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Victorian Web: Science Overview

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.victorianweb.org/science/sciov.html

Author:

The Victorian Web: George P. Landow, Brown University

Excerpt:

Some of the major transformations which occurred across the Victorian period were: the change from "natural philosophy" and "natural history" to "science", the shift from gentlemen and clerical naturalists to, for the first time, professional "scientists", the development and eventual diffusion of belief in natural laws and ongoing progress, secularization, growing interaction between science, government and industry, the formalization of science education, and a growing internationalism of science. The Victorian age also witnessed some of the most fundamental transformations of beliefs about nature and the place of humans in the universe.

Annotation:

Great source for information on scientific personas and activities during the Victorian era. Contains biographies of many scientists including Charles Darwin, Thomas Edison, Sigmund Freud, William Paley, Herbert Spencer, and Louis Agassiz. Overviews of scientific disciples are organized by Astronomy, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Physics, Psychology, Mathematics, and Medicine. Links to both on and off-site reproductions of primary documents are available as are a diversity of images. A list of links to related sites, as well as a number of bibliographies are provided as well.

Inventing Entertainment: The Early Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings of the Edison Companies

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://lcweb2.loc.gov/ammem/edhtml/edhome.html

Author:

Library of Congress

Excerpt:

Prolific inventor Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931) has had a profound impact on modern life. In his lifetime, the "Wizard of Menlo Park" patented 1,093 inventions, including the phonograph, the kinetograph (a motion picture camera), and the kinetoscope (a motion picture viewer). Edison managed to become not only a renowned inventor, but also a prominent manufacturer and businessman through the merchandising of his inventions.

Annotation:

This excellent site features 341 motion pictures, 81 disc sound recordings, and other related materials, such as photographs and original magazine articles documenting Thomas Edison's corporate impact on the history of American entertainment. Thomas Alva Edison (1847-1931)—prolific inventor, manufacturer, and businessman—patented 1,093 inventions, including the phonograph, the kinetograph (a motion picture camera), and the kinetoscope (a motion picture viewer). All are searchable by keyword, title, or subject; movies are presented in QuickTime, Mpeg and RealMedia formats and a capsule description of each film is provided. Special pages focus on the life of the great inventor and histories of Edison's contribution to motion picture and sound recording technologies. Part of the American Memory Collection at the Library of Congress, drawn from collections in the Library of Congress Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division.

Uniting a Nation: Two Giants of Telecommunications, Alexander Graham Bell and Samuel F.B. Morse

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/atthtml/

Author:

Library of Congress

Excerpt:

The invention of the telegraph and the telephone provided the first "paving stones" for what has today become the information superhighway. The Manuscript Division of the Library of Congress holds the main body of the papers of the two American inventors most responsible for the 19th century revolution in telecommunications, Samuel F. B. Morse and Alexander Graham Bell. During the next few years, manuscripts and photographs donated to the Library of Congress by descendents of Morse and Bell will be made available online as part of the American Memory Historical Collections. The production of these collections is supported by a generous gift from the AT&T Foundation.

Annotation:

This Library of Congress site is devoted to Alexander Graham Bell, Samuel F. B. Morse, and the early developement of telecommunications. The site is divided into two sections. The first section provides access to a selection of the Alexander Graham Bell Family Papers. The selection includes 4,695 items dated from 1862 to 1939. The Bell Family Papers are indexed by series, subject, and name, and the collection is searchable. However, the second section dealing with Samuel F. B. Morse, remains in the preview stage as of 09/08/2004. It gives a brief overview of the life of Morse, but it is not yet searchable and makes no reference to Morse's career as a nativist.

American Experience: The Telephone

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/telephone/index.html

Author:

PBS

Excerpt:

The telephone was first introduced at the Centennial Exposition in 1876 and was an instant success. Although first rented only to "persons of good breeding" and seen as an expensive luxury for doctors and businessmen, the telephone soon transformed American life. Trees gave way to telephone poles as operators known as "hello girls" began to connect a sprawling continent.

Annotation:

A web presence for the American Experience's documentary about the telephone. Online resources include capsules on Alexander Graham Bell, Elisha Gray, Thomas Alva Edison, Thomas A. Watson and their relationship to the development of the telephone; accounts of significant events in the development of the telephone; and gallery of phones from different eras. The site also has a more general "Technology Timeline," a page devoted to forgotten inventors, and links to other American Experience sites.

Historic Ship Nautilus Submarine Force Museum

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.ussnautilus.org/

Author:

Doug Gehlsen and Tim Martin

Excerpt:

The Submarine Force Museum, located on the Thames River in Groton, Connecticut, maintains the world's finest collection of submarine artifacts. It is the only submarine museum operated by the United States Navy, and as such is the primary repository for artifacts, documents and photographs relating to U.S. Submarine Force history. The museum traces the development of the "Silent Service" from David Bushnell's Turtle, used in the Revolutionary War, to the modern Los Angeles, Ohio and Seawolf class submarines.

Annotation:

This site briefly recounts a history of the USS Nautilus, including a list of the ship's Commanding Officers and Medal of Honor winners. Virtual tours of the submarine and museum are available, and feature several QuickTime Virtual Reality movies. Information concerning the Submarine Force Library and Archives, with a selected bibliography, are posted. A number of submarine-related sites are linked.

Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.state.sc.us/patpt/

Excerpt:

The centerpiece of Patriots Point is the world famous aircraft carrier USS YORKTOWN, a heavily decorated warship that was at the "tip of the spear" in America's victory in the Pacific during World War II. Find out more about the ships of Patriots Point, the magnificent aircraft, and the rest of the exhibits that make Patriots Point one of the most visited attractions in the Carolinas! Click on the image to the right to take a tour of the flight deck!

Annotation:

This site mostly offers information about the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum itself. It does not offer online archives or histories. Exploring the site one can view a number of photographs of naval content.

United States Naval and Shipbuilding Museum and USS Salem (CA 139) Online

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.uss-salem.org/

Excerpt:

Welcome to the United States Naval Shipbuilding Museum Online. Located in historic Quincy, Massachusetts. The USNSM is home to the USS Salem, the world's only preserved Heavy Cruiser. We are located in the former Quincy Fore River Shipyard, once one of the Nation's largest Shipbuilding Enterprises.

Annotation:

This site features a brief history of the USS Salem, as well as its specifications, photographs, and images of crew artwork.

NASA Historical Archive for Manned Missions

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/history.html

Author:

Jim Dumoulin

Excerpt:

The Kennedy Space Center's Apace Flight Archives document the history of the American space program from the NASA Space Act of 1958.

Annotation:

The Historical Archive of the Kennedy Center provides historical overviews of NASA, rocketry and aeronautics. More in depth examinations of NASA'a space flight missions are available. These include not only accounts of the mission objectives and results, but primary documents, images, video and audio files. An excellent research source, with links to many other NASA sites of historical interest.

NASA Human Spaceflight

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/

Author:

Kim Dismukes and Radislav Sinyak, NASA

Excerpt:

Human space flight starts on the ground, where thousands of NASA employees, contractors and industry partners work together to send humans safely into space.

Do you want to see the International Space Station from your back yard? Check out NASA's SkyWatch application or Sightings by Cities to get the times in which the Station will be visible in your area.

Annotation:

This site developed by NASA contains information on current projects (International Space Station etc.) as well as histories of previous NASA projects. Some of the interesting features are the extensive image galleries, mission summaries, descriptions of past project goals and outcomes, and news releases about future plans. The history pages contain large amounts of detailed historical information including several full-length books.

Naval Historical Center

Submitted by Anonymous on Thu, 11/08/2007 - 20:18.

URL:

http://www.history.navy.mil/

Author:

United States Department of the Navy

Excerpt:

The Naval Historical Center is the official history program of the Department of the Navy. Its lineage dates back to 1800 with the founding of the Navy Department Library by President John Adams. The Center now includes a museum, art gallery, research library, archives, and curator as well as research and writing programs. The Center's origins form a rich history in themselves.

Annotation:

Excellent resource for historians, students, and those with a curiosity about the history of the United States Navy. The site contains numerous primary documents, bibliographies, biographies, and narrative accounts. Holdings are particularly extensive with regards to naval conflicts from the Revolutionary War to the present. Additionally, information is available on source holdings available outside the Naval Historical Center (organized by state). Easily searchable and well organized by topic and chronology.