1936 - Gerhard Ertl was born.

Ertl is a German physical chemist who was awarded the 2007 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on chemical processes on solid surfaces. He studied the changes in a surface of a catalyst during a reaction. His techniques gave a new level of detail to the understanding of the process to synthesize ammonia and the oxidation of carbon monoxide.

1930 - Yves Chauvin was born.

Chauvin is a French organic chemist who shares the 2005 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with with Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock for their development of the metathesis method in organic synthesis. Chauvin described how metathesis reactions function and the types of metal compounds that act as catalysts for the reactions. Metathesis is an organic reaction that redistributes the bonds of similar interacting chemicals so the products' bonding affiliations are identical or similar to the reactants. It is used to create pharmaceuticals and petroleum polymers with less waste and byproducts.

1846 - Neptune's moon Triton is discovered.

NASA

Neptune's moon Triton was discovered by English astronomer, William Lassell. It was discovered just 17 days after the planet itself was discovered. It is the largest moon of the 12 moons known to be orbiting Neptune and follows a retrograde orbit (opposite direction of the planet's spin).

1731 - Henry Cavendish was born.

The Life of the Hon. Henry Cavendish/George Wilson 1851

Cavendish was a British natural philosopher who discovered "inflammable air" or the element hydrogen. He also discovered it produced water when combusted. Cavendish is also known for the Cavendish experiment to determine the gravitational constant and density of the Earth.