Editing 1912 in science

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{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2011}}
{{Year nav topic5|1912|science}}
{{Science year nav|1912}}

The year '''1912 in science''' and technology involved some significant events, listed below.

== Archaeology ==

* December 6 – The [[Nefertiti Bust]] is found  at [[Amarna]] in Egypt by the [[German Oriental Company]] (Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft – DOG), led by German archaeologist [[Ludwig Borchardt]].

==Astronomy==
* At the beginning of this year an extreme decadal variation in [[length of day]] produces mean solar days having a duration of 86400.00389 seconds of [[Terrestrial Time]] (or [[ephemeris time]]), the slowest rotation of Earth's [[Crust (geology)|crust]] ever to be recorded.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=[[Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A]]|issn=0080-4614|last1=Stephenson|first1=F. R.|last2=Morrison|first2=L. V.|last3=Whitrow|first3=G. J.|year=1984|volume=313|issue=1524|pages=47–70|url=http://rsta.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/313/1524/47.full.pdf+html|format=PDF|title=Long-Term Changes in the Rotation of the Earth: 700 B.C. to A.D. 1980|location=London|doi=10.1098/rsta.1984.0082|bibcode=1984RSPTA.313...47S|s2cid=120566848|accessdate=2012-05-24|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

==Biology==
* July 23 – [[Horace Donisthorpe]] first discovers ''[[Anergates atratulus]]'' in the [[New Forest]], England.
* [[Reginald Punnett]] is appointed as first [[Arthur Balfour Professor of Genetics]] in the [[University of Cambridge]] (U.K.), probably the oldest chair of [[genetics]] in the English-speaking world.

==Chemistry==
* [[Peter Debye]] derives the [[T-cubed law]] for the low temperature [[heat capacity]] of a [[nonmetal]]lic solid.
* [[Casimir Funk]] introduces the concept of [[vitamin]]s.<ref>{{cite book|title=Just The Facts-Inventions & Discoveries|publisher=School Specialty Publishing|year=2005}}</ref>
* [[J. J. Thomson]] finds the first evidence for multiple [[isotope]]s of a stable (non-radioactive) element as part of his exploration into the composition of [[canal rays]] (positive ions).<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/14786440808637325|title=XIX. Further experiments on positive rays|year=1912|last=Thomson|first=J. J.|journal=Philosophical Magazine|location=London|series=Series 6|volume=24|issue=140|pages=209–253|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1430842}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1080/14786441008636962|url=https://archive.org/details/RaysOfPositiveElectricity|title=LXXXIII. Rays of positive electricity|year=1910|last=Thomson|first=J. J.|journal=Philosophical Magazine|location=London|series=Series 6|volume=20|issue=118|pages=752–767}}</ref>
* [[Fritz Klatte]], a German chemist working for Griesheim-Elektron, discovers [[polyvinyl acetate]] and applies for a [[patent]] for preparing the monomer, [[vinyl acetate]], by addition of [[acetic acid]] to [[acetylene]] using a [[mercuric chloride]] [[catalyst]]<ref>Deutsche Reichs Patent no. 281687 (4 July 1913); abstract in ''Journal of the Society of Chemical Industry'' (London) '''34''' (1915) p. 623.</ref> although it is not successfully commercialized at this time.
* [[Wilbur Scoville]] devises the [[Scoville scale]] for measuring the heat of peppers.
* December 24 – [[Merck KGaA|Merck]] files [[patent]] applications for synthesis of the [[entactogen]]ic drug [[MDMA]], developed by [[Anton Köllisch]].<ref>{{cite journal|author1=Bernschneider-Reif, S. |author2=Oxler, F. |author3=Freudenmann, R. W. |title=The Origin of MDMA ("Ecstasy") – Separating the Facts From the Myths|journal=[[Die Pharmazie]]|volume=61|issue=11|pages=966–972|year=2006|pmid=17152992}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=DE&NR=274350C&FT=D|title=German Patent 274350: Verfahren zur Darstellung von Alkyloxyaryl-, Dialkyloxyaryl- und Alkylendioxyarylaminopropanen bzw. deren am Stickstoff monoalkylierten Derivaten|author=Firma E. Merck in Darmstadt|date=1914-05-16|publisher=Kaiserliches Patentamt|accessdate=2009-04-12}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://v3.espacenet.com/publicationDetails/originalDocument?CC=DE&NR=279194C&FT=D|title=German Patent 279194: Verfahren zur Darstellung von Hydrastinin Derivaten|author=Firma E. Merck in Darmstadt|date=1914-10-15|publisher=Kaiserliches Patentamt|accessdate=2009-04-12}}</ref>

==Earth sciences==
* January – [[Alfred Wegener]] proposes a fully formulated theory of [[continental drift]] and gives the supercontinent [[Pangaea]] its name.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wegener|first=Alfred|date=January 6, 1912|title=Die Herausbildung der Grossformen der Erdrinde (Kontinente und Ozeane), auf geophysikalischer Grundlage|journal=Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen|volume=63|pages=185–195, 253–256, 305–309}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://epic.awi.de/28560/1/Polarforsch2005_1_3.pdf|accessdate=April 18, 2011|first=Imre Josef|last=Demhardt|title=Alfred Wegener's Hypothesis on Continental Drift and Its Discussion in ''Petermanns Geographische Mitteilungen'' (1912–1942)|journal=Polarforschung|volume=75|pages=29–35|year=2005}}</ref>
* June 6 – The [[Novarupta]] volcano on the [[Alaska Peninsula]] comes into being through a [[VEI]] 6 eruption, the largest this century.

==Exploration==
* January 17 – British polar explorer [[Robert Falcon Scott]] and a team of four reach the [[South Pole]] to find that [[Roald Amundsen|Amundsen]] has beaten them to it. They will die on the return journey, just eleven miles from a polar base (March 16–29).<ref name=POTD>{{cite book|title=Penguin Pocket On This Day|publisher=Penguin Reference Library|isbn=978-0-14-102715-9|year=2006}}</ref>
* March 7 – [[Roald Amundsen]] announces in [[Hobart]] that his expedition reached the [[South Pole]] on last December 14.

==History of science==
* November 20 – [[History of Medicine Society]] holds its first meeting, under the chairmanship of Sir [[William Osler]], in London.
* [[Georgius Agricola]]'s ''[[De re metallica]]'' ([[1556 in science|1556]]) is first published in an English translation, made by [[Herbert Hoover|Herbert]] and [[Lou Henry Hoover]], in London.
* [[Voynich manuscript]] discovered.

==Mathematics==
* Publication of the 2nd volume of ''[[Principia Mathematica]]'' by [[Alfred North Whitehead]] and [[Bertrand Russell]], one of the most important and seminal works in mathematical logic and philosophy.
* [[Karl F. Sundman]] solves the [[n-body problem|''n''-body problem]] for ''n''=3.
* [[Axel Thue]] discovers [[Pisot–Vijayaraghavan number]]s.

==Medicine==
* [[Harvey Cushing]] identifies [[Cushing's disease]], caused by a malfunction of the [[pituitary gland]].
* [[Solomon Carter Fuller]] first names [[Alzheimer's disease]].
* [[Hakaru Hashimoto]] first describes the symptoms of [[Hashimoto's thyroiditis]].<ref>{{cite journal|first=H.|last=Hashimoto|title=Zur Kenntnis der lymphomatösen Veränderung der Schilddrüse (Struma lymphomatosa)|language=de|journal=Archiv für Klinische Chirurgie|year=1912|volume=97|pages=219–248}}</ref>

==Metallurgy==
* [[Krupp]] engineers Benno Strauss and Eduard Maurer patent [[Austenite|austenitic]] [[stainless steel]] (October 17)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nirosta.de/History.22.0.html?&L=1|title=ThyssenKrupp Nirosta: History|accessdate=August 13, 2007|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070902202906/http://www.nirosta.de/History.22.0.html?&L=1|archivedate=September 2, 2007|url-status=dead|df=mdy-all}}</ref> and [[Elwood Haynes]] (in the United States) and [[Harry Brearley]] (of [[Firth Brown Steels|Brown-Firth]] in [[Sheffield]], England) independently discover [[martensite|martensitic]] stainless steel alloys.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl|url-access=registration|quote=Elwood Haynes 1919 patent number.|title=Scientific American Inventions and Discoveries|page=[https://archive.org/details/scientificameric0000carl/page/380 380]|first=Rodney P.|last=Carlisle|publisher=John Wiley and Sons|year=2004|isbn=978-0-471-24410-3| accessdate= 3 September 2011 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=A non-rusting steel|date=January 31, 1915}}</ref>

==Meteorology==
* April 5 – [[Milutin Milanković]]'s ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20120316201406/http://scc.digital.nb.rs/document/II-184957 Contribution to the mathematical theory of climate]'', his first work in this field, is published in [[Belgrade]].

==Paleontology==
* December 18 – Skull of "[[Piltdown Man]]" presented to the [[Geological Society of London]] as the [[fossil]]ised remains of a previously unknown form of [[human evolution|early human]]. It is revealed to be a hoax in [[1953 in science|1953]].<ref name=POTD/>

==Physics==
* November 11 – [[Lawrence Bragg]] presents his derivation of [[Bragg's law]] for the angles for coherent and incoherent [[scattering]] from a [[crystal lattice]].<ref>To the [[Cambridge Philosophical Society]]. {{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1915|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1915/present.html|publisher=Nobel Foundation|accessdate=2012-11-29}}</ref>
* [[Max von Laue]] suggests using crystal lattices to [[diffraction|diffract]] [[X-rays]].
* [[Walter Friedrich]] and [[Paul Knipping]] diffract X-rays in [[zinc blende]].
* [[Victor Hess]] discovers that the [[ionization]] of air increases with altitude, indicating the existence of [[cosmic radiation]].

==Psychology==
* [[Carl Jung]] publishes ''Wandlungen und Symbole der Libido'' (''[[Psychology of the Unconscious]]''), based on lectures delivered at [[Fordham University]] and precipitating a break with [[Sigmund Freud]].
* [[Sabina Spielrein]] delivers her paper on "Destruction as the Cause of Coming Into Being" to the [[Vienna Psychoanalytic Society]].

==Technology==
* April 14–15 – [[Sinking of the Titanic|Sinking of the ''Titanic'']]: The ocean liner {{RMS|Titanic}} strikes an [[iceberg]] and sinks on her maiden voyage from the United Kingdom to the United States.<ref name=POTD/><ref>{{cite book|authorlink=Walter Lord|first=Walter|last=Lord|title=A Night to Remember|location=New York|publisher=Holt|year=1955|title-link=A Night to Remember (book)}}</ref>
* The British [[Royal Navy]] introduces the director [[ship gun fire-control system]] using the [[Frederic Charles Dreyer|Dreyer Table]], a mechanical [[analogue computer]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Brooks|first=John|year=2003|title=The Admiralty Fire Control Tables|journal=Warship |pages=69–93}}</ref>
* The [[Sperry Corporation]] develops the first [[gyroscopic autopilot]] ("gyroscopic stabilizer apparatus") for aviation use.
* The [[earth inductor compass]] is first [[patent]]ed by Donald M. Bliss.

==Other events==
* American ornithologist [[Robert Ridgway]] publishes ''Color Standards and Color Nomenclature''.
* Conférence internationale de l'heure radiotélégraphique.
* First International Congress of [[Eugenics]] held in London with the support of [[Leonard Darwin]], [[Winston Churchill]], [[Auguste Forel]], [[Alexander Graham Bell]], [[Charles Davenport]] and other prominent scientists.<ref>{{cite book|last=Blom|first=Philipp|authorlink=Philipp Blom|title=The Vertigo Years: Change and Culture in the West, 1900-1914|year=2008|publisher=McClelland & Stewart|location=Toronto|isbn=978-0-7710-1630-1|page=[https://archive.org/details/vertigoyearschan0000blom/page/334 334]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/vertigoyearschan0000blom/page/334}}</ref>

==Awards==
* Nobel Prize
** [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] – [[Gustaf Dalén]]<ref>{{cite web |title=These Nobel Prize Winners Weren't Always Noble |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/10/151005-nobel-laureates-forget-racist-sexist-science/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200808155045/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/10/151005-nobel-laureates-forget-racist-sexist-science/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 8, 2020 |website=National Geographic News |access-date=19 January 2021 |date=6 October 2015}}</ref>
** [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]] – [[Victor Grignard]]; [[Paul Sabatier (chemist)|Paul Sabatier]]
** [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Medicine]] – [[Alexis Carrel]]

==Births==
* January 21 – [[Konrad Emil Bloch]] (died [[2000 in science|2000]]), German-born [[biochemist]], winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]].
* January 27 – [[Francis Rogallo]] (died [[2009 in science|2009]]), American [[aeronautical engineer]].
* January 30 – [[Werner Hartmann (physicist)|Werner Hartmann]] (died [[1988 in science|1988]]), German [[physicist]].
* February 13 – [[Natan Yavlinsky]] (died [[1962 in science|1962]]), [[Russian Empire|Russian]] [[nuclear physicist]].
* February 25 – [[Preben von Magnus]] (died [[1973 in science|1973]]), [[Danes|Danish]] [[virologist]].
* March 1 – [[Boris Chertok]] (died [[2011 in science|2011]]), Russian rocket designer.
* March 19 – [[William Frankland (immunologist)|Bill Frankland]] (died [[2020 in science|2020]]), English [[immunologist]].
* March 23 – [[Wernher von Braun]] (died [[1977 in science|1977]]), German-born physicist and engineer.
* April 19 – [[Glenn T. Seaborg]] (died [[1999 in science|1999]]), American physical [[chemist]], winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].
* May 22 – [[Herbert C. Brown]] (died [[2004 in science|2004]]), English-born chemist, winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry]].
* May 28 – [[Ruby Payne-Scott]] (died [[1981 in science|1981]]), Australian radioastronomer.
* May 30 – [[Julius Axelrod]] (died [[2004 in science|2004]]), American biochemist, winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]].
* May 31 – [[Chien-Shiung Wu]] (died [[1997 in science|1997]]), Chinese-American nuclear physicist, winner of the [[Wolf Prize in Physics]].
* June 23 – [[Alan Turing]] (died [[1954 in science|1954]]), English [[computer scientist]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Alan Turing {{!}} Biography, Facts, & Education |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Alan-Turing |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |accessdate=14 February 2020 }}</ref>
* June 30 – [[Ludwig Bölkow]] (died [[2003 in science|2003]]), German aeronautical engineer.
* August 11 – [[Norman Levinson]] (died [[1975 in science|1975]]), American [[mathematician]].
* August 13 – [[Salvador Luria]] (died [[1991 in science|1991]]), Italian-born [[biologist]], winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]].
* August 30 – [[Edward Mills Purcell]] (died [[1997 in science|1997]]), American physicist, winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]].<ref>{{cite web |title=E.M. Purcell {{!}} American physicist |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/E-M-Purcell |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=17 May 2021 }}</ref>
* September 7 – [[David Packard]] (died [[1996 in science|1996]]), American [[electronics engineer]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Obituary: David Packard|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-david-packard-1344506.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220501/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/obituary-david-packard-1344506.html |archive-date=May 1, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|website=The Independent|accessdate=21 February 2018|date=28 March 1996}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
* September 22 – [[Herbert Mataré]] (died [[2011 in science|2011]]), German physicist.
* October 1 – [[Kathleen Ollerenshaw]] (died [[2014 in science|2014]]), English mathematician.
* November 14 – [[Tung-Yen Lin]] (died [[2003 in science|2003]]), Chinese-born [[civil engineer]].
* November 19 – [[George Emil Palade]] (died [[2008 in science|2008]]), [[Romania]]n-born [[microbiologist]], winner of the [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine]].
* November 22 – [[Paul Zamecnik]] (died [[2009 in science|2009]]), American scientist playing a central role in the early [[history of molecular biology]].

==Deaths==
* February 10 – [[Joseph Lister]] (born 1827), English inventor of [[antiseptic]].
* February 12 – [[Osborne Reynolds]] (born 1842), British physicist.
* March 19 – [[Thomas Harrison Montgomery Jr.]] (born 1873), American zoologist and cell biologist.
* March 28 – [[Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran]] (born [[1838 in science|1838]]), French chemist.
* March 29
** [[Robert Falcon Scott]] (born 1868), English [[Antarctic]] [[List of explorers|explorer]].
** [[Edward Adrian Wilson|Edward Wilson]] (born 1872), English physician and [[naturalist]].
* April 18 – [[Martha Ripley]]  (born [[1843 in science|1843]]), American physician.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Ogilvie |first1=Marilyn Bailey |last2=Harvey |first2=Joy Dorothy |author-link=Marilyn Bailey Ogilvie |author-link2=Joy Harvey |title=The Biographical Dictionary of Women in Science: L-Z |date=2000 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-0-415-92040-7 |page=1102 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LTSYePZvSXYC&pg=PA1102 }}</ref>
* May 4 – [[Nettie Stevens]] (born 1861), American [[geneticist]].
* May 30 – [[Wilbur Wright]] (born 1867), American aviation pioneer.
* July 17 – [[Henri Poincaré]] (born 1854), French mathematician.
* August 7 – [[François-Alphonse Forel]] (born 1841), [[Swiss people|Swiss]] pioneer of [[limnology]].
* November 23 – [[Charles Bourseul]] (born [[1829 in science|1829]]), French [[telegraph]] engineer.
* December 17 – [[Spiru Haret]] (born [[1851 in science|1851]]), Romanian mathematician, astronomer and politician.
* December 21 – [[Paul Gordan]] (born [[1837 in science|1837]]), German Jewish mathematician, "the king of [[invariant theory]]".

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1912 In Science}}
[[Category:1912 in science| ]]
[[Category:20th century in science]]
[[Category:1910s in science]]