Editing 1936 in science

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{{Year nav topic5|1936|science}}
{{Science year nav|1936}}

The year '''1936 in [[science]]''' and [[technology]] involved some significant events, listed below.

==Chemistry==
* February 4 – [[Radium]] E (bismuth-210) becomes the first [[radioactive]] element to be made synthetically.
* December 23 – The first [[Nerve agent#History|nerve agent]], [[Tabun (nerve agent)|Tabun]], is discovered (accidentally) by a research team headed by Dr [[Gerhard Schrader]] of [[IG Farben]] in Germany.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.noblis.org/AShortHistoryOfTheDevelopmentOfNerveGases.htm|title=A Short History of the Development of Nerve Gases|publisher=Noblis.org|accessdate=2011-10-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090203065700/http://www.noblis.org/AShortHistoryOfTheDevelopmentOfNerveGases.htm|archive-date=2009-02-03|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cbwinfo.com/Chemical/Nerve/GA.shtml |title=Nerve Agent: GA|publisher=Cbwinfo.com|accessdate=2011-10-07|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927051929/https://www.cbwinfo.com/Chemical/Nerve/GA.shtml|archivedate=2011-09-27}}</ref>

==Computer science==
* May 28 –  [[Alan Turing]]'s paper "On Computable Numbers" is received by the [[London Mathematical Society]] for publication, introducing the concept of the theoretical "a[utomatic]-machine" or [[Turing machine]]. Its formal publication is on November 12.<ref>{{cite journal|first=A. M.|last=Turing|title=On computable numbers, with an application to the ''Entscheidungsproblem''|journal=[[Proceedings of the London Mathematical Society]] |series=Series 2|volume=42|pages=230–265|date=January 1937|doi=10.1112/plms/s2-42.1.230|url=http://www.abelard.org/turpap2/tp2-ie.asp|accessdate=2017-12-24|url-access=subscription}}</ref>
* [[Rózsa Péter]] presents a paper entitled "Über rekursive Funktionen der zweite Stufe" to the [[International Congress of Mathematicians]] in Oslo,<ref name=MacTutor>{{cite web|title=Rózsa Péter|url=http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Biographies/Peter.html|publisher=School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of St Andrews, Scotland|accessdate=14 April 2014|work=[[MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive]]}}</ref> helping to found the modern field of [[recursive function theory]].<ref>{{citation|contribution=Rozsa Peter 1905–1977|title=More Mathematical People|editor1-first=Donald J.|editor1-last=Albers|editor2-first=Gerald L.|editor2-last=Alexanderson|editor2-link=Gerald L. Alexanderson|editor3-first=Constance|editor3-last=Reid|editor3-link=Constance Reid|publisher=Harcourt Brace Jovanovich|year=1990|page=149}}</ref><ref>{{citation|last1=Andrásfai|first1=Béla|title=Rózsa (Rosa) Péter|journal=Periodica Polytechnica Electrical Engineering|date=1986|volume=30|issue=2–3|pages=139–145|url=http://www.pp.bme.hu/ee/article/view/4651}}</ref>

==Earth sciences==
* [[Inge Lehmann]] argues that the Earth's molten interior has a solid [[inner core]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lehmann|first=Inge|year=1936|title=P'|journal=Publications du Bureau Central Séismologique International|volume=A14|issue=3|pages=S.87–115}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|first1=Bruce A.|last1=Bolt|title=50 years of studies on the inner core|journal=[[Eos (journal)|Eos]]|year=1987|volume=68|issue=6|pages=73, 80–81|doi=10.1029/eo068i006p00073-01|bibcode=1987EOSTr..68Q..73B}}</ref>

==History of science and technology==
* Economist [[John Maynard Keynes]] buys a trunk of [[Isaac Newton]]'s papers at auction.<ref>{{Cite book|title=A Short History of Nearly Everything|last=Bryson|first=Bill|authorlink=Bill Bryson|publisher=Broadway Books|year=2004|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TSzckgEACAAJ|isbn=978-0767908184|page=71}}</ref>

==Mathematics==
* March – [[Alonzo Church]]'s "A Note on the ''[[Entscheidungsproblem]]''" is published.<ref>{{cite journal|first=Alonzo|last=Church|s2cid=42323521|title=A Note on the ''Entscheidungsproblem''|journal=[[Journal of Symbolic Logic]]|volume=1|issue=1|year=1936|pages=40–41|doi=10.2307/2269326|jstor=2269326}} Submitted April 15 [''sic.'']</ref>
* Dutch mathematician [[Cornelis Simon Meijer]] introduces the [[Meijer G-function]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Meijer|first=C. S.|title=Über Whittakersche bzw. Besselsche Funktionen und deren Produkte|language=German|journal=Nieuw Archief voor Wiskunde (2)|volume=18|issue=4|pages=10–39|year=1936|jfm=62.0421.02}}</ref>

==Paleontology==
* First remains of the small Late [[Triassic]] South American dinosaur ''[[Staurikosaurus]]'' are found by [[Llewellyn Ivor Price]] in [[Brazil]], the first dinosaur to be discovered there.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=Staurikosaurus|last=Dodson|first=Peter|display-authors=etal|title=The Age of Dinosaurs|publisher=Publications International|page=45|isbn=0-7853-0443-6}}</ref>

==Physiology and medicine==
* July 4 – First publication recognizing [[Stress (biology)|stress]] as a biological condition.<ref>{{cite journal|title=A Syndrome Produced by Diverse Nocuous Agents|authorlink=Hans Selye|first=Hans|last=Selye|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|volume=138|issue=3479|year=1936|page=32|url=http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/10/2/230a|accessdate=2020-02-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080107091947/http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/10/2/230a|archive-date=2008-01-07|doi=10.1038/138032a0|bibcode=1936Natur.138...32S|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title="Stress" is 80 Years Old: From Hans Selye Original Paper in 1936 to Recent Advances in GI Ulceration|author=Szabo, S.|author2=Yoshida, M.|author3=Filakovszky, J.|author4=Juhasz, G.|journal=Current Pharmaceutical Design|year=2017|volume=23|issue=27|pages=4029–4041|doi=10.2174/1381612823666170622110046|pmid=28641541|url=https://escholarship.org/content/qt441957nq/qt441957nq.pdf?t=pewjsu}}</ref>
* December 7 – Streptococcous [[meningitis]] (a condition previously 99% fatal) is successfully treated for the first time with a [[Sulfonamide (medicine)|sulfonamide]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.musicandhistory.com/music-and-history-by-the-year/197-1936.html|title=1936|website=MusicAndHistory|accessdate=2015-08-16|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130610051422/http://musicandhistory.com/music-and-history-by-the-year/197-1936.html|archive-date=2013-06-10}}</ref>
* American researcher [[Thomas Francis Jr.]] isolates [[influenza B virus]]. Also this year, Australian [[Macfarlane Burnet]] discovers that ''[[Orthomyxoviridae]]'' can be grown in embryonated hens’ eggs.<ref>{{cite web|title=Influenza Historic Timeline|url=https://www.cdc.gov/flu/pandemic-resources/pandemic-timeline-1930-and-beyond.htm|publisher=[[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention|CDC]]|date=2019-01-30|accessdate=2022-03-19}}</ref>
* [[António Egas Moniz]] publishes his first report of performing a prefrontal [[leukotomy]] on a human patient.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1949/moniz.html|title=Egas Moniz – Biography|last=|first=|website=|publisher=Nobelprize.org|date=9 Jun 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100609040416/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1949/moniz.html|archive-date=2010-06-09|accessdate=11 July 2010}}</ref>
* [[Guido Fanconi]] describes  a connection between [[celiac disease]], [[cystic fibrosis]] of the [[pancreas]] and [[bronchiectasis]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fanconi|first1=G.|last2=Uehlinger|first2=E.|last3=Knauer|first3=C.|year=1936|title=Das coeliakiesyndrom bei angeborener zysticher pankreasfibromatose und bronchiektasien|journal=Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift|volume=86|pages=753–756}}</ref>
* [[Harold Percival Himsworth|Harry Himsworth]] distinguishes the two principal types of [[diabetes]].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Himsworth|first=H. P.|year=1936|title=''Diabetes mellitus'': its differentiation into insulin-sensitive and insulin-insensitive types|journal=[[The Lancet]]|location=London|volume=227|issue=5864|pages=127–30|doi=10.1016/S0140-6736(01)36134-2}}</ref>

==Psychology==
* Sherif's experiment on [[conformity]].<ref>{{cite book|last1=Hogg|first1=Michael A.|title=Social Psychology|year=2005|edition=4th|publisher=Prentice Hall|location=Harlow|last2=Vaughan|first2=Graham M.|isbn=0273686992}}</ref>

==Technology==
* June 26 – [[Focke-Wulf Fw 61]], the first fully controllable [[helicopter]], makes its first flight.
* November 3 –  The world's first regular daily high-definition (at this time defined as at least 200 lines) television broadcast service is begun by the [[British Broadcasting Corporation]] from [[Alexandra Palace]] in London (following test transmissions since August). The service initially alternates on a weekly basis between [[John Logie Baird]]'s 240-line electromechanical system and the [[Marconi Company|Marconi]]–[[EMI]] all-electronic [[405-line television system]].

==Zoology==
* September 7 – Death of the last recorded [[thylacine]], in [[Hobart Zoo]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Paddle|first=Robert|year=2000|title=The Last Tasmanian Tiger: the History and Extinction of the Thylacine|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0-521-53154-3}}</ref>
* November 9 – American explorer [[Ruth Harkness]] encounters and captures in China a live [[giant panda]], a cub named [[Su Lin (1930s giant panda)|Su Lin]], the first to enter the United States.<ref>{{cite web|first=D. A.|last=Watson|title=The Panda Lady: Ruth Harkness (Part 1)|url=http://femexplorers.com/full_article.php?article_id=17|publisher=Female explorers|accessdate=2007-02-01|archivedate=15 December 2006|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061215055814/http://femexplorers.com/full_article.php?article_id=17}}</ref>

==Awards==
* [[Fields Medal|Fields Prize in Mathematics]] (first award): [[Lars Ahlfors]] and [[Jesse Douglas]]
* [[Nobel Prize]]s
** [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] – [[Victor Franz Hess]], [[Carl David Anderson]]
** [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]] – [[Peter Debye]]
** [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Medicine]] – Sir [[Henry Hallett Dale]], [[Otto Loewi]]

==Births==
* January 8 – [[Robert May, Baron May of Oxford|Robert May]], Australian-born [[Government Chief Scientific Adviser (United Kingdom)]] (died [[2020 in science|2020]]).
* January 10
** [[Walter Bodmer]], German-born British [[Human genome|human geneticist]].
** [[Robert Woodrow Wilson|Robert Wilson]], American [[physicist]] and [[radio astronomer]].
* January 27 – [[Barry Barish]], American [[Gravity|gravitational]] physicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Nobel Prize]] winner.
* March 16 – [[Raymond Vahan Damadian]], Armenian-American [[Magnetic resonance imaging|MRI]] practitioner.
* March 24 – [[David Suzuki]], Canadian [[geneticist]] and populariser of science.
* April 1 – [[Abdul Qadeer Khan]] (died [[2021 in science|2021]]), Pakistani nuclear physicist.<ref>{{cite news|title=AQ Khan: The most dangerous man in the world?|first=Gordon|last=Corera|authorlink=Gordon Corera|publisher=[[BBC News]]|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58857827|date=2021-10-10|accessdate=2021-10-10}}</ref>
* April 17 – [[Meemann Chang]], Chinese [[paleontologist]].
* June 29 – [[Leon O. Chua]], American electrical engineer and computer scientist.
* August 1 – [[W. D. Hamilton]] (died [[2000 in science|2000]]), English [[evolutionary biologist]], widely recognised as one of the greatest [[evolution]]ary theorists of the 20th century.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/hamilton/hamilton_index.html|title=Obituary|first=Richard|last=Dawkins|work=[[The Independent]]|location=London|date=2000-03-10|authorlink=Richard Dawkins|access-date=2021-10-10|archive-date=2016-03-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304172329/http://edge.org/3rd_culture/hamilton/hamilton_index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* August 17 – [[Margaret Hamilton (scientist)|Margaret Hamilton]], American computer scientist, [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] laureate.
* September 17 – [[Gerald Guralnik]] (died [[2014 in science|2014]]), American physicist most famous for his co-discovery of the [[Higgs mechanism]] and [[Higgs boson]].
* November 25 – [[John Taylor (inventor)|John Taylor]], English inventor.
* December 22 – [[James Burke (science historian)|James Burke]], British historian and populariser of science.
* December 31 – [[Szilveszter E. Vizi]], Hungarian physician, neuroscientist and pharmacologist.

==Deaths==
* February 9 – [[Charles Alfred Ballance|Sir Charles Ballance]] (born [[1856 in science|1856]]), English [[surgeon]].
* February 27 – [[Ivan Pavlov]] (born [[1849 in science|1849]]), Russian [[physiologist]].
* April 8 – [[Róbert Bárány]] (born [[1876 in science|1876]]), Austro-Hungarian-born [[otologist]], [[Nobel Prize]] winner in medicine.
* April 9 – [[John Uri Lloyd]] (born [[1849 in science|1849]]), American pharmacist and science fiction author.
* April 27 – [[Karl Pearson]] (born [[1857 in science|1857]]), English [[mathematician]].
* August 25 – [[Maria von Linden]] (born [[1869 in science|1869]]), German [[bacteriologist]] and [[zoologist]].

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:1936 in science| ]]
[[Category:20th century in science]]
[[Category:1930s in science]]