So, today is Pi Day, or, is it really? Pi Day celebrates the constant Tau divided by two, also known as Pi, but relative to what?. Well, maybe whatever. Ram Das said "be here now", and, with that in mind, give Vi Hart a listen:
On this day in history:
1590 – Henry of Navarre and the Huguenots defeated the forces of the Catholic League at the Battle of Ivry during French Wars of Religion, cementing his role as sole claimant to the throne, which, ironically, he would not attain until he converted to Catholicism. Ah well, such is life.
. 1663 – According to his own account, Otto von Guericke completed his book De Vacuo.
1757 – Admiral Sir John Byng was executed by firing squad aboard HMS Monarch for breach of the Articles of War.
1780 – Spanish forces captured Fort Charlotte in Mobile, Alabama, the last British frontier post capable of threatening New Orleans
1794 – Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin
1885 – The first public performance of The Mikado went down
1900 – The Gold Standard Act was ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard
1903 – The first national wildlife refuge in the US, Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, was established by President Theodore Roosevelt
1942 – Anne Miller became the first US patient to be treated with penicillin, under the care of Orvan Hess and John Bumstead.
1961 – A USAF B-52 bomber crashed near Yuba City, California whilst carrying nuclear weapons. It was later alleged that the crew's use of dexedrine to combat fatigue was a contributing factor.
1964 – Jack Ruby was convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald
1967 – The body of U.S. President Kennedy was moved to Arlington National Cemetery.
1978 – The Israel Defense Forces launched Operation Litani, a seven-day campaign to invade and occupy southern Lebanon
1982 – The South African government bombed the headquarters of the African National Congress in London.
1995 – Norman Thagard became the first US astronaut to ride to space on board a Russian launch vehicle.
Born this day in:
I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.
~~ Albert Einstein 1800 – James Bogardus, inventor and architect 1804 – Johann Strauss I, composer and conductor 1833 – Lucy Hobbs Taylor, dentist and educator 1835 – Giovanni Schiaparelli, astronomer and historian, noted 'canali' on Mars 1836 – Isabella Beeton, author of Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management 1837 – Charles Ammi Cutter, librarian 1847 – Castro Alves, poet and playwright 1854 – Paul Ehrlich, physician and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate 1862 – Vilhelm Bjerknes, physicist and meteorologist 1863 – Casey Jones, railroad engineer 1868 – Emily Murphy, jurist, author, and activist 1879 – Albert Einstein, physicist, engineer, and academic 1882 – Waclaw Sierpinski, mathematician and academic 1887 – Sylvia Beach, bookseller and publisher who founded Shakespeare and Company 1908 – Philip Conrad Vincent, motorcycle engineer and businessman 1911 – Akira Yoshizawa, origamist 1912 – Les Brown, saxophonist, composer, and bandleader 1914 – Lee Hays, singer and songwriter 1915 – Alexander Brott, violinist, composer, and conductor 1919 – Max Shulman, author and screenwriter 1920 – Hank Ketcham, author and cartoonist 1921 – Ada Louise Huxtable, author and critic 1922 – Les Baxter, pianist and composer 1923 – Diane Arbus, photographer 1926 – François Morel, pianist, composer, conductor, and educator 1928 – Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, environmentalist 1932 – Mark Murphy, singer, songwriter, and actor 1933 – Quincy Jones, singer, songwriter, trumpet player, and producer 1945 – Michael Martin Murphey, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1945 – Walter Parazaider, saxophonist 1947 – Roy Budd, pianist and composer 1947 – Jona Lewie, singer, songwriter, and keyboard player 1948 – Theo Jansen, sculptor 1953 – Nick Keir, singer and songwriter 1960 – Heidi Hammel, astronomer and academic 1965 – Billy Sherwood, guitarist, songwriter, and producer 1970 – Kristian Bush, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1997 – Simone Biles, gymnast
Died this day in:
"Nobody's free until everybody's free."
~~ Fannie Lou Hamer 1883 – Karl Marx, philosopher and theorist 1932 – George Eastman, inventor and businessman, founded Eastman Kodak 1973 – Howard H. Aiken, computer scientist and engineer 1973 – Chic Young, cartoonist 1976 – Busby Berkeley, director and choreographer 1977 – Fannie Lou Hamer, activist and philanthropist 1980 – Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, environmentalist 1995 – William Alfred Fowler, physicist and astronomer 2008 – Chiara Lubich, activist, co-founded the Focolare Movement 2013 – Jack Greene, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 2016 – John W. Cahn, metallurgist and academic 2018 – Marielle Franco, politician and human rights activist 2018 – Stephen Hawking, physicist and author 2018 – Liam O'Flynn, uileann piper
Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: Pi Day Celebrate Scientists Day Science Education Day Crowdfunding Day National Save a Spider Day International Ask A Question Day White Day (Japan and other Asian nations)
Music goes here, iirc, well, With apologies ;-)
The Mikado
Johann Strauss I
Casey Jones
Philip Conrad Vincent
Les Brown
Lee Hays
Les Baxter
Mark Murphy
Quincy Jones
Liam O'flynn
Oh yes, it appears that I forgot Karl Marx:
Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?
Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com open thread, Pi, Pi Day, Tau, Jack Ruby, Giovanni Schiaparelli, Casey Jones, Karl Marx, Albert Einstein, Waclaw Sierpinski, The Mikado, Quuincy Jones