Secondary Source

The History of Dentistry

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:25.

URL:

http://www.sadanet.co.za/dhw/history/overview.html

Excerpt:

Oral disease has been a problem for humans from the beginning of history. Skulls of Cro-Magnon peoples, who inhabited the earth 25,000 years ago, show evidence of tooth decay. The earliest recorded reference to oral disease is from an ancient (5000 BC) Sumerian text that describes "tooth worms" as a cause of dental decay. There is historical evidence that the Chinese used acupuncture around 2700 BC to treat pain associated with tooth decay.

Annotation:

This History of Dentistry site contains a descriptive narrative that tells the story of how dentistry developed through the ages to become the sophisticated medical science of today. The site begins with facts about prehistoric and ancient ideas about teeth and tooth disease, as well as early method of care and treatment. From there, the writer continues the story under a wide range of subject headings from "The Etruscan Practical Approach" to "The History of Toothpaste." Each article also includes links to endnotes as well. This site is part of the larger South African Dental Association site and there are a host of articles concerning contemporary dental issues that can be accessed from the side bar. The site acts as a primer on dental history and a guide to literary reference.

Elizabeth Blackwell: That Girl There is Doctor of Medicine

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:25.

URL:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/blackwell/index.html

Excerpt:

On the morning of Tuesday, January 23, 1849, a young woman ascended the platform of the Presbyterian church in Geneva, N.Y., and received from the hands of the President of Geneva Medical College a diploma conferring upon her the degree of Doctor of Medicine. Thus, after many years of determined effort, Elizabeth Blackwell became the first woman to complete a course of study at a medical college and receive the M.D. degree.

Annotation:

This is an online companion to an exhibit on Elizabeth Blackwell, the first female M.D., that was held in 1999 at the National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Maryland. The site is well designed and easily navigated. The exhibit contains a narrative description of Elizabeth Blackwell's college career, and there are some images of documents such as her Geneva Medical College diploma; however, the images do not have enough resolution to be easily used as a primary sources online. The site is a good background source, and the captions of the images have references to the location of the original documents for visitors who are interested in pursuing further research.

John Holland: Irish-American Submarine Inventor

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:25.

URL:

http://www.allaboutirish.com/library/people/holland.htm

Excerpt:

John Holland was a brilliant man with a vision of how submarines could change naval warfare. His humble beginnings gave no clue of the contribution he would make not to his native Ireland but to the navies of some of the world's most powerful countries.

John Phillip Holland was born in 1841 to John and Mary Scanlon Holland in Liscannor, Co. Clare. His mother was an Irish speaker, so John and his brothers learned English only after they were old enough to attend school.

Annotation:

John Phillip Holland was a Irish born teacher who designed and built the first a series of submarines, several of which were purchased and used by various nations in warfare around the turn of the twentieth century. Holland also developed the U.S. Navy's first modern submarine and become known as the Father of the U.S. Submarine Service. This site is basic with a little navigation, but links within the text point visitors to several alternate sites concerning Holland and his submarines, several of which include images, drawings, and primary source materials from newspapers, correspondence, etc.

The Virtual Laboratory

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:24.

URL:

http://vlp.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de/

Excerpt:

"Experimentalization of life" designates a process that began in Europe around 1800 to reconfigure science, art, and technology. After experimental physiology had established itself as one of the paradigmatic disciplines of the 19th century, psychology and linguistics also became laboratory-based enterprises.

Experimental cultures emerged thereafter in a variety of places, as for example in literary movements relying on automatism, aleatorics, and combination. New media such as photography and film transformed the fine arts and the sciences. Cities became vast fields of experience in which people undertook all sorts of experiments in living.

The project investigates the experimentalization of life with a focus on the material culture of instruments, buildings and supply technologies. In a "Virtual Laboratory", relevant source materials as well as results of ongoing research work are made accessible online.

Annotation:

The Virtual Laboratory is a resource for the history of the human and life sciences (especially psychology) and the "experimentalization of life." In addition to the typical aspects of science and technology, this site adds a dimension dealing with how art intersects these areas. The site is broken into logical sections including, experiments, technology, objects, sites, people, etc. The "people" section contains an extensive collection of career sketches for many important scientists. After each entry, a user can click a link to search the technology database and library for related materials. Other sections offer the same linking capabilities, thereby connecting experiments to concepts to technology to essays and more. This cross-linking makes the large site seem small and easy to navigate. The site archives historical texts and images, as well as new essays. The virtual Laboratory is in English, but much of the archived material is in German.

Historic Pittsburgh

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:23.

URL:

http://digital.library.pitt.edu/pittsburgh

Author:

University of Pittsburgh's Digital Research Library

Excerpt:

Historic Pittsburgh is a digital collection that provides an opportunity to explore and research the history of Pittsburgh and the surrounding Western Pennsylvania area on the Internet. This website enables access to historic material held by the University of Pittsburgh's University Library System, the Library & Archives of the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania at the Senator John Heinz Pittsburgh Regional History Center, and the Carnegie Museum of Art. The project represents a model of cooperation between libraries and museums in providing online access to their respective materials.

Annotation:

This site chronicles the history of the city of Pittsburg. The site includes a timeline that offers a general overview with brief entries, but the researcher who wants in-depth information can head to the collection of more than 500 full-text books, thousands of images, and hundreds of maps available on the site. The books and images are searchable and the maps are indexed with lists of important landmarks linked to their location on each map. Census records are also available for the mid-nineteenth century.

The History of the Dow Jones Averages

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:23.

URL:

http://www.cftech.com/BrainBank/FINANCE/DowJonesAvgsHist.html

Excerpt:

Neither financier nor broker Charles Dow was a journalist. The stock averages he devised provided a window for outsiders to view the market; Wall Street types were welcome to use it, but they were not his chief concern.

When Dow came to Wall Street, the investment market of choice was bonds. Investors liked securities that were backed by real machinery, factories and other hard assets. They felt reassured by the predictability of income that bonds offered, as well as the specific dates of maturity when their principle would be returned. The stock market, by contrast, dealt in "shares of ownership" which had no specific claim on anything a company owned.

Annotation:

This site chronicles how Charles Dow devised the now famous Dow Jones stock averages, and how they developed from 1884 to 1995. Besides terminology that may sometimes leave the uninitiated scratching their heads, this site is a good starting point for understanding the history and function of today's stock exchanges. The short and rather basic story of Charles Dow's average is supplemented through links to information such as lists of companies tracked by each of the Dow Jones averages, an explanation of the OTC market and Nasdaq, and listing standards for the New York Stock Exchange. A table also lists historical records for the NYSE. The navigation within the site is not facilitated by tabs, a side bar, or search tool, but the site is small enough to navigate easily.

Airship Heritage Trust

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.

URL:

http://www.aht.ndirect.co.uk/

Excerpt:

Airshipsonline houses the online archive of the Airship Heritage Trust. Inside you will find an extensive history relating to all of the British Airships from 1900 to the present day. The OnLine-Forum is open to to offer comment and share in news and knowledge between members and the public who share in the interest of lighter than air travel. The Trust is a charitable voluntary run organisation based in the U.K. We own and are responsible for the national heritage airship archive and large collection of airship artifact's and photographs relating to the British Airship Programme, from it’s early days at the turn of the century to the Skyships of the 1980’s.

Annotation:

Airshipsonline exists to provide viewers with access to the archives of the Airship Heritage Trust. The trust was originally established by enthusiasts and relatives of crew members, and continues as an effort to preserve airship history. The site includes a vast array of information relating to all aspects of lighter-than-air technology, especially in the U.K. Uninitiated readers can visit the online reference section to read an elaborate history of airships in general, or individual models. There is also an online discussion forum, dozens of images, and 25 short movie downloads created from original film footage of ships flying, landing, and "on the mast." Designs and flight plans are interesting features of the site as well. The material is not searchable, but a helpful index allows users to jump directly to the information they need, and the site provides an long list of related links with notes.

Turkish Aircraft Production History

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.

URL:

http://www.tuncay-deniz.com/ENGLISH/english.html

Excerpt:

It is not widely known that Turkey began quite early to be active in aircraft production. At the beginning the aircraft production was supported mainly by the army. After a difficult start-up phase this status changed only gradually. In the course of time, both civilian institutions and private persons worked in this interesting area. In the following you will find the very first attempt to present this quite unknown part of aviation in a very summarized form.

Annotation:

This site, dedicated to the history of a Turkish aircraft industry, gives a summarized version of the material available in a book by the site's author, an aviation enthusiast who was born in Turkey and grew up in Germany. The site has a very basic design and the navigation is difficult because the pages are labled in many cases by Turkish names and acronyms that are not readily understandable by an english-speaking audiance. Also, each page is not cross-linked, so viewers will have to back-click to the first page before continueing to each following section. But despite the navigational difficulties, the site does offer some interesting information about the Turkish government's interest in aircraft and the partnerships between Turkish groups and foreign manufacturers. The site includes tables that list aircraft licenced for production in Turkey, the years of production, and the actual numbers produced. There are also a few images.

Aquae Urbis Romae - The Waters of the City of Rome

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.

URL:

http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/waters/

Annotation:

An interactive cartographic history of the relationship between hydrological and hydraulic systems and their impact on the urban development of Rome, Italy from 753 BC to the present day.

Conde McCullough

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:22.

URL:

http://www.nestucca.k12.or.us/bridge/conde.htm

Author:

Nestucca Valley School District

Excerpt:

Conde B. McCullough was the head of the Bridge Division of the Oregon Department of Transportation from 1920-1935. In that position, he was personally responsible for the design and construction of 162 of the most beautiful and functional bridges in the United States. Virtually all of the bridges that make up the Oregon Coast Highway 101 (formally known as the Roosevelt Military Highway) are McCullough designs. The highway was just beginning to be paved in 1927 and had no permanent crossings of the numerous rivers that line the Oregon coast. By 1932, the highway was paved, but it wasn't until 1936 when the three final bridges were completed over Coos Bay, Alsea Bay and Yaquina Bay that the highway was complete.

Annotation:

Biography with a listing of some of McCullough's bridges.