Bazzle, Gertrude

Nichols, Mary Anne

Payne, Clara

Wolfe, Lena

English

James Madison University

148 THE VIRGINIA TEACHER [Vol. 11, No. S Watkins, Caldwell, and Powers. Progres- sive teachers would do well to secure this very worth while book. In conclusion the writer desires to ex- press his sincere thanks to Mr. Eason and Mr. Peters of the State Board of Educa- tion in Richmond for their hearty co-opera- tion in this survey. Fred C. Mabee VIRGINIA SCIENTISTS AND INVENTORS VIRGINIA'S roll of honor includes several scientists and inventors with whose lives and work every science teachers of our state ought to be familiar. Of these, five were selected: Maury, Mallet, McCormick, Walter Reed, and Richard Byrd. A study of the life and work of these men cannot fail to stimulate the deep interest of the teacher in the splendid work of these men, and such interest almost in- evitably spreads by contagion to the pupils. The historical background provided by these biographies, together with the recogni- tion of the need1 in Virginia of a far more intensive education on the scientific side, ought to produce a more stimulating type of teaching. Dr. John C. Metcalf,2 Dean of the Grad- uate School of the University of Virginia, recently called attention to the profound educational values inherent in well-written biography. He stated furthermore that in recent years biographical reading has been increasingly in vogue, and that fortunately good material has been available. It is hoped that the five brief biographies sub- mitted herewith will serve to whet the ap- petite of science teachers for additional reading relating to these "science heroes"— an appetite which may be satisfied in part, at least, by the appended brief bibliog- raphies. •O'Shea Survey Report, 1928, p. 9, 11. 2Founder's Day address at the State Teachers College, Harrisonburg, March 24, 1930. MATTHEW FONTAINE MAURY Matthew Fontaine Maury was born in Spottsylvania County, Virginia, on January 14, 1806. At the age of eighteen he joined the Navy, where he stayed until 1839, leaving because of an accident which made him a cripple for life. Soon after the accident he was put in charge of the Hydographic office in Washington. In 1861 he left this to join the Confederate Navy. Here he began the establishment of the Naval Sub- marine battery service at Richmond. After beginning this work Maury went to Europe, where he worked on the torpedo, trying to perfect its use. In 1868 he became profes- sor of physics at V. M. I., Lexington, Va.; he remained there until his death in 1873. He was buried in Hollywood cementery, Richmond, Virginia. Maury's contributions to science were concerned chiefly with the Navy, but were of far-reaching significance in several fields, viz., Oceanography, Meteorology, Georg- raphy. He explored the depth of the ocean and in 1855 published his Physical Geog- raphy of the Sea and its Meteorology. He advocated for many years the establishment of a national weather bureau especially for farmers. He conducted a systematic obser- vation of the rise and fall of water in the Mississippi River. His life and work stand as a tremendous inspiration to any one pur- suing studies in science, and should be espe- cially stimulating to all Virginians. Evidence that Virginians, at least, are not unmindful of his splendid service to man- kind is found in buildings named in his honor, such as the High School in Norfolk, Maury-Brook Hall at V. M. I., Lexington, Va., and Maury Hall (the science building) at the Harrisonburg State Teachers Col- lege ; also in a number of monuments, espe- cially the one erected in his honor at Goshen Pass, and the one recently unveiled on Monument Avenue in Richmond. May, 1930] THE VIRGINIA TEACHER 149 BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. A Life of Matthew Fontaine Maury, U. S. N. and C. S. N., compiled by his daughter, Diana Fontaine Maury Corbon, London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1888, 326 pages. (Copies at V. M. I. and State Library, Richmond.) 2. Matthew Fontaine Maury, the Pathfinder of the Seas, by Charles Lee Lewis, Annapolis, The U. S. Naval Institute, 1927, 264 pages, plates, portraits. 3. Life and Letters of Maury, by Jacqueline Ambler Caskie, Richmond Press, Inc., Rich- mond, Va., 1928, 191 pages. 4. The Pathfinder of the Seas, by John W. Way- land, Garrett and Massie, Richmond, Va., illus- trated, 1930. WALTER REED Walter Reed was born September 13, 1851, in Gloucester County, Virginia. He was educated at the University of Virginia, Bellevue Medical School and Johns Hopkins University. In 1874 he entered the medical corps of the U. S. Army as assistant sur- geon. In 1893 he was promoted to surgeon and made professor of bacteriology in the newly-organized Army Medical School. While in this position he discovered that the common house-fly is a carrier of typhoid fever. Later, in 1899, he went to Cuba with several associates to investigate the cause and method of transmission of yellow fever. He proved through a series of experiments that the yellow fever parasite was carried only by the mosquito Aedes calopus and that its bite caused the disease only under certain conditions. With the co-operation of the Health Department of Havana he was able to rid the city of this species of mosquito. Reed died in Washington, D. C, Novem- ber 23, 1902. A large hospital at Washington is named after Walter Reed, as is also the physical education building at the Harrisonburg State Teachers College. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Walter Reed (Health Heroes Series), Metro- politan Life Insurance Company, New York City. JOHN W. MALLET John William Mallet was bom of Eng- lish parents near Dublin, October 10, 1832. He was educated at the Royal College of Surgeons in Dublin and at Trinity College, University of Dublin. In 1852 he received the degree of Ph. D. at Tottingen, his thesis being a report upon the chemical examina- tion of Celtic antiquities in the museum in Dublin. Before this time he did some work on the velocity of transmission of shocks from gunpowder explosion through loose earth. In 1853 he came to the United States. The next year he was elected professor of Chemistry at the University of Alabama where he remained until 1861. In 1868 Dr. Mallet came to the University of Virginia to . organize and build up the School of Analytical and Industrial Chemistry, con- ducting what is thought to be the first syste- matic course in industrial chemistry in the United States. Here he remained the major portion of his life. Mallet died November 6, 1912, at the University of Virginia. Mallet's most notable contributions to science were published in some "200 articles upon unfamiliar chemical compounds, un- usual minerals, meteors, mineral waters, chemical and physical phenomena, and a number relating to the chemistry of medi- cine." But he also contributed very defi- nitely to science in the training of a large number of chemists who afterwards went out into prominent positions in industry, medicine, and as teachers of chemistry. BIBLIOGRAPHY k E P- Dunnington, Obituary, John William Mallet, Journal of American Chemical Society XLIX, No. 1, Jan., 1913, p. 69-73. 2. William H. Echols, In Memory of Prof. John W. Mallet, reprinted from the University of Virginia Alumni Bulletin, Jan., 1913. 3. F. P. Dunnington, A Sketch of Dr. John Wil- liam Mallet as a Chemist and Teacher, Journal of Chemical Education, Col. 5, No 2 Feb 1928, p. 183-188. - . REAR-ADMIRAL BYRD Richard Evelyn Byrd was born in Win- chester, Va., on October 24, 1888. He was educated at Shenandoah Valley Academy, Virginia Military Institute, University of 150 [Vol. 11, No. S THE VIRGINIA TEACHER Virginia, and U. S. Naval Academy. In 1925 he went to Greenland. In 1926, ac- companied by Floyd Bennett, he flew to the North Pole and back to base at Kings Bay. This daring exploit is described in Byrd's book, Skyward. In 1927 he, with three com- panions, made a trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris. In both of these flights valuable scientific data was obtained. In 1929 he made a conquest of the South Pole by airplane and a geological survey of the gigantic Queen Maud Mountains (see Spe- cial Feature Section, N. Y. Times, February 23, 1930). Using airplane and radio this expedition has developed a new technique in the field of Antarctic exploration. The expedition also secured valuable sci- entific data on the dust content of the at- mosphere, snow, auroras, temperature and constitution of the Barrier, depth of the ocean at various places, and magnetic ef- fects. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Richard E. Byrd, Skyward, Putnam, 1928, 359 p., $3.50. 2. F. Green, Dick Byrd—-Air Explorer, Putnam, 1928, $1.75. 3. C. J. V. Murphy, Struggle, Stokes, 928, $2.50. McCORMICK Cyrus Hall McCormick was born at Wal- nut Grove near Raphine, Rockbridge Coun- ty, Va., in 1809. At the age of twenty-two he invented his reaper, but was unable to convince his conservative neighbors of its worth. Previous to 1845 he had sold only two of his machines, and when, in that year, he received an order for eight from Cincin- nati he decided to go there to see what he might accomplish. Two years later he went to Chicago. Here he established (1847) the McCormick Harvesting Machine Co., which was the sound beginning of the pres- ent International Harvester Co. McCormick was a liberal benefactor of worthy causes. In 1859 he contributed generously to the establishment of the Pres- byterian Theological Seminary of the Northwest, later called McCormick Semi- nary. He also endowed a chair in Wash- ington and Lee University. In 1878 at the French Exposition he re- ceived for the third time the grand prize for his reaping and self-binding machine. He was also made a corresponding member of the French Academy of Sciences and an officer of the Legion of Honor. He died in Chicago in 1884. BIBLIOGRAPHY 1. Encyclopedia Brittanica, 14th edition, XIV. p. 554. 2. Apple ton's Cyclopedia of American Biography, IV, p. 95. 3. Encyclopedia Americana, XVIII, p. 28. 4. The New International Encyclopedia, XII, p. 607. Mary Anne Nichols Clara Payne Lena Wolfe Gertrude Bazzle THE WIND A SECOND-GRADE UNIT IN NATURE STUDY I. Outcomes A. Generalizations 1. March is the month of winds 2. The wind helps us in many ways 3. Some of our loveliest poems, sto- ries, pictures, and songs are about the wind. H. Experiences in School Subjects A. Reading 1. Definite use of books a. Using table of contents b. Caring for books c. Holding books correctly 2. Definite reading skills a. Independence in word getting b. Reading with eyes c. Reading for enjoyment d. doing selective reading e. Reading to carry out directions f. Reading orally distinctly B. Art 1. Objectives in appreciation a. Finding joy in beautiful color 

Virginia Scientists and Inventors

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Virginia Scientists and Inventors

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