Luise Herzberg Astrophysicist

John Stanley Plaskett was Canada’s pre-eminent astronomer in the first half of the twentieth century. His legacy lives on in the observatory he founded in Victoria, British Columbia, and the reputation he built for Canada as a nation making vital contributions to basic science. Plaskett’s pioneering work with the most massive stars and his definitive determination of the rotation of the Milky Way Galaxy earned him international recognition of the highest order. Northern Star explores Plaskett’s unorthodox and fascinating life from his rural roots near Woodstock, Ontario through his days as a technician at the University of Toronto to his initiation in astronomy at the Dominion Observatory in Ottawa. His greatest achievements followed after he persuaded the government of Canada, in spite of the strictures of the First World War, to finance what was then the world’s largest operational telescope. Peter Broughton’s accessible and engaging prose illuminates Plaskett’s numerous achievements and the social, political, economic, and religious milieu surrounding them. This richly illustrated volume invites readers to understand the pull that Plaskett’s passions, personality, and motivations exerted on him during his lifetime.

A biography of one of the most influential scientists in the twentieth century.

Also available online as part of the Gale Virtual Reference Library under the title Complete dictionary of scientific biography.

A to Z of Chemists, Updated Edition tells the stories of nearly 100 chemists—both well-known scientific greats of history and contemporary scientists whose work is just verging on greatness. Readers will find fascinating entries on people such as Gertrude Belle Elion, who developed drugs to cure diseases as diverse as leukemia, gout, herpes, malaria, and arthritis. From famous mainstream chemists to minority scientists often excluded from similar titles, A to Z of Chemists, Updated Edition spans all cultures, ethnicities, and eras. Designed for high school through early college students, this title in the Notable Scientists series is also an ideal resource for all readers interested in chemistry. Articulated in everyday language, even the most complex concepts are accessible. While the majority of the scientists in this work are, first and foremost, chemists, there is a handful of physicists, biologists, and other scientists who made significant contributions to chemistry. People covered include: Robert Wilhelm Bunsen (1811–1899) Louis Pasteur (1822–1895) George Washington Carver (1864–1943) St. Elmo Brady (1884–1966) Karl Ziegler (1898–1973) Percy Lavon Julian (1899–1975) Linus Carl Pauling (1901–1994) Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin (1910–1994) Robert Burns Woodward (1917–1979) Sir George Porter (1920–2002) Sir Aaron Klug (1926–2018) Jean-Pierre Sauvage (1944–present) Aziz Sancar (1946–present) Ahmed Zewail (1946–2016) Venkatraman Ramakrishnan (1952–present)

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