December Historical Events In Spectroscopy

by Leopold May, Catholic University

• December 2,1921 - The birthday of Isabella L. Karle, who is a researcher on three-dimensional structure of molecules using x-ray and electron diffraction.
• December 3, 1886 - Karl M. G. Siegbahn, who was a researcher on x-ray spectroscopy and received the Nobel Prize in 1924 was born on this day.
• December 5, 1901 - Werner Heisenberg, who was born on this day, did research in quantum mechanics. He developed the Heisenberg Principle in 1927 and received the Nobel Prize in 1932.
• December 13, 1939 - Perkin-Elmer Corp. was incorporated on this date.
• December 16, 1776 - The discoverer of ultra-violet rays in 1802, Johann W. Ritter, was born on this date.
• December 18, 1856 - Joseph J. Thomson who discovered the electron in 1897, was born on this day. He received the Nobel Prize in 1906.
• December 24, 1834 - The inventor of the standard lamp of 10 candle-power using pentane, Augustus G. Vernon-Harcourt, was born on this day
• December 25, 1904 - Gerhard Herzberg, who was born on this day, did research on the electronic structure and geometry of molecules and free radicals using spectroscopy. He received the Nobel Prize in 1971 and was an Honorary Member of SAS.
• December 25, 1642 - Sir Isaac Newton, who discovered the nature of light, was born on this date. He also studied alchemy.

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Page prepared by: Mike Epstein
Last Modified: November 15, 1999