1781 in science explained

The year 1781 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Astronomy

• March 13 – William Herschel observes Uranus (although initially recording it as a comet).^[1]
• March 20 – Pierre Méchain discovers dwarf galaxy NGC 5195.
• Charles Messier's final catalogue of Messier objects is published.
• Christian Mayer's catalogue of binary stars is published.^[2]

Biology

• Felice Fontana uses a microscope to describe the axon of a brain cell.
• John Latham begins publication of A General Synopsis of Birds.

Chemistry

• Archibald Cochrane, 9th Earl of Dundonald is granted a British patent for the manufacture of coal tar.^{[3] [4]}
• Carl Wilhelm Scheele ascertains that a new acid can be made from tungstenite, leading to the discovery of tungsten in 1783.^[5]
• Autumn – Peter Jacob Hjelm isolates molybdenum.^[6]

Awards

• Copley Medal: William Herschel^[7]

Births

• January 30 – Adelbert von Chamisso, poet and botanist (died 1838)
• February 17 – Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec, French physician, inventor of the stethoscope (died 1826).^[8]
• May 29 – John Walker, English chemist (died 1859)
• June 9 – George Stephenson, English locomotive engineer (died 1848)
• June 21 – Siméon Poisson, mathematician (died 1840)
• July 6 – Thomas Stamford Raffles, founder of the Zoological Society of London (died 1826)
• September 14 – James Walker, Scottish civil engineer (died 1862)
• October 5 – Bernhard Bolzano, mathematician (died 1848)
• December 11 – David Brewster, Scottish physicist (died 1868)

Deaths

• May 27 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist (born 1716)

Notes and References

1. Account of a Comet, By Mr. Herschel, F.R.S.; Communicated by Dr. Watson, Jun. of Bath, F.R.S. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. London. 71. 492–501. 1781RSPT...71..492H. 10.1098/rstl.1781.0056. 1781. Herschel. W.. Watson. Dr.. 186208953.
2. "Verzeichniss aller bisher entdeckten Doppeltsterne" In Johann Elert Bode's Astronomisches Jahrbuch for 1784, pp. 183-6.
3. Book: Burke, James. James Burke (science historian)

   . James Burke (science historian). Connections. limited. London. Macmillan. 1978. 0-333-24827-9. 196.

4. Web site: Coal Tar Before the Invention of Town's Gas. 2011-12-31.
5. Book: Emsley, John. Nature's Building Blocks: an A–Z guide to the elements. Oxford University Press. 2001. 978-0-19-850341-5.
6. Hjelm. P. J.. Versuche mit Molybdäna, und Reduction der selben Erde. Der Königl. Schwedischen Akademie der Wissenschaften neue Abhandlungen aus der Naturlehre, Haushaltungskunst und Mechanik. Leipzig. 268. 1788. 49.
7. Web site: Copley Medal British scientific award . Encyclopedia Britannica . 21 July 2020 . en.
8. Web site: Laennec, René-Théophile-Hyacinthe (1781-1826) . catalogue.bnf.fr . Bibliothèque Nationale de France . 6 February 2021 . fr.