1781 in science

The year 1781 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Astronomy

* William Herschel discovers Uranus.
* Charles Messier publishes final catalogue of Messier objects.
* March 20 - Pierre Méchain discovers dwarf galaxy NGC 5195.

Biology

* Felix Fontana uses a microscope to describe the axon of a brain cell.

Chemistry

* Carl Wilhelm Scheele ascertains that a new acid could be made from tungstenite, leading to the discovery of tungsten in 1783.

Awards

* Copley Medal: William Herschel

Births

* January 30 - Adelbert von Chamisso, poet, botanist (died 1838)
* February 17 - Rene Theophile Hyacinthe Laennec, French physician, inventor of the stethoscope (died 1826)
* June 9 - George Stephenson, locomotive engineer (died 1848)
* June 21 - Simeon Poisson, mathematician (died 1840)
* July 6 - Thomas Stamford Raffles, founder of the Zoological Society of London (died 1826)
* October 5 - Bernhard Bolzano, mathematician (died 1848)
* December 11 - David Brewster, Scottish physicist (died 1868)

Deaths

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