1899 in science

The year 1899 in science and technology.

Astronomy

• The 80 cm refracting telescope is completed at Potsdam Observatory.

Chemistry

• Actinium discovered by Andre Debierne.

Physics

• Ernest Rutherford classifies two types of radiation, alpha rays and beta rays.
• Henri Becquerel discovers that radiation from uranium consists of charged particles and can be deflected by magnetic fields.

Mathematics

• David Hilbert creates the modern concept of geometry with the publication of his book Grundlagen der geometrie.

Medicine

• Bubonic plague enters Brazil through the seaport of Santos.

Awards

• Copley Medal: Lord Rayleigh
• Wollaston Medal for Geology: Charles Lapworth

Births

• January 12 – Paul Hermann Müller (d. 1965), chemist, winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1948.
• February 27 – Charles Best (d. 1978), medical scientist.

Deaths

• January 4 – Henry Alleyne Nicholson (b. 1844), British palaeontologist and zoologist.
• February 18 – Sophus Lie (b. 1842), Norwegian mathematician.
• March 18 – Othniel Charles Marsh (b. 1831), paleontologist.
• August 16 – Robert Bunsen (b. 1811), German Chemist, perfector of the bunsen burner.