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The Almanachs of Benjamin Banneker

The Almanachs of Benjamin Banneker

On November 9, 1731, American almanac author, surveyor, naturalist and farmer Benjamin Banneker was born. Born in Baltimore County, Maryland, to a free African American woman and a former slave, Banneker had little formal education and was largely self-taught. Banneker’s knowledge of astronomy helped him author a commercially successful series of almanacs. He corresponded with Thomas Jefferson, drafter of the United States Declaration of Independence, on the topics of slavery and racial…
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Around the World with the Amazing Ida Pfeiffer – the First Female Tourist

Around the World with the Amazing Ida Pfeiffer – the First Female Tourist

On October 28, 1858, Austrian traveler and travel book author Ida Laura Pfeiffer passed away. Pfeiffer was one of the first female explorers, whose popular books were translated into seven languages. On her voyages, she travelled more than 240.000 km by sea and 32.000 km on land over four continents. During her travels Ida Pfeiffer collected plants, insects, mollusks, marine life and mineral specimens. The Childhood of a Future Explorer Ida Pfeiffer was…
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The Discovery of the Mauer 1 Mandible

The Discovery of the Mauer 1 Mandible

On October 21, 1907 the worker Daniel Hartmann unearthed a mandibular in a sand mine in the Grafenrain Open field system of the Mauer community. The so-called Mauer 1 mandible is the oldest fossilized specimen of the genus Homo ever to be discovered in Germany. The Mauer 1 mandible is the type specimen of the species Homo heidelbergensis, a subspecies of Homo erectus. In Search for Traces of Mankind In 1907, Daniel…
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The Battle of Zama and Hannibal’s Final Defeat

The Battle of Zama and Hannibal’s Final Defeat

Around October 19, 202 BC, the Battle of Zama was fought between a Roman army led by Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus (Scipio), who defeated a Carthaginian force led by the commander Hannibal. Despite Hannibal possessing numerical superiority, Scipio conceived a strategy to confuse and defeat his war elephants. The defeat on the Carthaginians‘ home ground marked an end to the 17-year 2nd Punic war. The Second Punic War The second Punic war between…
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Baron Gerard de Geer and the Varves

Baron Gerard de Geer and the Varves

On October 2, 1858, Swedish geologist Gerard Jacob De Geer was born. De Geer made significant contributions to Quaternary geology, particularly geomorphology and geochronology. But, he is best known for his discovery of varves. A varve is a seasonal coarse-fine layer of clay deposited in still water.The layers were produced by the annual melt-water sequence and can be used as a chronological evidence. Gerard de Geer – Family Background and Early Years Baron…
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Christian Archibald Herter and Gastrointestinal Diseases

Christian Archibald Herter and Gastrointestinal Diseases

On September 3, 1865, American physician and pathologist Christian Archibald Herter was born. Herter is noted for his work on diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, where he investigated the role of bacteria and developed techniques for measuring their products such as indol. He was also co-founder of the Journal of Biological Chemistry. Christian Archibald Herter – Early Years Christian Archibald Herter was born in Glenville, Connecticut, USA, to Christian Herter, a notable…
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James Bryan Herrick and the Sickle-Cell Disease

James Bryan Herrick and the Sickle-Cell Disease

On August 11, 1861, American physician James Bryan Herrick was born. He is credited with the description of sickle-cell disease, which results in an abnormality in the oxygen-carrying protein haemoglobin found in red blood cells, and was one of the first physicians to describe the symptoms of myocardial infarction. Education and Academic Career James Bryan Herrick was born in Oak Park, Illinois, to Origen White Herrick and Dora Kettlestrings Herrick. He attended…
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The Aswan High Dam – the Eighth Wonder of the World

The Aswan High Dam – the Eighth Wonder of the World

On July 21, 1970, the construction of the Egyptian Aswan High Dam was completed. A key objective of the Egyptian Government following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the dam has the ability to control floods, provide water for irrigation, and generate hydroelectricity were seen as pivotal to Egypt’s industrialization. The High Dam was constructed between 1960 and 1970, and has had a significant effect on the economy and culture of Egypt. Soviet leader…
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Robert FitzRoy – From Darwin’s famous voyage to Meteorology

Robert FitzRoy – From Darwin’s famous voyage to Meteorology

On July 5, 1805, English officer of the Royal Navy Vice Admiral Robert Fitzroy was born. He is best known as the captain of HMS Beagle during Charles Darwin‘s famous voyage, FitzRoy‘s second expedition to Tierra del Fuego and the Southern Cone. Moreover, FitzRoy was a pioneering meteorologist who made accurate daily weather predictions, which he called by a new name of his own invention: “forecasts“. Robert FitzRoy – Early Years Robert…
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Bartolomeu Dias and his Trip into the Pacific Ocean

Bartolomeu Dias and his Trip into the Pacific Ocean

Most likely on May 29, 1500, Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias died by drowning in a storm near Cabo das Tormentas. Dias sailed around the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488, reaching the Indian Ocean from the Atlantic, the first European known to have done so. Little in known about Bartolomeu Dias’ Early Life Not too much is known about the life and achievements of Bartolomeu Dias. He may have been a descendant of João…
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