Friday, March 14, 2008

Today in History: March 14

  • 1794 American inventor Eli Whitney patents the cotton gin.
  • 1863 American train engineer Casey Jones born; gave his life saving every one of his passengers in a collision at 3:52 AM on April 30, 1900.
  • 1879 German-American physicist Albert Einstein born; in 1905, his Annus Mirabilis, he published 4 papers each solving a different significant problem in Physics: the photoelectric effect, Brownian motion, electrodynamics of moving bodies (solved by inventing Special Relativity), the equivalence of matter and energy (E=mc^2); he also got his Ph.D. that year; 1915, published his General Relativity theory; 1921 Nobel, for "services to Theoretical Physics"; "I believe in Spinoza's God, who reveals Himself in the lawful harmony of the world, not in a God Who concerns Himself with the fate and the doings of Mankind."
  • 1882 Polish mathematician Wacław Sierpiński born; invented the fractal patterns Sierpiński curve, Sierpiński triangle, and Sierpiński carpet.
  • 1994 Linus Torvalds releases Linux 1.0.0, a free powerful computer operating system.
  • 2005 Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese rally in central Beirut to protest Syrian occupation, chanting "Freedom, Sovereignty, Independence", the Cedar Revolution.
Yesterday | Tomorrow

No comments:

Post a Comment

We reserve the right to delete comments, but the failure to delete any particular comment should not be interpreted as an endorsement thereof.

In general, we expect comments to be relevant to the story, or to a prior comment that is relevant; and we expect some minimal level of civility. Defining that line is inherently subjective, so try to stay clear of insulting remarks. If you respond to a comment that is later deleted, we may take your response with it. Deleting your comment isn't a personal knock on you, so don't take it as such.

We allow a variety of ways for commenters to identify themselves; those who choose not to do so should take extra care. Absent any prior context in which they may be understood, ironic comments may be misinterpreted. Once you've earned a reputation for contributing to a conversation, we are likely to be more tolerant in those gray areas, as we'll understand where you're coming from.