Charles Darwin is known for his work on the theory of evolution but did you also know he spent time researching earthworms? Each year on Feb 12th, we celebrate Darwin Day as a celebration on the anniversary of the birth of the historical scientist Charles Darwin, who was born on February 12, 1809. Darwin is most well-known for his publication On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859. This publication was the first to rigorously describe biological evolution through natural selection (1).

In addition to being the founder of the theory of evolution, Darwin also began and ended his career with publications on earthworms.   His work with earthworms was also very controversial and was seen unfavorably in scientific circles.  Darwin experimented to show the intelligence and value of earthworms for crop production in a time when they were seen as pests that were dumb, blind, unpleasant, and slimy creatures. (2)

Darwin’s work with evolution along with Gregor Mendel’s work with genetics laid the ground work for modern biotechnology, genes, and heredity.  Bioengineers, today, hope to use the foundations of these works to cure certain hereditary diseases. (3)

Historic and current books on Darwin and the theory of evolution:

• Darwin, Charles. 1860. On the origin of species by means of natural selection, or The preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life. New York: D. Appleton and company. Main Library QH365 .O2 1860a. or NetLibrary
• Seward, A.C. (Albert Charles). Darwin and Modern Science: Essays in Commemoration of the Centenary of the Birth of Charles Darwin and of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Publication of the Origin of Species. Champaign, Ill.: Project Gutenberg, (n.d.). NetLibrary Electronic Book 
• Ruse, Michael. Charles Darwin. Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub., 2008. Ebrary Electronic Book
• Darwin, Charles. Charles Darwin’s notebooks from the voyage of the Beagle. New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009. Main Library QH11 .D22 2009
• “Charles Darwin (1809-1882).”  BBC History. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/darwin_charles.shtml

Books on Darwin and Earthworms:

• Darwin, Charles. 1838. On the formation of mould. Proceedings of the Geological Society of London. 2, 574-576.
• Darwin, Charles. 1881. The formation of vegetable mould through the action of worms, with observations on their habits. London: John Murray. Special Collections Stein Collection QL394 .D3 1896 
• Brown, George G., et al. 2003. With Darwin, earthworms turn intelligent and become human friends. Pedobiologica. 47, 924-933. Electronic Access through ScienceDirect
• Feller, Christian, et al. 2003. Charles Darwin, earthworms and the natural sciences: various lessons from past to future. Agriculture Ecosystems and Environment. 99, 29-49. Electronic Access through ScienceDirect

References:

1. “About Darwin Day.” International Darwin Day Foundation. http://darwinday.org/about/
2. Schils, Rene.  2012. How James Watt invented the copier: forgotten inventions of our great scientists. New York: Springer. 71-76. Engineering Library T15 .S35513 2012
3. Marx, J.L. (ed.) 1989. A revolution in biotechnology. New York: Cambridge University Press. pp. 2-4.
4. Charles Darwin by Lock & Whitfield. 1877. National Portrait Gallery, London.  http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/use-this-image.php?mkey=mw62368

The world today would be a very different place without the inventions of Thomas A. Edison.  He was known as the Wizard of Menlo Park.

Edison had obtained 1,093 US Patents over 63 years from 1868 to 1931 (1,084 utility patents and 9 design patents).  Only 2 people hold more patents in the United States.  (1)

His research provided notable contributions to telegraphy, telephony, sound recording, electronic lighting, electric power generation and distribution, and the motion picture. (2) Edison’s first invention, in 1869, was an electric vote-recorder.  It was to allow Washington congressmen to vote “yes” or “no” but they were not interested so the invention proved unsuccessful.  (http://www.google.com/patents/US90646)

Other notable inventions include: (3)

STENCIL PEN: The stencil pen was the predecessor to tattoo pens.

PRACTICAL ELECTRIC LAMP: Edison’s carbon filament light bulb was the first commercially viable electric light. Previous versions were not as durable and used expensive materials such as platinum.

FRUIT PRESERVER: Edison designed a fruit preserver that sucked the oxygen out of the glass jars, producing vacuum-sealed jars of fruit.

KINETOGRAPHIC CAMERA: The camera showed successive photos in a rapid speed so as to make them appear to be moving.

A complete listing of all of Thomas A. Edison’s 1,093 patents:  http://edison.rutgers.edu/patents.htm

In addition to the patents issues in the United States, Edison also was issued 1239 patents by foreign governments. (4) 

To Learn More:

• Thomas A. Edison: Father of Invention, check out this video available through Alexander Street Press.
• Barksdale, Martha.  “10 Inventions by Thomas Edison (That You Never Heard Of)”  13 January 2010.  HowStuffWorks.com.
  
• The University of Iowa Libraries has 58 books/videos related to Thomas A. Edison.
  • Baldwin, Neil,. 1995. Edison, inventing the century. 1st ed. New York : Hyperion.  TK140.E3 B25 1995 Main Library.
  • Israel, Paul. 1998. Edison : A life of invention. New York : John Wiley.   TK140.E3 I87 1998 Engineering Library.
  • Friedel, Robert D., Paul Israel, and Bernard S. Finn. 2010.  Edison’s electric light : The art of invention.  Baltimore : Johns Hopkins University Press.  TK4351 .F75 2010 Engineering Library.
  • McFee, Inez Nellie Canfield,. 1922. The story of thomas A. edison. New York : Barse & Hopkins. Special Collections Iowa Authors Collection.
  • Stross, Randall E. 2007. The wizard of menlo park : How thomas alva edison invented the modern world. 1st ed.  New York : Crown Publishers.   TK140.E3 S76 2007 Main Library.
  • Edison, Thomas A., and Dagobert D. Runes. 1968. The diary and sundry observations of thomas alva edison. New York,: Greenwood Press  TK140.E3 A3 1948a Main Library.

References:

1. Love, Dylan. 2011. The 10 Greatest Inventors in the Modern Era.  Business Insider. May 6, 2011.  http://www.businessinsider.com/most-prolific-inventors-2011-5?op=1
2. Jenkins, Reese V. and Keith A. Nier.  1984. A Record for Invention: Thomas Edison and His Papers.  IEEE Transactions on Education. 27 (4): 191 – 197. http://proxy.lib.uiowa.edu/login?url=http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=4321702
3. Aquino, Judith. 2011. Thomas Edison’s 31 Greatest Inventions. Business Insider. April 7, 2011. http://www.businessinsider.com/thomas-edison-inventions-light-bulb-and-30-more?op=1
4. Dyer, Frank Lewis, and Thomas Commerford Martin. 1910. Edison, his life and inventions. Volume 2. New York, London,: Harper & Brothers. Electronic Resource (NetLibrary).

Pi Day Featured:

• 366 apple pie bites eaten in 1 hour and 24 minutes!
• 7 games of Pi Day Trivia featuring questions on Pi and Pie!

View more pictures in our facebook album.   Photos by: Carol Grow Johnk

Thank you to the College of Engineering Outreach Agents for creating the trivia questions and to Grace Baron, Amanda Senn, and Shaan Amin for running the game!

Also, a big thank you to Amanda Schreiner,  Ann Khan, and Ilsa May for help with keep up with the food and beverages.