1935, First Addams Cartoon

Photo Credit: www.jamescumminsbookseller.com

Year: 1935
Figure: Charles Addams
Contribution: First Addams Cartoon Published in the New Yorker

"Bright colors are for people with no inner light and no imagination." –Morticia Addams, The Addams Family Musical

Charles Addams was always one to find humor in lurid places, and in 1935 The New Yorker published the first of his cadaverous comics. He went on to publish twelve books, and was the creator of The Addams Family, which, from his comics, was turned into cartoons, television shows, movies, and even a musical.

Main characters of The Addams Family include Morticia, the matriarch of the family, her husband Gomez, their children Wednesday and Pugsley (son Pubert added for Addams Family Values), as well as their butlers, Lurch and Thing. Other characters include Uncle Fester and Grandmama, whose relations consistently change throughout the Addams' legacy.

As always, The Addams Family remains to this day as a way to find reason to laugh in the midst of the macabre.


Information Credits: The New York Times

1932, Neutrons Proved to Exist

Photo Credit: www.nndb.com

Year: 1932
Chemist: James Chadwick
Contribution: Proved the Existence of Neutrons

During his experiments studying atomic disintegration, James Chadwick found reason to believe there were neutral charges with mass inside the nucleus of the atom, and in 1932, he was able to prove it. This prepared the way for the fission of Uranium-235 and the creation of the atomic bomb.

Information Credits: Nobelprize.org, The History of Computing Project

1927, The Principle of Indeterminacy

Photo Credit: pt.wikipedia.org

Year: 1927
Chemist: Werner Heisenberg
Contribution: The Principle of Indeterminacy

The German Werner Heisenberg proposed his Principle of Indeterminacy in 1927, also known as Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle. Basically, this principle states that you can't know the position and velocity of a particle at the same time. You can tell where something was and how fast it is going now, but not where it is or how fast it was going. This happens because particles are so small you can't help but interfere with them when making calculations.

Information Credits: Atomic Structure Timeline, HowStuffWorks

1926, Quantum Mechanical Model

Year: 1926
Chemist: Erwin Schrodinger
Contribution: Developed the Quantum Mechanical Model

Photo Credit: schuetteefasano.blogspot.com

In 1926 Erwin Schrodinger took the Bohr model one step further and hammered out a system to predict the probability of an atom being in a specific position. This particular model can pictured as a nucleus surrounded by an electron cloud, with the densest portions of the cloud indicating higher probability of an electron being present there.

Photo Credit: abcte.org

Information Credit: American Board for Certification of Teacher Excellence

1924, Electrons' Wave Nature

Photo Credit: en.wikipedia.org

Year: 1924
Chemist: Louis de Broglie
Contribution: Discovered the Wave Nature of Electrons

Louis de Broglie's 1924 activities included publishing material on his studies, where he discovered the wave nature of electrons and suggested all matter has wave properties. Wave mechanics is based off this thesis, and has since revolutionized our knowledge of physical phenomena on the atomic scale.

Information Credits: Famous Scientists, Nobelprize.org

1922, Discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb

Photo Credit: www.fischerarthistory.com

Year: 1922
Figure: Howard Carter
Contribution: Discovery of Tutankhamen's Tomb

After over three decades of searching, archaeologist Howard Carter's hunt finally climaxed in 1922 when he found "wonderful things" inside King Tut's tomb. The king, who died when he was 19 years old, was in fact not particularly important in the grand scheme of Egyptian history, but because of the circumstances surrounding his tomb, he is of the most well-known pharaohs in Egypt. This discovery took worldwide interest, especially with rumors of curses on the place. After a worldwide tour, young King Tut's body is back in its resting place in the Valley of Kings.


Information Credits: About.com, A+E Television Networks

1919, Discovery of the Proton

Photo Credit: news.nationalgeographic.com

Year: 1919
Chemist: Ernest Rutherford
Contribution: Discovery of the Proton

When Ernest Rutherford returned to experimenting after the first world war, he took to shooting alpha particles into nitrogen gas. This transmuted the elements, and convinced Rutherford that part of the hydrogen nucleus was present in the nitrogen nucleus, meaning it was an elementary particle. Rutherford named it the proton, which we now know is what gives an atom its chemical properties.

Information Credit: Davidparker.com

1913, The Bohr Model

Year: 1913
Chemist: Niels Bohr
Contribution: The Bohr Model

Niels Bohr developed his own atomic model by applying quantum theory, calculating possible energy levels for the atoms to orbit upon. His atomic model envisions the atom as a small, positively charged nucleus surrounded by electrons spinning in separate orbits, with the outermost electrons determining the element's properties.

Bohr's model relies on the ideas of both Ernest Rutherford and J.J. Thomson.

Photo Credit: www-outreach.phy.cam.ac.uk

Information Credits: Royal Society of Chemistry, Live Science

1911, Rutherford's Atomic Theory and Model

Photo Credit: fr.wikipedia.org

Year: 1911
Chemist: Ernest Rutherford
Contribution: Rutherford's Atomic Theory, Rutherford Atomic Model

 In 1911, Ernest Rutherford published the results of his gold foil test, where he discovered that 1 in 8000 particles were deflected. From this he concluded atoms have a hard, positively-charged nucleus surrounded by however many negatively-charged
electrons, which occupy otherwise empty space.

 From this, Rutherford developed his atomic model, which consists of a hard nucleus electrons continuously orbit.

Photo Credit: commons.wikimedia.org

Information Credit: Royal Society of Chemistry

1909, The Charge and Mass of the Electron

Photo Credit: www.biography.com

Year: 1909
Chemist: Robert Millikan
Contribution: Determined the Charge and Mass of the Electron


By performing a series of oil drop experiments, Robert Millikan was able to establish the mass and charge of an electron.

Charge of an electron: e = 1.602 *10^-19 coulomb

Mass of  an electron: m = 9.11 *10^-28 grams

As J.J. Thomson suggested, electrons are in fact significantly smaller than the nucleus of the atom, but Millikan was able to calibrate Thomson's idea to the exact figures.

Information Credits: Atomic Structure Timeline, The Franklin Institute

1905, Atoms Proved to Exist

Photo Credit: www.biography.com

Year: 1905
Chemist: Albert Einstein
Contribution: Proved Atoms Exist

Albert Einstein is famous for many reasons, but he too contributed to the progression of the atomic model by coming up with concrete proof atoms in fact exist. In 1905 Einstein wrote a paper that mathematically proved the existence of atoms, relying heavily on Brownian motion. Brownian motion consists of the way particles move through gas and liquid, and in 1909 Jean Perrin proved Einstein's calculations to be correct.


Atomic theory would be worth very little if it turned out atoms did not exist after all, but the hard evidence ensured that atoms and their many parts would retain significance long into the future. This is, of course, an incredible relief. 

Information Credits: ANS Nuclear Cafe, Tesla Memorial Society of New York

1904, Thomson's Plum Pudding

Year: 1904
Chemist: Joseph John Thomson
Contribution: Thomson's Plum Pudding Model

Photo Credit: dflit.wikispaces.com

Seven years after his discovery of electrons, J.J. Thomson developed a new atomic model, called, "Thomson's Plum Pudding." It was Thomson's belief that atoms are positively charged, identical spheres. The electrons in this model were "baked" into the center of the atom, much like fruit cake or plum pudding.

It was replaced in 1911 for Ernest Rutherford's model.

Information Credit: Encyclopedia Britannica

1900, Planck's Constant and Quanta

Photo Credit: timelineoftheatom.blogspot.com

Year: 1900
Chemist: Max Planck
Contribution: Planck's Constant and the Discovery of Quanta

Max Planck is most known for his quantum theory. It was his theory that energy does not come in waves but "packets," which he named quanta. With his discoveries he developed Planck's constant, which is a constant that can be used to describe particles' behavior at the atomic level.

Because of this constant Albert Einstein was able to describe similar properties with light, and even later Niels Bohr was able to use the theories to design his Bohr model.


Information Credits: Florida State University, Atomic Structure Timeline

1897, Discovery of Electrons

Photo credit: chemheritage.org

Year: 1897
Chemist: Joseph John Thomson
Contribution: Discovery of Electrons

By trade J.J. Thomson was actually a physicist, but that didn't keep him from discovering the electron in the year 1897 while studying electric discharges. He interpreted electrons as significantly smaller than the nucleus, and calculated a large charge-to-mass ratio.

Electrons, of course, are the  instigators of any chemical reaction by their exchange or allotment. Because of their vitality to the atom itself, their discovery was an important contribution as later chemists were better able to establish the structure of the atom.

Information Credit: Chemical Heritage Foundation

1896, Discovery of Radioactivity

Photo Credit: www.nobelprize.org

Year: February 1896
Chemist: Henri Becquerel
Contribution: Discovery of Radioactivity

While studying the effect of uranium on photo paper, Henri Becquerel accidentally stumbled onto radioactivity when he found the decay had left an image on his photo plate. Radioactivity is an aspect of some elements that causes them to shoot off radiation as they change into something else. Becquerel did not pursue further study in radioactivity, but this discovery did impact the atomic theory timeline because radioactivity directly relates to an atom's structure.


Information Credits: Atomic Structure Timeline, Department of Chemistry at Duke University

1892, Fingerprint Identification

Photo Credit: mannaministry.webs.com

Year: 1892
Figure: Juan Vucetich
Contribution: First Fingerprint Identification

It was earlier in 1892 when Sir Francis Galton published the first book on fingerprinting and the unique details found in fingerprints, but when a woman murdered her sons and then committed suicide in an attempt to lay blame on someone else, her bloody hand print proved she was the culprit.


Information Credit: Crime Scene Forensics, LLC. 

1887, A Study in Scarlet Published

Photo Credit: baltimorereads.wordpress.com

Year: 1887
Figure: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
Contribution: A Study in Scarlet is Published

Perhaps the most famous sleuth of all time, Sherlock Holmes got his start with the publication of A Study in Scarlet, wherein the cryptic Holmes meets his trusty sidekick, Dr. John Watson, and uncovers the truth behind two gruesome murders on the streets of London and in the American West.

He's been a hit ever since.

Alluded to in every day speech and the subject of modern-day films and TV shows, Sherlock Holmes remains a well known figure into the twenty first century. In fact, the first episode of the third season of the TV series Sherlock, entitled The Empty Hearse, will be airing in the coming months.


It's very exciting.

Photo Credit: collider.com

1847, Jane Eyre

Photo Credit: www.thefoxisblack.com

Year: 1847
Figure: Charlotte Brontë
Contribution: Authored Jane Eyre

The Brontë sisters are known for publishing some of the classics, including Wuthering Heights and Agnes Gray, as well as a novel of poems they wrote together. It was October 6, 1947 when Charlotte Brontë published her novel Jane Eyre under the pseudonym Currer Bell. 

Jane Eyre depicts the story of a young orphan who faces suffering and abuse as a child until she grows into a teacher, and applies for the position of governess at Thornfield manner. There she teaches the girl Adèle, grows accustomed to the staff, and falls in love with the lord of the manor, Mr. Rochester. She almost marries him, until at the last minute Rochester already has a wife. She runs away and meets up with three cousins, almost marries one of them, but realizes she can never love anyone but Mr. Rochester and returns to find that he lost a hand and his eyesight in a fire. His wife is also dead. They marry, and have kids, and it's a nice little ending for them both.

(It is a much better book than that summary.)

Unfortunately all of Charlotte's sisters died within the next two years, and she died five years later.

Since then Jane Eyre has been republished under her own name, and has also been turned into at least two movies and a musical.


Information Credits: SparkNotes, A+E Television Networks, LLC.

1803, Dalton's Atomic Theory

Photo Credit: johndalton.org

Year: 1803
Chemist: John Dalton
Contribution: John Dalton's Atomic Theory

Around the year 1803, the English chemist John Dalton proposed his atomic theory to the Royal Institution. He projected a few standard ideas, for example:

• all matter is made of atoms
• atoms are indestructible, but neither can they be made
• an element's atoms are identical
• an element's atomic structure is unique—different elements have different compositions
• rearranging atoms causes chemical reactions
• compounds are formed by the atoms of the elements within

To his way of thinking atoms were solid spheres, and based his thoughts on the massing of elements. Dalton unfortunately had a few flaws in the entirety of his theory, but his explanation provoked advancement in investigation.


Information Credits: Royal Society of Chemistry, Atomic Structure Timeline

1799, The Law of Definite Proportions

Year: 1799
Chemist: Joseph Proust
Contribution: The Law of Definite Proportions

Photo Credit: daviddarling.info

By means of a series of experiments, the French chemist Joseph Proust created his Law of Definite Proportions. This law states that when compounds are broken down the elements within are always in specific proportion by mass. Stoichiometry, or chemistry math, is based off of this law.

Because of stoichiometry, John Dalton later developed his own atomic theory.


Information Credits: Royal Society of Chemistry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

1759, Poor Richard's Almanack

Photo Credit: pabook.libraries.psu.edu

Year: 1759
Figure: Benjamin Franklin
Contribution: Authored Poor Richard's Almanack

"Ne'er take a wife till thou has a house (and a fire) to put her in." -Poor Richard's Almanack

Although Benjamin Franklin is renowned for many things, including suggesting Daylight Savings Time and inventing a reading chair that could turn into a stepstool, he also authored one of the most popular colonial books: Poor Richard's Almanack, which covered proverbs to encourage productivity and precaution. Franklin, of course, went on to bring the United States of America into being and help construct its government.


Information Credit: A& Television Networks

1440, The Gutenberg Printing Press

Year: 1440
Figure: Johannes Gutenberg
Contribution: Gutenberg Printing Press, Gutenberg's Bible

From the technology of the wine press came the printing press, with moveable type. By moving the block letters over a span of 42 lines and rolling ink over them, text could be multiplied with a speed previously unheard of. The first book printed using the press was The Bible, but with the machine's popularity came a plethora of new documents, and with the new documents came the new ability to spread information.This revolutionized world communication, and remains to this day one of the most important inventions ever.

Information Credit: About.com

1415, The Battle of Agincourt

Year: 1415
Figure: Henry V
Contribution: Victory at Battle of Agincourt

Forever famed by Shakespeare's St. Crispin's Day speech in the play Henry V, the Battle of Agincourt was an enormous British victory in the Hundred Years War. The English team was sorely outnumbered, at least one to five, with only 5,000 warriors on their side. They were sick and tired men facing fresh French troops, and they were almost sure they were going to die. Henry V initiated the attack, and went on to win, mostly because of the archers and their longbows.

At the end of the battle, over 8,000 Frenchmen were dead. The English only lost 112 or so.

Information Credit: Britishbattles.com

1066, England Acquires its First King

 

Year: 1066
Figure: William I, also known as William the Conqueror
Contribution: First King of England

After the death of the previous king, Edward the Confessor, there was a nasty bit of business as three men scrambled to achieve the English throne. William of Normandy became the victor on October 14, 1066 at the Battle of Hastings, when his nemesis, Harold Goodwin, and his two brothers were killed. With no other heir William was crowned on Christmas Day, and is considered to be the first English king of 42, to date.

He faced many uprisings in the coming years, but as he constantly defeated his opponents he eventually claimed all of England for the Normans. To keep track of his new kingdom he created a census called The Doomsday Book and with his Norman influence added a plethora of French words to the English vocabulary.

You could say he's important.

 Information Credit: A+E Television Networks, LLC.

976, The Invention of Zero

Photo Credit: tantusamorscribendi.blogspot.com

Year: 976
Figure: Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Khwarizmi
Contribution: Invention of Zero

The Arabs, in general, were the first users of zero, and were of the few able to comprehend it. Zero revolutionized the old numbering system: people could use ten digits to make calculations, and gave structure to the entire numbering system. It sure beat Roman Numerals.



Source: Against the Gods

340 B.C., Discovery of Elements

Photo Credit: mrsvesseymathematicians.wikispaces.com

Year: Between 384 B.C. and 322 B.C.
"Chemist": Aristotle
Contribution: Discovery of Elements

Interestingly enough, Aristotle did not believe in atomic theory. He instead opted for "elemental composition," a belief that all matter is made of four things: water, fire, air, or earth. This is wrong, but at the time this interpretation was widely accepted because of Aristotle's reputation.

At best Aristotle can be attributed with "the discovery of elements," although none of his elements are on the periodic table, and unfortunately because of his popularity Aristotle's ideas actually slowed the progression of today's accepted atomic theory.


Information Credits: Galileo and Einstein

400 B.C., The Democritus Atom

Year: Between 460 B.C. and 370 B.C.
Chemist: Democritus
Contribution: The Democritus Atom Model

The ancient Greek philosopher Democritus was of the first to develop an atomic theory, and in fact believed that everything is made of atoms which cannot be physically divided and are always in motion. He believed atoms exhibited the physical traits of the compounds they sustained, so an atom's shape might be hooked, sharp, pointed, slippery, or smooth depending on how it behaved in its extended existence.

Photo Credit: timerime.com

That being said, Democritus's atoms could have looked any number of ways, but for the most part they were simply spheres, with special constructions added as needed.



Information Credits: Universe Today