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aviation
The Wright Brothers Invented the Aviation Age

The Wright Brothers Invented the Aviation Age

Harald Sack
On December 17, 1903, the brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright wrote history with the first flight of their Flyer One, the very first successful powered aircraft in the sands south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, U.S. “Isn’t it astonishing that all these secrets have been preserved for so many years just so we could discover them!” – Orville Wright Prior Attempts Although the Brothers Montgolfier had ascended in their first hot air balloon…
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art
Wassily Kandinsky – the First Expressionist

Wassily Kandinsky – the First Expressionist

Harald Sack
On December 16, 1866, Russian painter and art theorist Wassily Kandinsky was born. With Franz Marc he was co-founder of the editorial association Der Blaue Reiter. Kandinsky was an artist of Expressionism and one of the pioneers of abstract art. He is often named as the creator of the world’s first abstract painting according to his own statements, which may, however, have been predated by the year 1910 instead of 1913. “The first…
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architecture
Oscar Niemeyer – The Visionary Architect of Brasilia

Oscar Niemeyer – The Visionary Architect of Brasilia

Harald Sack
On December 15, 1907, famous Brazilian architect Oscar Niemeyer, who is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture was born. Niemeyer was best known for his design of civic buildings for Brasília, a planned city which became Brazil‘s capital in 1960, as well as his collaboration with other architects on the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. “I deliberately disregarded the right angle and…
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astronomy
Tycho Brahe – The Man with the Golden Nose

Tycho Brahe – The Man with the Golden Nose

Harald Sack
On December 14, 1546, Danish nobleman and astronomer Tycho Brahe, known for his accurate and comprehensive astronomical and planetary observations was born. “Non haberi, sed esse.” “Not shine, but be.” – Tycho Brahe’s Election slogan Background Tycho Brahe was born at Knutstorp Castle, Scania, at that time Denmark, into a politically powerful family of noblemen and political advisors. He grew up with his uncle, also a nobleman, who supplied his nephew with a…
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literature
Heinrich Heine – Famous Poetry with Radical Political Views

Heinrich Heine – Famous Poetry with Radical Political Views

Harald Sack
On December 12, 1797, Heinrich Heine, one of the most significant German poets of the 19th century was born. Besides, he was also a renowned journalist, essayist, and literary critic. But, he is best known for his wonderful lyric poetry, while his radical political views led to many of his works being banned by German authorities. “Out of my own great woe I make my little songs.” — Heinrich Heine, Aus Meinen…
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literature
Gustave Flaubert’s Scrupulous Devotion to Style and Aesthetics

Gustave Flaubert’s Scrupulous Devotion to Style and Aesthetics

Harald Sack
On December 12, 1821, French novelist Gustave Flaubert was born. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. He is known especially for his debut novel Madame Bovary, his Correspondence, and his scrupulous devotion to his style and aesthetics. “Though she had no one to write to, she had bought herself a blotter, a writing case, a pen and envelopes; she would dust off her…
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space
Apollo 17 – The Last Men on the Moon…so far

Apollo 17 – The Last Men on the Moon…so far

Tabea Tietz
On December 11, 1972, Apollo 17 with Commander Eugene A. Cernan, Command Module Pilot Ronald E. Evans, and Lunar Module Pilot Harrison H. Schmitt landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on the lunar surface and were (so far) the last men to set foot on the Moon. Apollo 17 was the eleventh and final mission of the United States‘ Apollo program, the sixth mission to land humans on the Moon. Background While earlier Apollo…
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history
Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System

Melvil Dewey and the Dewey Decimal System

Tabea Tietz
On December 10, 1851, Melvil Dewey, librarian and inventor of the Dewey Decimal classification system for libraries, the DDC, was born. Early Years Melvil Dewey was born as Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey into a rather poor family in the upper New York state. After a school-fire, he was told to live only for one more year and became obsessed with efficiency, wherefore he gained his interest in simplified spelling early. Dewey left…
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literature
John Milton and his great Epic Paradise Lost

John Milton and his great Epic Paradise Lost

Harald Sack
On December 9, 1608, English poet, polemicist, a scholarly man of letters, and a civil servant John Milton, was born. He is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost, the Biblical story of the Fall of Man: the temptation of Adam and Eve by the fallen angel Satan and their expulsion from the Garden of Eden. “Of Man’s first disobedience, and the fruit Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste Brought…
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social science
Niklas Luhmann’s Theory of Social Systems

Niklas Luhmann’s Theory of Social Systems

Tabea Tietz
On December 8, 1927, German sociologist, philosopher of social science, and a prominent thinker in systems theory Niklas Luhmann was born. As the most important German-speaking representative of sociological systems theory and sociocybernetics, Luhmann is one of the classics of the social sciences in the 20th century. “Does knowledge rest on construction in the sense that it only functions because the knowing system is operatively closed, therefore: because it can maintain no operative…
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