Editing 1815 in science

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{{Year nav topic5|1815|science}}
{{Science year nav|1815}}

The year '''1815 in [[science]]''' and [[technology]] involved some significant events, listed below.

==Astronomy and space science==
* October 3 – The [[Chassigny (meteorite)|Chassigny]] [[Martian meteorite]] falls in [[Chassigny, Haute-Marne]], France.

==Biology==
* [[Jean-Baptiste Lamarck]] begins publication of ''Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres''.

==Chemistry==
* [[William Prout]] anonymously publishes [[Prout's hypothesis|his hypothesis]] that the [[atomic weight]] of every [[Chemical element|element]] is an [[integer]] multiple of that of [[hydrogen]].<ref>{{cite journal|title=On the Relation between the Specific Gravities of Bodies in their Gaseous State and the Weights of their Atoms|url=http://web.lemoyne.edu/~giunta/EA/PROUTann.HTML|journal=[[Annals of Philosophy]]|volume=6|pages=321–330|year=1815|accessdate=2011-04-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Rosenfeld|first=Louis|title=William Prout: early 19th Century Physician-Chemist|journal=[[Clinical Chemistry (journal)|Clinical Chemistry]]|year=2003|volume=49|pages=699–705|url=http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/49/4/699|doi=10.1373/49.4.699|pmid=12651838|accessdate=2011-04-16|issue=4|doi-access=free|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607113509/http://www.clinchem.org/cgi/content/full/49/4/699|archive-date=2011-06-07|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* Dutch chemist [[Coenraad van Houten]] introduces alkaline salts to chocolate to reduce its bitterness.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archive.fieldmuseum.org/chocolate/history.html|title=History of Chocolate|last=Kerr|first=Justin|year=2007|publisher=[[Field Museum]]|location=Chicago|access-date=2014-03-03}}</ref>

==Earth sciences==
* April 5 – Volcanic eruption of [[Mount Tambora]] on the [[Indonesia]]n island of [[Sumbawa]]. About 92,000 people die as a direct consequence of this disaster, the largest volcanic eruption in recorded history. The eruption sends so much volcanic ash into the atmosphere that weather patterns around the world are altered, causing 1816 to be the "[[Year Without A Summer]]".
* August 1 – [[William Smith (geologist)|William Smith]] publishes the first national [[geological map]] of the [[United Kingdom]], ''A Delineation of the Strata of England and Wales, with part of Scotland''.<ref>{{cite journal|first=V. A.|last=Eyles|author2=Eyles, Joan M.|title=On the different issues of the first geological map of England and Wales|url=http://pdfserve.informaworld.com/933403_751304857_739366957.pdf|journal=Annals of Science|volume=3|issue=2|year=1938|pages=190–212|doi=10.1080/00033793800200871}}</ref>

==Medicine==
* July 10 – [[Apothecaries Act 1815|Apothecaries Act]] prohibits unlicensed medical practitioners in the [[United Kingdom]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Palmer|first=Alan|last2=Palmer |first2=Veronica|year=1992|title=The Chronology of British History|publisher=Century Ltd|location=London|pages=247–248|isbn=978-0-7126-5616-0}}</ref>
* [[Cholesterol]] is discovered by French chemist [[Michel E. Chevreul]], who analyzes it in human [[gall stone]]s, but its causal relationship with [[atherosclerosis]] remains unknown.

==Physics==
* Experiments by [[Jean Baptist Biot]] reveal [[polarimetry]] in the [[polarization of light]] in liquids.
* [[Atomic decay]] is discovered by Swedish chemist [[Jöns Jakob Berzelius]] in [[gadolinite]], a [[radioactive]] mineral damaged by [[alpha particle]]s released in its own activity.

==Technology==
* November 3 – Sir [[Humphry Davy]] announces his discovery of the [[Davy lamp]] as a [[coal mining]] [[safety lamp]].<ref>To a meeting of the [[Royal Society]] in [[Newcastle upon Tyne]].</ref><ref name="Icons">{{cite web|url=http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/icons-timeline/1800-1820 |title=Icons, a portrait of England 1800-1820 |accessdate=2007-09-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091016113407/http://www.icons.org.uk/theicons/icons-timeline/1800-1820 |archivedate=2009-10-16 }}</ref>
* [[Dental floss]] is invented by Levi Spear Parmly.

==Awards==
* [[Copley Medal]]: [[David Brewster]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Copley Medal {{!}} British scientific award |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/Copley-Medal |website=Encyclopedia Britannica |accessdate=21 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Births==
* January 18 – [[Warren De La Rue]], [[Guernsey]]-born astronomical photographer (died [[1889 in science|1889]])
* January 21 – [[Horace Wells]], [[Americans|American]] dentist, pioneer of the use of anesthesia (suicide [[1848 in science|1848]])
* July 26 – [[Robert Remak]], [[Polish people|Polish]]/[[Prussia]]n [[embryologist]] (died [[1865 in science|1865]])
* August 23 – [[Henry Acland]], [[English people|English]] [[physician]] (died [[1900 in science|1900]])
* October 31 – [[Karl Weierstraß]], [[German people|German]] [[mathematician]] (died [[1897 in science|1897]])
* November 2 – [[George Boole]], English-born mathematician (died [[1864 in science|1864]])
* December 10 – [[Augusta Lovelace|Augusta Ada King (née Byron), Countess of Lovelace]], English computing pioneer (died [[1852 in science|1852]])
* [[Peter Bellinger Brodie]], English geologist and clergyman (died 1897)

==Deaths==
* February 9 – [[Ellen Hutchins]], Irish botanist (born [[1785 in science|1785]])
* February 18 – [[William Roxburgh]], [[Scottish people|Scottish]] [[surgeon]] and [[botanist]], "father of Indian botany" (born [[1751 in science|1751]])
* February 22 – [[Smithson Tennant]], English [[chemist]] (born [[1761 in science|1761]])
* February 24 – [[Robert Fulton]], [[Americans|American]] engineer (born [[1765 in science|1765]])
* March 5 – [[Franz Mesmer]], German [[physician]] (born [[1734 in science|1734]])
* September – [[Mary Edwards (human computer)|Mary Edwards]], English human computer (born c.1750)
* September 20 – [[Nicolas Desmarest]], [[French people|French]] [[Natural history|naturalist]] (born [[1725 in science|1725]])
* November 30 - [[Philippe Petit-Radel]], [[French people|French]] [[surgeon]] (born [[1749 in science|1749]])<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lemaitre |first1=Nicole |title=Petit-Radel Philippe |url=https://cths.fr/an/savant.php?id=120782 |website=cths.fr |publisher=Comité des travaux historiques et scientifiques |access-date=10 March 2021 |language=fr}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1815 in science| ]]
[[Category:19th century in science]]
[[Category:1810s in science]]