It's the birthday of Horace-Bénédict de Saussure, who was born in 1740 in Conches, Switzerland. Saussure's love for and interest in the Alps inspired him not only to climb Mont Blanc and other peaks but to to study the mountains scientifically. He built thermometers, hygrometers and barometers and took them with him on his ascents. Saussure also invented the solar oven for heating food where fuel is scarce and sunlight is abundant.
