Here’s something to think about during this Memorial Day weekend. In 1877, the first black man graduated the United States Military Academy at West Point. In 1940, the Army promoted a black to the rank of general. But the U.S. Navy was more bound to tradition. At the beginning of World War II, African Americans
It’s not unusual to regret one’s actions; in my life, it’s a semi-regular occurrence. But how many people actually come to regret their inventions? You might be surprised. One invention we’d all be better off without is the atomic bomb. Two of the principal figures in its creation were Albert Einstein and J. Robert Oppenheimer.
We can’t ignore this one. This is thought to be Shakespeare’s birthday, although no one know for sure. The Writer’s Almanac for today (April 23, 2020, https://www.spreaker.com/show/the-writers-almanac?) has an excellent summary of his life, better than anything I could write, so I’m just going to copy it here. “It’s the assumed birthday of William Shakespeare (books by this
Perhaps it’s appropriate at this time to note that April 5 was the birthday of Joseph Lister, considered the father of antiseptic medicine. Lister was born in 1827 in Upton, England. He graduated with honors from University College in London in 1852 and became a fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons and house surgeon
Since reading is such a safe quarantine pastime, who would you think was the world’s first known author? So far as we know now, our first credited author was Enheduanna, a woman who lived in the 23rd century BCE in Mesopotamia. According to the archaeological evidence, she was remarkable figure: a princess, a priestess and
In an era when Nationalism appears to be the ascending political philosophy, I ran across what I think is a good example of how international cooperation can make a small but meaningful difference in our lives. This is an entry in the March 27 issue of The Writer’s Almanac — On this day in 1912, President
The more I study history, the more I realize how much important information never appears in most textbooks. For example, the role of women. I’ve just stumbled across the story of Lise Meitner, who was born in Vienna, Austria in 1878. She was the second woman to receive a Ph.D. in physics at the University of Vienna.
If you don’t believe good ideas can come from anywhere, here is some proof. On October 4, 1957 (when I was nine years old), the USSR launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. To say this unexpected breakthrough shook up the U.S. scientific community would be an understatement. Two of those who took notice were
Here is something to think about as you follow the news about the coronavirus outbreak. In 1665, a tailor from the English village of Eyam received a box of materials from London. He needed the contents to make clothes for the villagers. But the box contained more than cloth; it also delivered fleas carrying the
No, this is not a joke. An Egyptian has spoken for the first time in 3000 years. It was only one syllable, but still… As you must have guessed, the person was actually the mummy of a priest named Nesyamun who lived three millennia ago. And yet scientists were able to reproduce his speech. How
