The magazine that has shared the wonder of science with millions has a storied history with some milestones and quirks you may not expect.
The first issue of Scientific American – with its original subtitle “The Advocate of Industry and Enterprise, and Journal of Mechanical and Other Improvements” – was published on August 28, 1845.
Over the 179 years since that inaugural issue was printed as a four-page newspaper, Scientific American has chronicled incredible advances in our understanding of nature and become the longest continuously published magazine in the United States.
Perhaps more than any other publication, SciAm has made the wonders of cutting-edge science accessible to curious people everywhere.
10 Facts you might not know about Scientific American
To celebrate the anniversary of this cornerstone of science communications, here are 10 facts you might not know about Scientific American:
The founder of Scientific American, Rufus Porter, sold it after only 10 months to Alfred Ely Beach and Orson Desaix Munn for $800 (equivalent to $23,000 today). Porter later tried to create an 800-foot steam-powered airship, but logistical hurdles scuppered those plans.
Scientific American has been at the forefront of reporting on groundbreaking scientific and technological advances. It covered Marconi’s experiments that led to the invention of the radio, and the Wright Brothers’ glider that preceded their famous flight at Kitty Hawk.
In 1878, Thomas Edison authored an article describing his invention of the phonograph. Nine years later, Scientific American published an article by Alexander Graham Bell about his invention of the telephone.
Many lifesaving scientific advances were first covered in the magazine. Between 1902 and 1911, Marie Curie wrote numerous pieces for Scientific American about her breakthroughs in radioactivity. In 1956, Jonas Salk published an article describing the development of the polio vaccine.
Carl Sagan and Frank Drake co-authored an article for Scientific American in 1975 about the search for extraterrestrial civilizations, sharing insights that have shaped the field of astrobiology.
Scientific American published an article about an 1860 device for buoying aquatic vessels, invented by Abraham Lincoln.
In 1950, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) ordered Scientific American to cease publication of an issue containing an article by physicist Hans Bethe, which allegedly revealed classified information about the hydrogen bomb. The AEC controversially decided to burn 3,000 copies of the magazine, sparking concerns about censorship and "book burning” when the publisher leaked the incident to the press.
The magazine has been published in 17 foreign-language editions, reaching readers in languages including Arabic, Russian, Japanese and German.
In 1917, Scientific American shifted to using a rotary offset lithography press for its covers, allowing for more detailed and colourful artwork. However, during the Great Depression (around 1931), the magazine scaled back to two-colour covers to save money.
More than 150 Nobel laureates have written for Scientific American, often about their prize-winning work long before winning the Nobel Prize.
