Preface [ix-x]
The biographies of great Scientists are of necessity filled with a multitude of detail, much of which is of little or no interest to the general reader; hence the author of the present volume has endeavoured to give a description of the lives of some of the most outstanding men of Science in an easy and readable form. It is not claimed that this is the first work of such a character, but, so far as the author knows, it is the first to deal with the subject in a comprehensive manner, linking the Ancient to the Modern. In order to make a story as readable as possible, it has been deemed better to avoid a constant reference to dates at which the different events have occurred in the men’s lives, and to state rather the ages of the men at such times. The date of birth and death of each Hero is, however, mentioned in the text, and also beneath the respective chapter headings, while a complete list, arranged in chronological order, of all the Scientists mentioned in the text is given in an Appendix at page 339. […]
Chapter 1. Who are the heroes of science? [17-19]
If we agree with the poet Milton that “Peace hath her victories, no less renown’d than War,” we shall have no difficulty in appreciating the statement that there are Heroes of Science. It goes without saying that the word Heroes does not signify Martyrs; fortunately, there have been very few martyrs of Science. Men need not sacrifice their lives because of their scientific beliefs. Wherever Men of Science have been imprisoned, and in a few isolated cases put to death, we shall find that it has been owing to their conflict with the religious beliefs of the people. There have been martyrs of Science in other respects. Within recent years several X-ray operators, intent on healing disease in others, have been attacked by invisible radiations which have brought about a slow and lingering death. Then there have been cases of men willing that some dangerous experiment should be performed upon them, in the hope that others might benefit by the experience thus gained. However, the Heroes whose lives we are about to [18] consider are men who have been in the forefront of the advancement of knowledge. It is true that some of these have had to sacrifice much; to undergo great hardships and yet fight on. Some have had to suffer the ridicule of the wise men of their time, and the hatred of those who should have been their friends. But the word Heroes is used here in no such restricted sense, although it is certain that every Hero of Science must have made some sacrifice in his daily life. We may count all who have made a great advance in Science to be true Heroes. Of course, it is impossible to consider the lives of all such men. Unfortunately, there are many of the Heroes of Antiquity whose biographies are almost entire blanks, while among the modern Men of Science there are many who have done much useful work, but in whose lives there have been no outstanding features which would interest the general reader. For these reasons the Heroes selected for our present purpose are those in whose lives we find most of general interest; they are all prominent Men of Science. Many of us, when children, received instruction in Biblical History, being told the story of some incident in the life of Joseph at one time, the story of Jacob at another, and the story of Moses at another time. Each story was of interest to us, but the interest was increased greatly when we found how all these individual stories were linked together. How old Jacob sent his sons to Egypt to buy corn; their meeting with Joseph; his settling his father Jacob, or Israel, in Egypt; the increasing descendants of Israel causing a later Pharaoh to fear for his kingdom; their consequent bondage; and [19] the ultimate release of these children of Israel by Moses. For the same reason I have endeavoured to link up, so far as it is possible, the stories of the different Heroes of Science. I have gone back to the beginning of Science, some two thousand and five hundred years ago, and I have called a halt at the other end, only omitting the Scientists living at the present time. This arrangement will help to emphasise the very long break in the advance of Science, which lasted throughout the Middle Ages. Indeed, we shall have to jump from the beginning of the Christian era right on to the time of Queen Elizabeth, with only two prominent stepping-stones between. […]
Contents
Chapter IWho are the Heroes of Science 17
Chapter II
Before the Time of Christ 20
Chapter III
University Professors of Two Thousand Years Ago 33
Chapter IV
Roger Bacon 39
Chapter V
Copernicus and his Famous Theory 51
Chapter VI
Tycho Brahé 56
Chapter VII
Johann Kepler 67
Chapter VIII
Galileo Galilei 76
Chapter IX
Galileo before the Dreaded Inquisition 88
Chapter X
A Glimpse of Galileo’s Private Life 101
Chapter XI
The Great Sir Isaac Newton 107
Chapter XII
More about Sir Isaac Newton 124
Chapter XIII
Benjamin Franklin 134
Chapter XIV
Franklin as a Scientist 149
Chapter XV
The Rev. Dr. Joseph Priestley 164
Chapter XVI
The Hon. Henry Cavendish 179
Chapter XVII
William and Caroline Herschel 188
Chapter XVIII
Herschel becomes a Professional Astronomer 203
Chapter XIX
John Dalton 214
Chapter XX
Sir Humphry Davy 226
Chapter XXI
Humphry Davy goes to London 236
Chapter XXII
Michael Faraday 248
Chapter XXIII
Charles Darwin 265
Chapter XXIV
Lord Kelvin and his Brother James 278
Chapter XXV
Kelvin and the Atlantic Cables 292
Chapter XXVI
Kelvin and his Students 299
Chapter XXVII
James Clerk Maxwell 308
Chapter XXVIII
A Grand March Past 322
Conclusion 330
Appendix I
The Letter which got Galileo into Trouble 333
Appendix II
List of Scientists mentioned in the Text