You are here: Home › 2019 › February

Monthly Archives: February 2019

history
Somebody, after all, had to make a Start – Sophie Scholl and the White Rose

Somebody, after all, had to make a Start – Sophie Scholl and the White Rose

Harald Sack
On February 18, 1943, Sophie Scholl and her brother Hans brought a suitcase full of leaflets to the University of Munich, calling for passive resistance against the Nazis, and were arrested. Four days later, Sophie Scholl, her brother Hans and their friend Christoph Probst were found guilty of treason and condemned to death. “Somebody, after all, had to make a start. What we wrote and said is also believed by many others. They…
Read more
engineering
The Sinking of the H.L. Hunley

The Sinking of the H.L. Hunley

Harald Sack
On the night of February 17, 1864, the submarine H.L.Hunley of the American Confederate Army sank the steamship USS Housatonic with a torpedo and became the very first submarine to attack and sink an enemy vessel. The Hunley was lost at some point following her successful attack and all crewmen were lost. Although the Hunley only played a small part in the American Civil War, it was a large role in the…
Read more
biology
Sir Francis Galton – Polymath

Sir Francis Galton – Polymath

Tabea Tietz
On February 16, 1822, the cousin of Charles Darwin, Sir Francis Galton was born. Galton the polymath, was known for his fundamental contributions to anthropology, geographics, genetics, psychology, statistics, and eugenics. He also was the first to apply statistical methods to the study of human differences and inheritance of intelligence, and introduced the use of questionnaires and surveys for collecting data on human communities, which he needed for genealogical and biographical works and for…
Read more
biology
The Great Paris Academic Dispute of 1830

The Great Paris Academic Dispute of 1830

Harald Sack
On February 15, 1830, the famous Paris Academy Dispute between the naturalists Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire and George Cuvier [5] about the possibility of biological evolution began with a speech of Saint-Hillaire comparing vertebrates with mollusces. Within eight public debates the scientists argued about the possibility that nature not necessarily has to be static but might be subject to constant change. It was the most prominent scientific debate in the 19th century that heavily influenced science…
Read more
space
NEAR Shoemaker and the Exploration of Asteroid Eros

NEAR Shoemaker and the Exploration of Asteroid Eros

Tabea Tietz
On February 14, 2000, NASA space probe NEAR Shoemaker entered orbit of the asteroid Eros to study the near-Earth asteroid from close orbit over a period of a year. The mission succeeded in closing in with the asteroid and orbited it several times, finally terminating by touching down on the asteroid on 12 February 2001. The Discovery of Eros Eros was throughout history often object of scientific research, due to its larger…
Read more
astronomy
The Galileo Affair

The Galileo Affair

Harald Sack
On February 13, 1633, Galileo Galilei arrived in Rome and was brought before the inquisitor Vincenzo Maculani to be charged for his defence of the Copernican theory in his writings. In the course of the trial, Galilei was found guilty and sentenced to house arrest for the rest of his life. All in all, Galileo is a frequent guest in our blog. Besides his life, we have already reported about his astronomical…
Read more
biology
Charles Darwin and the Natural Selection

Charles Darwin and the Natural Selection

Tabea Tietz
On February 12, 1809, the English naturalist Charles Darwin was born. He popularized the term ‘natural selection‘ as a milestone in modern biology, which was introduced in his masterpiece ‘On the Origin of Species‘ in 1859. “It is easy to specify the individual objects of admiration in these grand scenes; but it is not possible to give an adequate idea of the higher feelings of wonder, astonishment, and devotion, which fill and elevate…
Read more
explorer
Lost on Mars – The Ill Fate of the Beagle 2 Space Mission

Lost on Mars – The Ill Fate of the Beagle 2 Space Mission

Tabea Tietz
On February 11, 2004, the British Mars landing spacecraft Beagle 2 that formed part of the European Space Agency’s 2003 Mars Express mission was abandoned due to all contact with it was lost. “HMS Beagle was the ship that took Darwin on his voyage around the world in the 1830s and led to our knowledge about life on Earth making a real quantum leap. We hope Beagle 2 will do the same thing for…
Read more
literature
The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht

The Theatre of Bertolt Brecht

Harald Sack
On February 10, 1898, German poet, playwright, theatre director, and Marxist Bertolt Brecht was born. A theatre practitioner of the 20th century, Brecht is best known for his contributions to dramaturgy and theatrical production. There are few areas of modern theatrical culture that have not felt the impact or influence of Brecht’s ideas and practices. “It is not enough to demand insight and informative images of reality from the theater. Our theater must…
Read more
history
Anna Komnena – Byzantine Historian of the First Crusade

Anna Komnena – Byzantine Historian of the First Crusade

Harald Sack
Anna Komnena was a Byzantinian Princess in the 11th century. She is considered one of the world’s first female historian and a major source of information about the reign of her father, Alexius I. in the times of the crusades. Of course this is rather unusual for the time being, that a princess writes about the life of her father, The Alexiad, and even more that this piece of writing should become…
Read more
Relation Browser
Timeline
0 Recommended Articles:
0 Recommended Articles: