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biology
Alfred Sturtevant and the Chromosomes

Alfred Sturtevant and the Chromosomes

Harald Sack
On November 21, 1891, American geneticist Alfred Henry Sturtevant was born. Sturtevant constructed the first genetic map of a chromosome in 1913. Throughout his career he worked on the organism Drosophila melanogaster with Thomas Hunt Morgan. By watching the development of flies in which the earliest cell division produced two different genomes, he measured the embryonic distance between organs in a unit which is called the sturt in his honor. Alfred Sturtevant…
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aviation
Twice the Speed of Sound – The Record Flight of Scott Crossfield

Twice the Speed of Sound – The Record Flight of Scott Crossfield

Tabea Tietz
On November 20, 1953, Albert Scott Crossfield became the first person to fly at twice the speed of sound as he piloted the Douglass D-588-ii Skyrocket to a speed of 2,078 km/h, Mach 2.005. Albert Scott Crossfield – Youth and Education Albert Scott Crossfield was born on October 2, 1921 in California and grew up in California and Washington. During the Second World War he served in the US Navy as a flight…
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engineering
Ferdinand de Lesseps and the Suez Canal

Ferdinand de Lesseps and the Suez Canal

Harald Sack
On November 19, 1805, French diplomat and later developer of the Suez Canal Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps was born. The Suez Canal that was constructed under de Lessep’s supervision in 1869 joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas, substantially reducing sailing distances and times between the West and the East. “Since 1849 I have studied incessantly, under all its aspects, a question which was already in my mind [since 1832. I confess that my scheme is still…
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philosophy
Pierre Bayle – Forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment

Pierre Bayle – Forerunner of the Age of Enlightenment

Tabea Tietz
On November 18, 1647, French philosopher and writer Pierre Bayle was born. As a forerunner of the Encyclopedists and an advocate of the principle of the toleration of divergent beliefs, his works subsequently influenced the development of the Enlightenment. He is probably best known for his seminal work the Historical and Critical Dictionary. “Reason is like a runner who doesn’t know that the race is over, or, like Penelope, constantly undoing what…
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chemistry
Nicolas Lemery and the Acid-Base Chemistry

Nicolas Lemery and the Acid-Base Chemistry

Harald Sack
On November 17, 1647, French chemist Nicolas Lémery was born. Lemery was one of the first to develop theories on acid-base chemistry in a time which was often referred to as “the dawn of scientific chemistry” . “Chemistry is the art which teaches the separation of different substances encountered in a mixture.” — Nicolas Lemery (1675), Course on Chemistry  Nicholas Lemery – Family Background and Education Nicolas Lemery was the fifth of seven…
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aviation
The X-43A and the Scramjet Technology

The X-43A and the Scramjet Technology

Tabea Tietz
On November 16, 2004, the unmanned experimental hypersonic aircraft NASA X-43A set a new speed record of 10,617 km/h or Mach 9.65. With this flight the X-43A became the fastest free flying air-breathing aircraft in the world. The X-43A was propelled by a so-called scramjet, is a variant of a ramjet airbreathing jet engine in which combustion takes place in supersonic airflow. NASA’s Hyper X Programme After DARPA, in collaboration with Rockwell, unsuccessfully completed…
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computer science
Intel 4004 – The World’s First Microprocessor

Intel 4004 – The World’s First Microprocessor

Harald Sack
On November 15, 1971, Intel presented the Intel 4004 microprocessor, the world’s very first commercially available 4-bit central processing unit (CPU). It was the first complete CPU on one chip. By the time, this revolutionary microprocessor, the size of a little fingernail, delivered the same computing power as the first electronic computer built in 1946, which filled an entire room. Subsequently, the successors to the 4004 should drive the digital revolution. A New…
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space
Mariner 9 – The first Spacecraft to Orbit another Planet

Mariner 9 – The first Spacecraft to Orbit another Planet

Tabea Tietz
On November 14, 1971, U.S. spacecraft Mariner 9 was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet – only narrowly beating the Soviets’s Mars 2 and Mars 3, which both arrived within a month. After months of dust storms it managed to send back clear pictures of Mars’ surface. The Exploration of Mars Many unmanned space probes have been sent to Mars, some of which were successful. About half of the missions ended…
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literature
The Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson

The Writings of Robert Louis Stevenson

Harald Sack
On November 13, 1850, Scottish novelist, poet, essayist, and travel writer Robert Louis Stevenson was born. A literary celebrity during his lifetime, Stevenson wrote famous books such as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. Stephenson is ranked the 26th most translated author in the world, ahead of fellow nineteenth-century writers Oscar Wilde [1] and Edgar Allan Poe [2]. I don’t know how it is for you,…
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aviation
Jacques Charles and the First Hydrogen Balloon

Jacques Charles and the First Hydrogen Balloon

Tabea Tietz
On November 12, 1746, French inventor, scientist, mathematician, and balloonist Jacques Alexandre César Charles was born.Charles and the Robert brothers launched the world‘s first (unmanned) hydrogen-filled balloon in August 1783. In December 1783, Charles and his co-pilot Nicolas-Louis Robert ascended to a height of about 500 metres in a manned balloon. Their pioneering use of hydrogen for lift led to this type of balloon being named a Charlière (as opposed to a Montgolfière…
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