Daniel Solander
Daniel Solander, a Swedist botanist, was born Feb. 19, 1733. Solander trained under the great Carl Linnaeus in Uppsala and moved to England in 1760, thereby becoming one of the many Linnaean “apostles” who helped put Linnaean taxonomy into practice....Leon Battista Alberti
Leon Battista Alberti, a Renaissance humanist, architect, art theorist, and mathematician, was born either Feb. 14 or Feb. 18, 1404. When most people hear the term “Renaissance man,” they think of Leonardo da Vinci, but Alberti is a much better fit – a...René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec
René-Théophile-Hyacinthe Laennec, a French physician, was born Feb. 17, 1781. In 1816, Laennec was treating a young woman for heart problems. Most French physicians at that time recognized the importance of both percussion – tapping the chest with one’s...Jean Baptiste d’Omalius d’Halloy
Jean Baptiste Julien d’Omalius d’Halloy, a Belgian geologist, was born Feb. 16, 1783, in Liège. He came from wealthy noble stock, but while furthering his education in Paris, he discovered geology…