b. November 11, 1751 and d. June 4, 1801

French chemist and mathematician. France is indebted to him for having perfected the manufacture of cast steel and for an imitation of Damascus scimiter blades.

 It may be averred that as certainly as the age of
 iron superseded that of bronze, so will the age of
 steel reign triumphant over iron.

 —Henry Bessemer

 Jubal: he was the father of all such as handle
 the harp and organ. And Zillah, she also bare
 Tubal-cain, an instructor of every artificer in brass
 and iron. —Genesis, Chapter IV 640 B. C.—Phœcus of Samos invented the art of casting statues in iron and bronze. 640 B. C.—Phœcus of Samos invented the art of casting statues in iron and bronze. 1515—Tyrol. The rolling machine was invented by Hall.

 640 B. C.—Phœcus of Samos invented the art of casting statues in iron and bronze. 1515—Tyrol. The rolling machine was invented by Hall. 1740—Benjamin Huntsman set up a manufactory for cast steel at Handsworth, near Sheffield.

 1800—The manufacture of shear-steel began in Sheffield.

 1867, November (about)—John Heaton’s process for making steel was announced.

 1867—Montefiore-Levi and Kunzel invented an alloy of copper, tin and phosphorus known as phosphor-bronze.

 1876—Manganese bronze, a new metal, was produced by P. M. Parsons, inventor of white brass.

b. November 11, 1668 and d. January 11, 1757

A Jesuit; eminent as a mathematician and philosopher. His principal works are “A Treatise on Universal Gravity”; “Universal Mathematics.” He was the inventor of an instrument called the Ocular Harpsichord, intended to affect the eye by colors in the same manner that the ear is affected by sound.

 But in his silent chamber the thoughtful sage is projecting
 Magical circles, and steals e’en on the spirit that forms,
 Proves the force of the matter, the hatred and loves of the
 magnet,
 Follows the tune through the air, follows through ether the
 ray,
 Seeks the familiar law in chance’s miracles dreaded,
 Looks for the ne’er-changing pole in the phenomena’s flight.

 —The Walk: Schiller

 There’s music in all things, if men had ears
 [eyes].

 —Byron

 Music requires, indeed, a code of rules just as
 poesy requires a system of versification.

 —Thibaut

 1686—Newton published his “Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica,” describing his theories of force, action and reaction; his conception of mass; his explanation of gravity, and his formulation of the principles of the parallelogram of forces.