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Harald Sack

astronomy
Lyman Spitzer and the Space Telescope

Lyman Spitzer and the Space Telescope

Harald Sack
On June 26, 1914, American theoretical physicist, astronomer and mountaineer Lyman Strong Spitzer was born. Researching in star formation and plasma physics, he is probably best known for being the first to conceive the idea of telescopes operating in outer space. Thus, he is also the namesake of NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. Well mountaineer and astronomer at the same time, I guess we never had a fellow like Lyman Spitzer up to…
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philosophy
Giambattista Vico and the Scienza Nuova

Giambattista Vico and the Scienza Nuova

Harald Sack
On June 23, 1668, Italian political philosopher, rhetorician, historian, and jurist Giambattista Vico was born. An apologist of classical antiquity, Vico is best known for his magnum opus, the Scienza Nuova of 1725, often published in English as The New Science, in which he attempted to bring about the convergence of history, from the one side, and the more systematic social sciences, from the other, so that their interpenetration could form a single…
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literature
Maxim Gorky and the Socialist Realism

Maxim Gorky and the Socialist Realism

Harald Sack
On June 18, 1936, Russian writer Alexei Maximovich Peshkov, better known as Maxim Gorky passed away. He was the founder of the Socialist realism literary method and a political activist. He worked in many jobs during an impoverished and abusive childhood before finding fame and fortune as a writer. Initially a Bolshevik supporter, Gorky became a critic when Vladimir Lenin seized power. However, Gorky later served as a Soviet advocate and headed…
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physics
Jean de Thévenot – One of the very first Tourists

Jean de Thévenot – One of the very first Tourists

Harald Sack
On June 16, 1633, French traveller, linguist, natural scientist and botanist Jean de Thévenot was born. A curious and diligent observer Thévenot was traveling through Asia and wrote extensively about his journeys. “There are many in Christendom who believe that the Turks are great devils, barbarians, and men without faith, but those who have met them and talked with them are of quite a different opinion; for it is certain that the…
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history
The Case of the Last Condemned Witch – Anna Göldi

The Case of the Last Condemned Witch – Anna Göldi

Harald Sack
On June 13th 1782, the maidservant Anna Göldi from the tiny Swiss canton Glarus was executed by the sword as being one of the very last women in Europe condemned for witchcraft. Concerning her case also for the very first time the term ‘judicial murder’ has been coined. Anna Göldi – Background Anna Göldi came from a poor background and worked as a maid. She gave birth to two children. The first died shortly…
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politics
Harry Johnston and the “Scramble for Africa”

Harry Johnston and the “Scramble for Africa”

Harald Sack
On June 12, 1858, British explorer, botanist, linguist and colonial administrator Sir Harry Johnston was born. His interest in zoological specimens gave him a lucrative part-time income, illustrating books for the new sciences of biology, geography and anthropology. Moreover, he is probably best known for being one of the key players in the “Scramble for Africa” that occurred at the end of the 19th century. “In our land the educated poor, who…
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art
John Constable and The Art of Lanscape Painting

John Constable and The Art of Lanscape Painting

Harald Sack
On June 11, 1776, English landscape painter in the Romantic tradition John Constable was born. Constable is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home – now known as “Constable Country”. His work lives from the tension between close observation of nature (e.g., studies of the sky and clouds) and the neglect of line in favor of the color effect.…
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history
The Viking Raid on the Abbey of Lindisfarne

The Viking Raid on the Abbey of Lindisfarne

Harald Sack
On 8 June, 793 AD, Vikings destroyed the abbey on Lindisfarne, a centre of learning that was famous across the continent. This event also is considered as the beginning of the Viking Age, when Scandinavian Norsemen explored Europe by its seas and rivers for trade, raids and conquest. Recently, this first Viking assault has gained more public interest because of the popular tv series “Vikings” (“Wrath of the Northmen“), in which the…
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art
Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the British Art Nouveau Style

Charles Rennie Mackintosh and the British Art Nouveau Style

Harald Sack
On June 7, 1868, Scottish architect, designer, water colorist and artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh was born. He was influential on European design movements such as Art Nouveau and Secessionism. Mackintosh is considered an influential precursor and protagonist of Modern Art. His austerely designed chairs with high backs became design icons and are still being reproduced to the present day. “Art is the Flower – Life is the Green Leaf. Let every artist strive…
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physics
The Bose-Einstein Condensate brings Quantum Theory to the Macroscopic Scale

The Bose-Einstein Condensate brings Quantum Theory to the Macroscopic Scale

Harald Sack
On June 5, 1995, the very first Bose-Einstein condensate was experimentally produced by Eric Cornell and Carl Wieman at the University of Colorado. A Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter of a dilute gas of bosons cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero. Under such conditions, a large fraction of the bosons occupy the lowest quantum state, at which point quantum effects become apparent on a macroscopic scale. For…
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