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Thomas Young (scientist)
1773Jun, 13

Thomas Young (scientist)

Thomas Young, English physicist and physiologist (d. 1829)
Thomas Young FRS (13 June 1773 – 10 May 1829) was a British polymath who made notable contributions to the fields of vision, light, solid mechanics, energy, physiology, language, musical harmony, and Egyptology. He was instrumental in the decipherment of Egyptian hieroglyphs, specifically the Rosetta Stone.

Young has been described as "The Last Man Who Knew Everything". His work influenced that of William Herschel, Hermann von Helmholtz, James Clerk Maxwell, and Albert Einstein. Young is credited with establishing the wave theory of light, in contrast to the particle theory of Isaac Newton. Young's work was subsequently supported by the work of Augustin-Jean Fresnel.

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Events on 1773

  • 10May

    Tea Act

    The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by granting it a monopoly on the North American tea trade.
  • 17Jun

    Juana Rangel de Cuéllar

    Cúcuta, Colombia, is discovered by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
  • 14Oct

    Commission of National Education

    The first recorded Ministry of Education, the Commission of National Education, is formed in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.
  • 14Oct

    British East India Company

    Just before the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, several of the British East India Company's tea ships are set ablaze at the old seaport of Annapolis, Maryland.
  • 16Dec

    Boston Tea Party

    American Revolution: Boston Tea Party: Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawk Indians dump hundreds of crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act.