Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit
Born24 May 1686 (14 May Old Style)
Danzig, Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth
(present-day Gdańsk, Poland)
Died16 September 1736(1736-09-16) (aged 50)
The Hague, Dutch Republic
Known forPrecision thermometry
Alcohol thermometer
Mercury-in-glass thermometer
Fahrenheit scale
Fahrenheit hydrometer
Scientific career
FieldsPhysics (thermometry)
Signature

Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit FRS (/ˈfærənhaɪt/; German: [ˈfaːʁn̩haɪt]; 24 May 1686 – 16 September 1736)[1] was a physicist, inventor, and scientific instrument maker, born in Poland to a family of German extraction. Fahrenheit invented thermometers accurate and consistent enough to allow the comparison of temperature measurements between different observers using different instruments.[2] Fahrenheit is also credited with inventing mercury-in-glass thermometers more accurate and superior to spirit-filled thermometers at the time. The popularity of his thermometers led to the widespread adoption of his Fahrenheit scale attached to his instruments.[3]

  1. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Fahrenheit, Gabriel Daniel" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 126.
  2. ^ Dorsey, N. Ernest (15 November 1946). "Title of the Article". Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences. 36 ([issue number]): 363.
  3. ^ Grigull, Ulrich (1966). Fahrenheit, a Pioneer of Exact Thermometry. (The Proceedings of the 8th International Heat Transfer Conference, San Francisco, 1966, Vol. 1, pp. 9–18.)