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religion
John Wycliffe and the Dawn of the Reformation

John Wycliffe and the Dawn of the Reformation

Harald Sack
On December 31, 1384, English scholastic philosopher, theologian, biblical translator, reformer, priest, and Oxford seminary professor John Wycliffe passed away. Wycliffe became an influential dissident within the Roman Catholic priesthood during the 14th century and is considered an important predecessor to Protestantism. Wycliffe advocated translation of the Bible into the common vernacular. In 1382 he completed a translation directly from the Vulgate into Middle English – a version now known as Wycliffe’s…
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geology
John Milne and the History of Seismology

John Milne and the History of Seismology

Tabea Tietz
On December 30, 1850, British geologist and mining engineer John Milne was born. He is best known for his invention of the horizontal pendulum seismograph (1894). Furthermore, he was one of the European scientists that helped organize the seismic survey of Japan in the last half of the 1800’s. “In comparison with ourselves our world is large, its mountains and valleys are gigantic excrescences on its surface, whilst the elevations and depressions,…
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archeology
Christian Jürgensen Thomsen and the Three-Age System

Christian Jürgensen Thomsen and the Three-Age System

Tabea Tietz
On December 29, 1788, Danish antiquarian Christian Jürgensen Thomsen was born. He is best known for the development of early archaeological techniques and methods. He also introduced the Three-age system, i.e. the periodization of human prehistory into three consecutive time periods, named for their respective tool-making technologies, the Stone Ages, Iron Ages and Bronze Ages. “…nothing is more important than to point out that hitherto we have not paid enough attention to what was…
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mathematics
John von Neumann – Game Theory and the Digital Computer

John von Neumann – Game Theory and the Digital Computer

Harald Sack
On December 28, 1903, Hungarian and American pure and applied mathematician, physicist, inventor and polymath John von Neumann was born. He made major contributions to a number of fields including mathematics, physics, economics, computing, and statistics. He was a key figure in the development of game theory, the concepts of cellular automata, and the digital computer. He is definitely one of the candidates to write several biographical articles of, each with a…
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medical science
Masters and Johnson – The Masters of Sex

Masters and Johnson – The Masters of Sex

Harald Sack
On December 27, 1915, American gynecologist William Howell Masters was born. He is best known as the senior member of the Masters and Johnson sexuality research team. Along with Virginia E. Johnson, he pioneered research into the nature of human sexual response and the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunctions and disorders from 1957 until the 1990s. Probably you might have heard of  them because of the popular tv series ‘Masters of Sex‘ that…
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astronomy
The underused Talents of Mary Somerville, Mathematician and Astronomer

The underused Talents of Mary Somerville, Mathematician and Astronomer

Harald Sack
On December 26, 1780, Scottish science writer and polymath Mary Somerville was born. She studied mathematics and astronomy, and was nominated to be jointly the first female member of the Royal Astronomical Society at the same time as Caroline Herschel.[1] The word scientist was coined for her. Mary Somerville acquired her knowledge autodidactically and became well known as a science writer. “Astronomy affords the most extensive example of the connection of physical…
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physics
John Michell and the Effect of Gravity on Light

John Michell and the Effect of Gravity on Light

Tabea Tietz
Probably on December 25, 1724, English natural philosopher and geologist John Michell was born. He is best known as both a theorist and an experimenter, who was the first to propose the effects of gravity on light, later resulting in the physics of general relativity and black holes. John Michell – Background John Michell was born in Eakring, Nottinghamshire, UK, the son of Gilbert Michell, a priest, and Obedience Gerrard. However, his exact…
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mathematics
Charles Hermite’s admiration for simple beauty in Mathematics

Charles Hermite’s admiration for simple beauty in Mathematics

Tabea Tietz
On December 24, 1821, French mathematician Charles Hermite was born. He was the first to prove that e, the base of natural logarithms, is a transcendental number. Furthermore, he is famous for his work in the theory of functions including the application of elliptic functions and his provision of the first solution to the general equation of the fifth degree, the quintic equation. “There exists, if I am not mistaken, an entire…
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aviation
Anthony Fokker and his Famous Aircrafts

Anthony Fokker and his Famous Aircrafts

Tabea Tietz
On December 23, 1939, Dutch aviation pioneer and aircraft manufacturer Anton Herman Gerard “Anthony” Fokker passed away. He is most famous for the fighter aircraft he produced in Germany during the First World War. Anthony Fokker and the Fokker de Spin Anthony Fokker was born in Kediri on Java. His father Herman Fokker, owner of a coffee plantation on Java, returned with the family to Haarlem in the Netherlands in 1894. It is believed that…
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aviation
The World’s Fastest Aircraft – Lockheed SR-71

The World’s Fastest Aircraft – Lockheed SR-71

Tabea Tietz
On December 22, 1964, the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird Mach 3+ strategic reconnaissance aircraft started for her maidenflight. Since 1976, it holds the world record for the fastest air-breathing manned aircraft. Predecessors The SR-71’s predecessor was the reconnaissance aircraft Lockheed U-2. But it was known to be very slow and was mostly used by CIA. Shortly after the introduction of the U-2, the CIA began to have serious doubts about its ability to fly over…
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