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List of years in science (Table)
… 1771 • 1772 • 1773 • 1774 • 1775 • 1776 • 1777 •    1778 • 1779 • 1780 – 1781 – 1782 • 1783 • 1784 •    1785 • 1786 • 1787 • 1788 • 1789 • 1790 • 1791 …
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… 1778 • 1779 • 1780 – 1781 – 1782 • 1783 • 1784 … … 1750s • 1760s • 1770s – 1780s – 1790s • 1800s • 1810s … … 17th century – 18th century – 19th century …
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The year 1781 in science and technology involved some significant events.

Contents 1 Astronomy 2 Biology 3 Chemistry 4 Awards 5 Births 6 Deaths

[edit] Astronomy

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

[edit] Biology

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

[edit] Chemistry

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

[edit] Awards

• Copley Medal: William Herschel

[edit] 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)

[edit] Deaths