Interesting tidbits: 1593 – The Vatican opens the seven-year trial of scholar Giordano Bruno. Bruno, was an Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, mathematician, poet and astrologer. His cosmological theories went beyond the Copernican model: while supporting its heliocentrism, he also correctly proposed that the Sun was just another star moving in space, and claimed as well that the universe contained an infinite number of inhabited worlds populated by other intelligent beings. The Roman Inquisition found him guilty of heresy, and he was burned at the stake. After his death he gained considerable fame, particularly among 19th- and early 20th-century commentators who, focusing on his astronomical beliefs, regarded him as a martyr for free thought and modern scientific ideas. 1880 - Thomas Edison patents electric incandescent lamp. 1908 - Pasiphaë, a satellite of Jupiter, discovered by Melotte. 1910 - On this day the patron saint of the porcelin altar, Thomas Crapper, passed away. 1918 - Tarzan of the Apes, the first Tarzan film, premieres at Broadway Theater. 1926 - Physicist Erwin Schrödinger publishes his theory of wave mechanics and presents what becomes known as the Schrödinger equation in quantum mechanics. Todays birthday crew: 1832 – Lewis Carroll, English author. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson, better known by his pen name, Lewis Carroll, was an English writer, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alices Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems The Hunting of the Snark and Jabberwocky, all examples of the type of writing known as literary nonsense. The standard practice in making movie versions of Alice in Wonderland consist of combining both Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass into one story. 1850 – Edward J. Smith, English captain of the Titanic. 1912 – Francis Rogallo, American engineer, invented the Rogallo wing, a flexible type of airfoil. In 1948, Rogallo, a NASA engineer, invented a self-inflating flexible wing he called the Parawing, also known as the Rogallo Wing. NASA considered Rogallos flexible wing as an alternative recovery system for the Gemini space capsule and for possible use in other spacecraft landings, but the idea was dropped in 1964 in favor of parachutes. Rogallo and his wife Gertrude received a patent on a V-shaped flexible wing in March 1951. Selling the Flexi-kite as a toy helped to finance their work and publicize the design. The Rogallo wing is most often seen in toy kites, but has been used to construct spacecraft parachutes, sport parachutes, ultralight powered aircraft like the trike and hang gliders. The Charles Richard design and use of the Rogallo wing in the Paresev project resulted in an assemblage that became the template for the Rogallo hang-glider that would blanket the world of the sport in the early 1970s. 1953 - Richard Bremmer, British actor best known for playing the role of Lord Voldemort in the first Harry Potter film Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone (Sourcerers Stone in the US). 1954 – Peter Laird, American comic book writer and artist. He is best known for co-creating Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with writer and artist Kevin Eastman. 1957 – Frank Miller, American writer, artist, and film director best known for his dark comic book stories and graphic novels such as Ronin, Daredevil: Born Again, The Dark Knight Returns, Sin City, and 300. He also directed the film version of The Spirit, shared directing duties with Robert Rodriguez on Sin City and produced the film 300. He is also known for creating the comic book character Elektra. 1976 – Clint Ford, American actor, voice-over artist and novelist. He is best known for his portrayal as the Klingon Mven, of the Great House of Martok, in the video game, Star Trek Online. He is also known for his work in the American dubs of Japanese anime cartoon series, such as Yû yû hakusho, Blue Gender, and Dragon Ball Z. Happy birthday guys!
Posted on: Tue, 27 Jan 2015 13:56:54 +0000
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