1866 in science
See also: 1865 in science, other events of 1866, 1867 in science and the list of 'years in science'.
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2 Biology 3 Chemistry 4 Medicine 5 Awards 6 Births 7 Deaths |
Astronomy
- Giovanni Schiaparelli realizee that meteor streams occur when the Earth passes through the orbit of a comet that has left debris along its path.
- William Huggins studied the spectrum of a nova and discovers that it is surrounded by a cloud of hydrogen.
Biology
- Gregor Mendel published his laws of inheritance.
- Ernst Haeckel challanged the plant/animal division of life, observing that single celled organisms, the protists, do not fit into either category.
- Frederick Smith first discovers Formica candida in the Bournemouth, England, describing it as Formica gagates.
Chemistry
- Dynamite invented by Alfred Nobel.
- Augustus von Hofmann proposed the now standard system of hydrocarbon nomenclature.
Medicine
- Max Schultze discovers two sorts of 'receptors' in the retina.
Awards
Births
- Thomas Hunt Morgan, biologist, Nobellaureate in Physiology or Medicine
- Robert Broom, paleontologist.