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Monthly Archives: October 2019

politics
Quo usque tandem, Catilina – Cicero and the Catilinarian Conspiracy

Quo usque tandem, Catilina – Cicero and the Catilinarian Conspiracy

Harald Sack
On October 21, 63 BC, Roman philosopher, politician, and orator Marcus Tullius Cicero presented evidence to the members of the Roman senate as proof that Lucius Sergius Catilina was preparing a conspiracy to overthrow the Roman Republic, and in particular the power of the aristocratic Senate. Actually, the Catilinarian Conspiracy is one of the best-documented episodes of ancient history. It was the attempted seizure of power at Rome by the disaffected aristocrat Catiline. Marcus…
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war/crime
The Legend of Klaus Störtebeker, Privateer

The Legend of Klaus Störtebeker, Privateer

Tabea Tietz
On October 20, 1401, Klaus Störtebeker, representative of a companionship of privateers known as the Victual Brothers, was executed by order of the senate of Hamburg. His life has become legend and he often is compared to other historic freedom fighters such as Che Guevara or Robin Hood, because he fought the rich in the name of the poor. Klaus Störtebeker Roots The exact roots of Klaus Störtebeker are unknown, but several…
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philosophy
Marsilio Ficino and his Florentine Academy

Marsilio Ficino and his Florentine Academy

Harald Sack
On October 19, 1433, Italian scholar and Catholic priest Marsilio Ficino was born. He was one of the most influential humanist philosophers of the early Italian Renaissance. With his translations and commentaries he contributed significantly to the knowledge of Plato and Platonism in his epoch and made the writings of ancient Greek-speaking authors accessible to the Latin-speaking public. His understanding of Plato, influenced by Plotin‘s Neoplatonism, became groundbreaking for the early modern…
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space
Galileo and the Exploration of the Jovian System

Galileo and the Exploration of the Jovian System

Tabea Tietz
On October 18, 1989, the unmanned NASA spacecraft Galileo was launched on her mission to study the planet Jupiter and its moons. Named after the astronomer Galileo Galilei, it consisted of an orbiter and entry probe, which descended into Jupiter‘s atmosphere. The Galilean Moons It was Galileo Galilei,[4] who connected us to the skies in 1609, when he demonstrated the improved instrument “for seeing things far away as if they were nearby”…
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explorer
The Fateful Journeys of Alexine Tinne

The Fateful Journeys of Alexine Tinne

Tabea Tietz
On October 17, 1835, Dutch explorer of Africa Alexandrine Petronella Francina Tinne was born. She was the first European woman to attempt to cross the Sahara. Alexandrine Tinne Background Alexandrine Tinne was born into a wealthy family. Her father passed away when she was only ten years old and she turned into one of the richest young girls of the Netherlands. It is then said that she suffered highly from love sickness…
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war/crime
The Incredible Story of the Captain of Köpenick

The Incredible Story of the Captain of Köpenick

Tabea Tietz
On October 16, 1906, German shoemaker Wilhelm Voigt, just released from prison for forgery, purchased parts of used captain’s uniforms. In this masquerade of a Prussian military officer he arrested the mayor and the treasurer of Köpenick for suspicion of crooked bookkeeping and confiscated the municipal funds. In Germany Voigt is not seen as a criminal, but rather as a folk hero and a victim of official prejudice, who was caught in…
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computer science
FORTRAN – The First Programming Language for Numeric Calculations

FORTRAN – The First Programming Language for Numeric Calculations

Harald Sack
On October 15, 1956, the Reference Manual for the Programming Language FORTRAN – The IBM Mathematical Formula Translating System – was published. It is considered the very first commercially available high-level programming language. FORTRAN was developed at IBM under the guidance of John W. Backus to develop a more practical alternative to assembly language for programming their IBM 704 mainframe computer. FORTRAN became to dominate the area of numerical programming early on…
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aviation
Chuck Yeager – Breaking the Sound Barrier

Chuck Yeager – Breaking the Sound Barrier

Tabea Tietz
On October 14, 1947, US American test pilot Charles “Chuck” Yeager was the first to officially break the sound barrier with a rocket powered test aircraft Bell X-1, reaching a supersonic speed peak of Mach 1.06. Education and Military Career Charles Yeager was born in Myra, West Virginia, USA, in 1923 and grew up as a curious child, hunting, fishing and hiking. Even though his overall achievements at school were only average,…
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medical science
Rudolf Virchow – the Father of Modern Pathology

Rudolf Virchow – the Father of Modern Pathology

Tabea Tietz
On October 13, 1821, German doctor, anthropologist, pathologist, prehistorian, biologist, writer, editor, and politician, Rudolf Virchow was born. He is best known for his advancement of public health. Furthermore, he is also referred as “the father of modern pathology” because his work helped to discredit humorism, bringing more science to medicine. He is also considered one of the founders of social medicine. “For if medicine is really to accomplish its great task,…
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philosophy
Aleister Crowley – the Wickedest Man in the World

Aleister Crowley – the Wickedest Man in the World

Harald Sack
On October 12, 1875, English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, and mountaineer Aleister Crowley was born. During his lifetime, Crowley gained widespread notoriety. As a result, he was denounced in the popular press as “the wickedest man in the world”. Crowley has remained a highly influential figure over western esotericism and the counter-culture. Usually, we are not interested in any kind of esotericism here at yovisto blog. But, the case of Aleister Crowley is…
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