1875 - Science

Science

A doctoral thesis by Dutch physicist Hendrik Antoon Lorentz, 21, at the University of Leyden refines the 1873 electromagnetic theory of James Clerk Maxwell to explain the reflection and refraction of light.

Physicist William Crookes invents the radiometer, an instrument for measuring radiant energy in any part of the electromagnetic spectrum.

A paper published by Ferdinand J. Cohn on the classification of bacteria introduces the term bacillus (see 1872).

Geologist Sir Charles Lyell dies at London February 22 at age 77 while revising his classic Principles of Geology.