Malacologist József Vágvölgyi discovers Lonesome George. He took it to the Charles Darwin Research Station with females of a similar species (Chelonoidis becki), hoping to preserve its genes

The doctor Francisco Javier Balmis is born. He led the Royal Philanthropic Expedition to spread the smallpox vaccine throughout America and the Philippine Islands

Doctor Carlos Juan Finlay is born. He discovered that yellow fever is transmitted by a vector, the female Aedes aegypti mosquito. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize up to seven times

Aerospace engineer JoAnn Hardin Morgan is born. She worked on the Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. She had access to the control panel in the Apollo 11 launch room

A consortium led by the Valencia Institute of Biomedicine (CSIC) finds new cases of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that had not been detected with the standard method

Self-taught mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan is elected member of the London Mathematical Society (United Kingdom). During his short life, he made extraordinary contributions to mathematics

Psychologist Eleanor Gibson is born. She studied the development processes of reading and perceptual learning at early ages

Johannes Ingenhusz is born. He is considered the discoverer of photosynthesis, the process by which plants synthesize organic molecules in the presence of light, releasing oxygen

Paleoanthropologist Mary Leakey dies. In the Olduvai Gorge (Tanzania), she discovered the fossil human remains of a species afterwards named Zinjanthropus boisei

The oceanographer Fernando Fraga joins the Royal Galician Academy of Sciences. He described how the behavior of the waters causes, in large part, the enormous wealth of the Galician estuaries

Linguist and philologist Pierre Bec is born. Specialized in Romance languages, he is particularly known for his studies on Occitan language and literature

The Paris Agreement is adopted. This historic agreement was negotiated by 195 countries to tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions

The eruption of the Tajogaite volcano, on the Cumbre Vieja ridge (Island of La Palma, Canary Islands), ends. In total, this Strombolian eruption lasted 85 days

Biologist Ethel Browne Harvey, known for her findings on cell division, is born. She managed to develop enucleated sea urchin eggs through artificial parthenogenesis

Paleontologist Nieves López Martínez dies. She was renowned for her research and teaching efforts and was instrumental in modernizing paleontological studies in Spain

Historian Maria Lúcia Mott is born. Her research on the history of health stands out. She is also a pioneer of gender studies in Brazil

The doctor Ibn Nafis dies. He is famous for his discoveries about pulmonary circulation, centuries before the descriptions of Michael Servetus or William Harvey

Engineer Alec Issigonis is born. He dedicated his professional career to automobile construction. His greatest success was the Mini, one of the most iconic cars of the 20th century

Virologist Robert H. Purcell is born. He is known for his studies on hepatitis viruses. He discovered the hepatitis A virus (HAV) together with Kapikian and Feinstone

Immunologist Helen Lee Gruehl Aikman is born. She co-authored more than a dozen scientific papers on protein sensitivity, allergies, and asthma

The Challenger expedition begins, which was the first major global oceanographic campaign. This date is often considered the birth of oceanography

Ichthyologist Rosemary (Ro) Lowe-McConnell dies. She is known for her studies on tropical fish thanks to her expeditions in Africa and South America. In 1997, she received the Linnean Medal

Scientific illustrator Georgiana Elizabeth Ormerod is born. Her sister, the entomologist Eleanor Ormerod, used her drawings of insects in publications and in classes at agricultural colleges

The chess player, mathematician, and philosopher Emanuel Lasker is born. His main mathematical contributions focused on the abstract algebra field

Paleobotanist Inna A. Dobruskina is born. She was one of the leading experts on the Triassic period. Her monograph on Triassic flowers in Eurasia is particularly notable

Chemist Martin Gouterman is born. Applying quantum theory, he proposed the four molecular orbital model in the study of porphyrins. He was also a prominent activist

María Ángeles Durán receives the Gold Medal for Merit at Work. Her research focuses on the analysis of unpaid work and its relationship with the social and economic structure

Software engineer Linus Torvalds is born. He is known for developing the Linux kernel, free and open source software. He also developed the version control software Git

Mathematician and astronomer Ibn al-Banna al-Marrakushi is born. Some of his most notable works include methods for calculating the square roots of numbers and a theory on continued fractions

Neuroscientist Rita Levi-Montalcini dies. She received the Nobel Prize in 1986, together with biochemist Stanley Cohen, for discovering the first known growth factor in the nervous system

The chemist Piedad de la Cierva Viudes, a pioneer in artificial radiation in Spain, dies. She also researched optical glass or the manufacture of refractory bricks