Born today 1809 Louis Braille was a French educator and the inventor of a reading and writing system named after him, braille, intended for use by visually impaired people. His system is used worldwide and remains virtually unchanged to this day.

Born today 1950 Sir Alec Jeffreys, BR geneticist known for developing techniques for genetic fingerprinting & DNA profiling which are now used worldwide in forensic science to assist police detective work and to resolve paternity disputes.

Born today 1922 Har Khorana, Indian-U.S biochemist. In 1968 he won the Nobel Prize for Physiology/Med with Nirenberg & Holley for research that showed the order of nucleotides in nucleic acids, which carry genetic code of the cell and control the cell's synthesis of proteins.

Born today 1858 Elizabeth Britton U.S botanist, bryologist, & educator. She & her husband,played a significant role in the fundraising & creation of the New York Botanical Garden. She was a co-founder of the precursor body to the American Bryological and Lichenological Society.

Born today 1924 Roger Charles Louis Guillemin a French-American neuroscientist. He received the National Medal of Science in 1976, and the Nobel prize for medicine in 1977 for his work on neurohormones, sharing the prize that year with Andrew Schally and Rosalyn Sussman Yalow.

Born today 1837 William Williams Keen Jr. was an American physician and the first brain surgeon in the United States. During his lifetime, Keen worked with six American presidents

Born today 1813 Sir Henry Bessemer, Eng inventor, whose steel-making process became the most important technique for making steel in the 19thC for almost one hundred years. Played significant role in establishing Sheffield, nicknamed ‘Steel City’, as a major industrial centre.

Born today 1913 Choh Hao Li Chinese-born U.S biochemist who discovered in 1966 that human pituitary growth hormone (somatotropin) consists of a chain of 256 amino acids. In 1970, he succeeded in synthesising this hormone, the largest protein molecule synthesised up to that time.

Born today,1869 Herbert Atkinson Barker, Eng manipulative surgeon. Developed a highly successful technique, specialising in knee & other joints both with sportsmen & the public. Advocated avoidance of surgery. However, his methods were never formally approved by the medical est.

Died today 2013, Shakuntala Devi Indian mental calculator &writer, popularly known as the "Human Computer". Her talent earned her a place in the 1982 edition of The Guinness Book of World Records.

Born today Phoebe Sarah Hertha Ayrton 1854, British engineer, mathematician, physicist & inventor, & suffragette. Known in adult life as Hertha Ayrton, she was awarded the Hughes Medal by the Royal Society for her work on electric arcs and ripple marks in sand and water.

Born today 1753 Franz Karl Achard was a German (Prussian) chemist, geoscientist, physicist, and biologist. His principal discovery was the production of sugar from sugar beets.

Today in 1932, a vaccine was announced for yellow fever for human immunisation. This first public announcement was made at a meeting of the American Societies for Experimental Biology at Philadelphia. It was developed by Drs. Wilbur Sawyer, Wray Lloyd, & Stuart Kitchen.

Born today 1764 Joseph was an English surgeon who was born in London. He was associated with St George's Hospital and Duke of York Hospital in Chelsea. He was a skilled surgeon and popular lecturer of anatomy.

Born today 1733, Jean-Charles de Borda, French mathematician and nautical astronomer noted for his studies of fluid mechanics and his development of instruments for navigation and geodesy, the study of the size and shape of the Earth.

Wow! What a start to Science week at Phoenix Primary. We had “Erica Explosive” from Mad Science come into school and show us some fantastic investigations. The children and staff loved it and knew that “It’s not magic, it’s science!”

Well done year one. Amazing work.

Thank you to Juliet, Peter and Michael for visiting us this morning. It was a great experience and we were delighted we could share our campaign for free school meals for all with you and GMB. Until the next time! Sue Evans-Phoenix Primary.