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Harald Sack

history
Remember, remember, the 5th of November – Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot

Remember, remember, the 5th of November – Guy Fawkes’ Gunpowder Plot

Harald Sack
On November 5, 1605, the famous Gunpowder Plot planning the assassination of King James I of England was uncovered and Guy Fawkes as one of its leaders was arrested, convicted and sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. “Remember, remember,The Fifth of November,Gunpowder treason and plot;For I see no reasonWhy Gunpowder TreasonShould ever be forgot.” — Nursery Rhyme Historical Background The plan of the conspirators was to blow up the House of Lords during…
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computer science
The Story of the Morris Worm – First Malware hits the Internet

The Story of the Morris Worm – First Malware hits the Internet

Harald Sack
On November 2, 1988, Cornell student Robert T. Morris launched the very first computer worm on the internet – and subsequently becoming the first person convicted under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Today his programme is referred to as “Morris Worm” and he is a tenured professor in the department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “There may be a virus loose on the internet.”…
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astronomy
The Arecibo Radio Telescope – Looking for Extraterrestrial Signals

The Arecibo Radio Telescope – Looking for Extraterrestrial Signals

Harald Sack
On November 1, 1963, the Arecibo radio telescope, by that time the earth‘s largest radio telescope, has been inaugurated in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. It is operated by the company SRI International under cooperative agreement with the National Science Foundation and is also called the National Astronomy and Ionosphere Center, although “NAIC” refers to both the observatory and the staff that operates it. Construction and Functionality The Arecibo telescope was built between the…
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literature
The Fantastic Gardens of Hermann von Pückler-Muskau

The Fantastic Gardens of Hermann von Pückler-Muskau

Harald Sack
On October 30, 1785, German nobleman Prince Hermann Ludwig Heinrich von Pückler-Muskau was born. Von Pückler-Muskau was an excellent artist in landscape gardening and wrote widely appreciated books, mostly about his travels in Europe and Northern Africa, published under the pen name of “Semilasso“. “Under 20 cases, 19 times the firm will and patience makes the so-called impossible easily possible beyond all expectations.” – Hermann von Pückler-Muskau [1] Family Background and Education…
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communication
Johann Philipp Reis Demonstrates the first Telephone

Johann Philipp Reis Demonstrates the first Telephone

Harald Sack
On October 26, 1861, German teacher and inventor Johann Philipp Reis, presented his telephone system at the ‘Physikalischen Verein zu Frankfurt am Main‘. Although it did not convince his contemporaries, his invention marks a milestone in telecommunications. Early Life and First Projects Philipp Reis was born on January 7, 1834 in Gelnhausen, Germany in a Jewish family as son of a baker. Reis’s mother died while he was an infant, and he…
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literature
Geoffrey Chaucer – the Father of English Literature

Geoffrey Chaucer – the Father of English Literature

Harald Sack
On October 25, 1400, English poet Geoffrey Chaucer passed away. Known as the Father of English literature, Chaucer is widely considered the greatest English poet of the Middle Ages. He is best known today for The Canterbury Tales and was the first poet to be buried in Poets’ Corner of Westminster Abbey. Whan that Aprill with his shoures soote  The droghte of March hath perced to the roote,  And bathed every veyne…
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biology
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek – The Father of Microbiology

Antonie van Leeuwenhoek – The Father of Microbiology

Harald Sack
On October 24, 1632, the Dutch tradesman and scientist Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, the inventor of the microscope, was born. He is commonly known as “the Father of Microbiology“, and considered to be the first microbiologist. “Please bear in mind that my observations and thoughts are the outcome of my own unaided impulse and curiosity alone; for, besides myself, in our town there be no philosophers who practice this art, so pray, take…
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history
Wilhelm Schickard and his Calculating Clock

Wilhelm Schickard and his Calculating Clock

Harald Sack
On October 23, 1635, German astronomer and mathematician Wilhelm Schickard, who constructed the very first mechanical calculator, passed away. His famous calculator was able to perform additions and subtractions. For more complicated operations, it provided so-called Napier bones, named after the Scottish mathematician John Napier,[1] who came up with the idea of logarithms. Although it is widely believed that the first mechanical calculating device was created by the French mathematician Blaise Pascal in…
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art
Franz Liszt – Rockstar of the 19th Century

Franz Liszt – Rockstar of the 19th Century

Harald Sack
On October 22, 1811, famous Hungarian piano player, composer and conductor Franz Liszt was born. During the nineteenth century Liszt was renowned for his extreme virtuosic skill as a pianist. According to his contemporaries he was the most technically advanced pianist of his age and by the 1840s he was considered by some to be perhaps the greatest pianist of all time. “Sorrowful and great is the artist’s destiny.” — Franz Liszt,…
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astronomy
To be or Not to be a Planet – Eris, the planet of Discord

To be or Not to be a Planet – Eris, the planet of Discord

Harald Sack
On October 21, 2003, a photograph of the nocturnal sky was taken, where almost 2 years later, in January 2005, evidence was raised that there might be a 10th planet at the borders of our solar system: Eris, located in the Kuiper Belt and named after the Greek goddess of discord. And discord it should be, because Eris as a planet is rather small and astronomers were arguing, whether it is a…
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