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41 Gutenberg, Johann Gensfleisch zum
SUBJECT AREA: Paper and printing[br]b. c. 1394–9 Mainz, Germanyd. 3 February 1468 Mainz, Germany[br]German inventor of printing with movable type.[br]Few biographical details are known of Johann Gensfleisch zum Gutenberg, yet it has been said that he was responsible for Germany's most notable contribution to civilization. He was a goldsmith by trade, of a patrician family of the city of Mainz. He seems to have begun experiments on printing while a political exile in Strasbourg c. 1440. He returned to Mainz between 1444 and 1448 and continued his experiments, until by 1450 he had perfected his invention sufficiently to justify raising capital for its commercial exploitation.Circumstances were propitious for the invention of printing at that time. Rises in literacy and prosperity had led to the formation of a social class with the time and resources to develop a taste for reading, and the demand for reading matter had outstripped the ability of the scribes to satisfy it. The various technologies required were well established, and finally the flourishing textile industry was producing enough waste material, rag, to make paper, the only satisfactory and cheap medium for printing. There were others working along similar lines, but it was Gutenberg who achieved the successful adaptation and combination of technologies to arrive at a process by which many identical copies of a text could be produced in a wide variety of forms, of which the book was the most important. Gutenberg did make several technical innovations, however. The two-piece adjustable mould for casting types of varying width, from T to "M", was ingenious. Then he had to devise an oil-based ink suitable for inking metal type, derived from the painting materials developed by contemporary Flemish artists. Finally, probably after many experiments, he arrived at a metal alloy of distinctive composition suitable for casting type.In 1450 Gutenberg borrowed 800 guldens from Johannes Fust, a lawyer of Mainz, and two years later Fust advanced a further 800 guldens, securing for himself a partnership in Gutenberg's business. But in 1455 Fust foreclosed and the bulk of Gutenberg's equipment passed to Peter Schöffer, who was in the service of Fust and later married his daughter. Like most early printers, Gutenberg seems not to have appreciated, or at any rate to have been able to provide for, the great dilemma of the publishing trade, namely the outlay of considerable capital in advance of each publication and the slowness of the return. Gutenberg probably retained only the type for the 42- and 36-line bibles and possibly the Catholicon of 1460, an encyclopedic work compiled in the thirteenth century and whose production pointed the way to printing's role as a means of spreading knowledge. The work concluded with a short descriptive piece, or colophon, which is probably by Gutenberg himself and is the only output of his mind that we have; it manages to omit the names of both author and printer.Gutenberg seems to have abandoned printing after 1460, perhaps due to failing eyesight as well as for financial reasons, and he suffered further loss in the sack of Mainz in 1462. He received a kind of pension from the Archbishop in 1465, and on his death was buried in the Franciscan church in Mainz. The only major work to have issued for certain from Gutenberg's workshop is the great 42-line bible, begun in 1452 and completed by August 1456. The quality of this Graaf piece of printing is a tribute to Gutenberg's ability as a printer, and the soundness of his invention is borne out by the survival of the process as he left it to the world, unchanged for over three hundred years save in minor details.[br]Further ReadingA.Ruppel, 1967, Johannes Gutenberg: sein Leben und sein Werk, 3rd edn, Nieuwkoop: B.de Graaf (the standard biography), A.M.L.de Lamartine, 1960, Gutenberg, inventeur de l'imprimerie, Tallone.Scholderer, 1963, Gutenberg, Inventor of Printing, London: British Museum.S.H.Steinberg, 1974, Five Hundred Years of Printing 3rd edn, London: Penguin (provides briefer details).LRDBiographical history of technology > Gutenberg, Johann Gensfleisch zum
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42 Palmer, John
[br]b. 1743 Bath, Avon, Englandd. 1818 Bath, Avon, England[br]English pioneer in mail transport.[br]He was the son of a brewer and maltster and part-owner of a theatre in Bath. In his early 20s his father sent him to London to organize the petition for a licence for the Orchard Street theatre, which was granted in 1768. He then organized a series of post-chaises to transport ac-tors between this and another theatre in Bristol in which his father also had an interest. By 1782 he had ready a plan for a countrywide service of mail coaches to replace the existing arrangements of conveying the mail by post-boys and -girls mounted on horseback who were by law compelled to carry the mail "at a Rate of Six Miles in the Hour at least" on penalty of one month's hard labour if found loitering. Lord Camden, Member of Parliament for Bath, put Palmer's plan before Prime Minister Pitt, who approved of it. An experimental run was tried on 2 August 1782, a coach leaving Bristol at 4 pm and arriving in London at 8 am the next morning, to return the following night from London at 8 pm and reaching Bristol at 10 am. In March 1785 the Norwich Mail Coach was started and during that year services were started to Portsmouth, Dover, Exeter, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Shrewsbury, Chester, Holyhead, Worcester, South Wales and Milford Haven. A feature of importance was that each mail coach was accompanied by an armed guard. In August 1786 Palmer was appointed Surveyor and Comptroller-General of the Post Office at a salary of £1,500 per annum and a bonus depending on all revenue over £300,000 each year. The popularity of the new service is shown by the feet that by 1813 his 2 1/2 per cent bonus came to £50,000. Due to the intrigues of his deputy, he was removed from office, but he was given a pension of £3,000 a year. He received the freedom of some eighteen towns, was made Mayor of Bath and represented that constituency in Parliament four times.[br]Further ReadingE.Vale, 1960, The Mail-Coach Men, London: Cassell.IMcN -
43 Theory
Neurath has likened science to a boat which, if we are to rebuild it, we must rebuild plank by plank while staying afloat in it. The philosopher and the scientist are in the same boat....Analyze theory-building how we will, we all must start in the middle. Our conceptual firsts are middle-sized, middle-distanced objects, and our introduction to them and to everything comes midway in the cultural evolution of the race. In assimilating this cultural fare we are little more aware of a distinction between report and invention, substance and style, cues and conceptualization, than we are of a distinction between the proteins and the carbohydrates of our material intake. Retrospectively we may distinguish the components of theory-building, as we distinguish the proteins and carbohydrates while subsisting on them. (Quine, 1960, pp. 4-6)Theories are usually introduced when previous study of a class of phenomena has revealed a system of uniformities.... Theories then seek to explain those regularities and, generally, to afford a deeper and more accurate understanding of the phenomena in question. To this end, a theory construes those phenomena as manifestations of entities and processes that lie behind or beneath them, as it were. (Hempel, 1966, p. 70)A strong approach [to construct validation] looks on construct validation as tough-minded testing of specific hypotheses:heoretical concepts are defined conceptually or implicitly by their role in a network of nomological or statistical "laws." The meaning is partially given by the theoretical network, however tentative and as yet impoverished that network may be. Crudely put, you know what you mean by an entity to the extent that statements about it in the theoretical language are linked to statements in the observational language. These statements are about where it's found, what it does, what it's made of. Only a few of those properties are directly tied to observables [p. 136]. In [an early] theory sketch, based upon some experience and data, everything said is conjectural. We have tentative notions about some indicators of the construct with unknown validities [p. 144]. [When we check up empirically on predictions from the model] we are testing the crude theory sketch, we are tightening the network psychometrically, and we are validating the indicators. All of these are done simultaneously [p. 149]. [Extracted with elisions and some paraphrase from Meehl & Golden, 1982.] (Cronbach, 1990, p. 183)Historical dictionary of quotations in cognitive science > Theory
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44 Florey, Howard Walter
SUBJECT AREA: Medical technology[br]b. 24 September 1898 Adelaide, Australiad. 21 February 1968 Oxford, England[br]Australian pathologist who contributed to the research and technology resulting in the practical clinical availability of penicillin.[br]After graduating MB and BS from Adelaide University in 1921, he went to Oxford University, England, as a Rhodes Scholar in 1922. Following a period at Cambridge and as a Rockefeller Fellow in the USA, he returned to Cambridge as Lecturer in Pathology. He was appointed to the Chair of Pathology at Sheffield at the age of 33, and to the Sir William Dunne Chair of Pathology at Oxford in 1935.Although historically his name is inseparable from that of penicillin, his experimental interests and achievements covered practically the whole range of general pathology. He was a determined advocate of the benefits to research of maintaining close contact between different disciplines. He was an early believer in the need to study functional changes in cells as much as the morphological changes that these brought about.With E. Chain, Florey perceived the potential of Fleming's 1929 note on the bacteria-inhibiting qualities of Penicillium mould. His forthright and dynamic character played a vital part in developing what was perceived to be not just a scientific and medical discovery of unparalleled importance, but a matter of the greatest significance in a war of survival. Between them, Florey and Chain were able to establish the technique of antibiotic isolation and made their findings available to those implementing large-scale fermentation production processes in the USA.Despite being domiciled in England, he played an active role in Australian medical and educational affairs and was installed as Chancellor of the Australian National University in 1966.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsLife peer 1965. Order of Merit 1965. Knighted 1944. FRS 1941. President, Royal Society 1960–5. Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology (jointly with E.B.Chain and A.Fleming) 1945. Copley Medal 1957. Commander, Légion d'honneur 1946. British Medical Association Gold Medal 1964.Bibliography1940, "Penicillin as a chemotherapeutic agent", Lancet (with Chain). 1949, Antibiotics, Oxford (with Chain et al.).1962, General Pathology, Oxford.MG -
45 Voigt, Paul Gustavus Adolphus Helmuth
[br]b. 9 December 1901 Forest Hill, London, Englandd. 9 February 1981 Brighton, Ontario, Canada[br]English/Canadian electronics engineer, developer of electromechanical recording and reproductions systems, amplifiers and loudspeakers.[br]He received his education at Dulwich College and in 1922 graduated with a BSc from University College, London. He had an early interest in the application of valve amplifiers, and after graduating he was employed by J.E.Hough, Edison Bell Works, to develop a line of radio-receiving equipment. However, he became interested in the mechanical (and later electrical) side of recording and from 1925 developed principles and equipment. In particular he developed capacitor microphones, not only for in-house work but also commercially, until the mid-1930s. The Edison Bell company did not survive the Depression and closed in 1933. Voigt founded his own company, Voigt Patents Ltd, concentrating on loudspeakers for cinemas and developing horn loudspeakers for domestic use. During the Second World War he continued to develop loudspeaker units and gramophone pick-ups, and in 1950 he emigrated to Toronto, Canada, but his company closed. Voigt taught electronics, and from 1960 to 1969 he was employed by the Radio Regulations Laboratory in Ottawa. After retirement he worked with theoretical cosmology and fundamental interactions.[br]BibliographyMost of Voigt's patents are concerned with improvements in the magnetic circuit in dynamic loudspeakers and centring devices for diaphragms. However, UK patent nos. 278,098, 404,037 and 447,749 may be regarded as particularly relevant. In 1940 Voigt contributed a remarkable paper on the principles of equalization in mechanical recording: "Getting the best from records, part 1—the recording characteristic", Wireless World (February): 141–4.Further ReadingPersonal accounts of experiences with Voigt may be found in "Paul Voigt's contribution to Audio", British Kinematography Sound and Television (October 1970): 316–27, which also includes a list of his patents.GB-NBiographical history of technology > Voigt, Paul Gustavus Adolphus Helmuth
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46 Wiles, Philip
SUBJECT AREA: Medical technology[br]b. 18 August 1899 London, Englandd. 17 May 1967 Kingston, Jamaica[br]English orthopaedic surgeon involved in the development of hip-replacement surgery.[br]From 1917, Wiles served during the First World War in the artillery, air force and army service corps. After a short postwar period in the City, he qualified in medicine at the Middlesex Hospital in 1928. His distinguished student career led to posts at the Middlesex and the Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital. He served as a brigadier orthopaedic surgeon in the Army during the Second World War and in 1946 returned as Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon to the Middlesex.He made outstanding contributions to postwar developments in orthopaedics and, as well as practising, wrote extensively on a variety of subjects including joint replacement. Taking early retirement in 1959 he moved to Jamaica, where he was involved in the affairs of the University of the West Indies.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsPresident, British Orthopaedic Association 1955. Honorary Member of the American Orthopedic Association. Middlesex Hospital Lyell Gold Medal 1927.Bibliography1965, Essentials of Orthopaedics.1960, Fractures, Dislocations and Sprains.MG -
47 Rickman, Thomas
SUBJECT AREA: Architecture and building[br]b. 8 June 1776 Maidenhead, Englandd. 4 January 1841 Birmingham, England[br]English architect who published the first serious study of the development of the styles of medieval architecture.[br]Thomas Rickman trained first in medicine and then, after practising for a short while, became an insurance clerk. During his thirties, having taught himself draughtsmanship, he travelled the country drawing, and recording some 3,000 medieval churches. He became deeply interested in and knowledgeable about ecclesiastical medieval architecture and in 1817 he began architectural practice. Rickman was responsible for a great deal of collegiate and ecclesiastical building. His understanding of true medieval materials and construction was much greater than that of his contemporaries, but like them he saw nothing incongruous about using modern materials such as plaster and cast iron for vault supports and tracery, so changing the structural proportions from medieval precepts. Characteristic of his work was St George Edgbaston (1819–22; demolished 1960) and Hartlebury Church (1836–7). Rickman is known primarily for his book An Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture from the Conquest to the Reformation, in which he suggested classifying periods of architecture as Norman, Early English, Decorated and Perpendicular. These terms are still largely accepted even today.[br]Further ReadingH.Colvin, 1978, A Biographical Dictionary of English Architects 1600–1840, John Murray.DY -
48 Schickhard(t), Wilhelm
SUBJECT AREA: Electronics and information technology[br]b. 22 April 1592 Herrenberg, Stuttgart, Germanyd. 24 October 1635 Tübingen, Germany[br]German polymath who described, and apparently built, a calculating "clock", possibly the first mechanical adding-machine.[br]At an early age Schickhard won a scholarship to the monastery school at Tübingen and then progressed to the university, where he obtained his BA and MA in theology in 1609 and 1611, respectively. He then specialized in oriental languages and eventually became Professor of Hebrew, Oriental Languages, Mathematics, Astronomy and Geography at Tübingen. Between 1613 and 1619 he was also deacon or pastor to a number of churches in the area. In 1617 he met Johannes Kepler, who, impressed by his ability, asked him to draw up tables of figures for his Harmonica Mundi (1619). As a result of this, Schickhard designed and constructed a mechanical adding-machine that he called a calculating clock. This he described in a letter of 20 September 1623 to Kepler, but a subsequent letter of 25 February 1624 reported its destruction by fire. After his death, probably from bubonic plague, his papers and the letter to Kepler were discovered in the regional library in Stuttgart in 1930 by Franz Hamme, who described them to the 1957 Mathematical Congress. As a result, a Dr Baron von Freytag Lovinghoff, who was present at that meeting, built a reconstruction of Schickard's machine in 1960.[br]Further ReadingF.Hamme, 1958, "Nicht Pascal sondern der Tübingen Prof. Wilhelm Schickhard erfund die Rechenmaschin", Buromarkt 20:1,023 (describes the papers and letter to Kepler).B.von F.Lovinghoff, 1964, "Die erste Rechenmaschin: Tübingen 1623", Humanismus undTechnik 9:45.——1973, "Wilhelm Schickhard und seine Rechenmaschin von 1625", in M.Graef (ed.), 350 Jahre Rechenmaschin.M.R.Williams, 1985, History of Computing Technology, London: Prentice-Hall.See also: Pascal, BlaiseKF -
49 Williamson, David Theodore Nelson
[br]b. 15 February 1923 Edinburgh, Scotlandd. 1992 Italy[br]Scottish engineer, inventor of the Williamson Amplifier and computer-controlled machine tools.[br]D.T.N.Williamson was educated at George Heriot's School, Edinburgh, and studied mechanical engineering at the University of Edinburgh and electrical engineering at Heriot-Watt College (now Heriot-Watt University), Edinburgh. He joined the MO Valve Company in London in 1943 and worked in his spare time on improving the sound reproduction for gramophones, and in 1946 invented the "Williamson Amplifier".That same year Williamson returned to Edinburgh as a development engineer with Ferranti Ltd, where he was employed in developing computer-controlled machining systems. In 1961 he was appointed Director of Research and Development at Molins Ltd, where he continued work on computer-controlled machine tools. He invented the Molins System 24, which employed a number of machine tools, all under computer control, and is generally acknowledged as a significant step in the development of manufacturing systems. In 1974 he joined Rank Xerox and became Director of Research before taking early retirement to live in Italy. Between 1954 and 1979 he served on numerous committees relating to computer-aided design, manufacturing technology and mechanical engineering in general.[br]Principal Honours and DistinctionsFRS 1968.BibliographyWilliamson was author of several papers and articles, and contributed to the ElectronicEngineers' Reference Book (1959), Progress in Automation (1960) and the Numerical Control Handbook (1968).RTSBiographical history of technology > Williamson, David Theodore Nelson
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