Text 33. Some prominent British scientists

William Herschel (1738 – 1822) – an astronomer, became expert in grinding lenses and built the largest telescope then known. In 1781 he discovered the planet Uranus, it was the first discovery of this kind since the prehistoric times. His other discoveries – binary stars, two new satellites of Saturn and ultra-red rays from the Sun.

Michael Faraday (1791 – 1867) – physiсist and chemist, contributed greatly to the development of modern science. In 1825 he discovered benzene. He discovered the connection between the electricity and magnetism and showed that electromagnetic induction is possible. He was also the discoverer of the laws that control the process of electrolysis.

James Simpson, a young Scottish doctor, discovered an anaesthetic which could send people to sleep during operations. He and his friends experimented with the mixtures of different chemicals. After about a year’s work they found a gas which they called “chloroform”. Simpson’s drug spread in Scotland, England, Europe and the whole world.

Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of telephone, was born in Scotland. In 1866 he started thinking about sending tones by telegraph. It was through his famous experiments on making deaf people understand other people’s speech that in 1876 he invented the telephone which made it possible for people to talk to each other over long distances.

Charles Darwin (1809 – 1882) – an outstanding naturalist, spent five years on the Beagle as a naturalist. He visited Cape Verde and other Atlantic islands, the South American coasts, the Galapagos islands, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia. During his voyages he collected the material and published it in his famous book “The Origin of Species”. He advanced in this book the theory of evolution.

Joseph Lister (1827 – 1912) – was the founder of antiseptic surgery. He introduced carbolic acid as an antiseptic to dress wounds. Gradually other surgeons began to adopt this method.

Answer the following questions:

1. What is William Herschel famous for?

2. What was Michael Faraday’s contribution to the development of modern science?

3. Did James Simpson make an important discovery?

4. Who is the inventor of the telephone?

5. How did Alexander Bell make his discovery?

6. Why is Charles Darwin famous all over the world?

7. What is Joseph Lister famous for?