Google’s logo on its classic search page today honors the 200th birthday of Robert Bunsen.

Bunsen, whose research interests included gases, photochemistry and spectroscopy, emphasized an experimental approach. As every general chemistry student knows from their use of Bunsen burners, Bunsen refined various pieces of chemical apparatus including gas burners, calorimeters, pumps and batteries.

Robert Bunsen’s Gasometrische Methoden (Braunschweig, 1857) is currently on display in the History of Science Collections lobby, along with three Bunsen burners, each of a different size.

Robert Bunsen, History of Science Collections portrait collection