a pump that air and other gases can be removed from any closed space. He made his claim to fame at the age of 48. Another interesting fact about Von Guericke was that he was mayor or Burgermeister of Magdeburg, Germany from 1646 to 1676. -
Evangelista Torricelli
Evangelista Torricelli was born on October 15, 1608 and died on October 25, 1647 at the age of 39. Torricelli is best known for his creation of the Mercury barometer. This barometer measures atmospheric pressure. Torricelli’s barometer has more than one use though. It can also be used to measure altitude. Torricelli made his discovery around the age of 35, just before passing away 4 years later. An interesting fact about Torricelli is that he was once a student of Galileo. -
Blaise Pascal
Blaise Pascal was born on June 19, 1623 and died on August 19, 1662 at the age of 39. Pascal’s claim to fame was the invention of Pascal’s law. Pascal’s law states that pressure exerted anywhere in an enclosed, incompressible fluid is transmitted equally in all directions in the fluid. He made his claim to fame at the age of 19. Another interesting fact about Pascal is that he was forced to flee Paris because of his opposition to the fiscal policies. -
Christiaan Huygens
Christiaan Huygens was born on April 14, 1629 and died at the age of 66 years old on July 8, 1695. Christiaan Huygens claim to fame was the creation of the manometer. The manometer allowed him to calculate the elastic forces of gases at the age of 34. Another interesting fact about him was that he believed that light was made up of waves, and not particles. -
John Dalton
John Dalton was born on September 6, 1766 and died at the age of 77 on July 27, 1884. He made his claim of Dalton’s law at the age of 37. His law states that the total pressure exerted by a mixture of non-reactive gases is equal to the total of the partial pressures of individual gases. He created this law in 1801. An interesting fact about John Dalton is that he is very famous in the research of colour blindness, sometimes referred to as Daltonism, named in his honour. -
Avogadro
Lorenzo Romano Amedeo Carlo Avogadro di Quaregna e di Cerreto was born on August 9, 1776 and passed away on July 9, 1856 at the late age of 79. Avogadro’s claim to fame was made at the young age of 35. His claim stated that equal volumes of all gases at the same pressure and temperature, have the same number of molecules. A very interesting fact about Avogadro is that he graduates in ecclesiastical law at the early age of 21 and dedicated himself to math and physics.
