The degree
fahrenheit is a unit of temperature named for the German physicist, [Gabriel Fahrenheit]
? (1686-1736), who first proposed it. With respect to the fahrenheit
temperature scale, the freezing point of water is 32 degrees, and the boiling point is 212 degrees. Hence a degree fahrenheit is 5/9ths of a degree
celsius or
kelvin.
The fahrenheit scale is still used in the United States but in the rest of the world it is mostly of historical significance.