Vincent van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter born on this day in 1853. He is known as one of the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. Did you know that: • Hyman L. Lipman patented a pencil with an attached eraser on this day in 1858• Bell Telephone Laboratories […]
The famous army of terra-cotta warriors was discovered in Xian, China on this day in 1974. Did you know that: • Niagara Falls stopped flowing for thirty hours due to an ice jam on this day in 1848• Ernst Jünger was a German author, highly decorated soldier, and philosopher born on this day in 1895• […]
William Fleming was granted a patent for a player piano using an electro-mechanical mechanism on this day in 1899. Did you know that: • Nathaniel Briggs received a patent for a washing machine on this day in 1797• Maxim Gorky was a Russian writer and political activist born on this day in 1868• Daniel Dennett […]
Harvey Kennedy patented the modern shoelace with an aglet on this day in 1790. Did you know that: • Joseph Couch patented the steam-powered percussion rock drill on this day in 1849• Abraham Gesner, a Canadian geologist, patented kerosene on this day in 1855• M. L. Byrn patented the “covered gimlet screw with a ‘T’ […]
Charles Jenkins patented a motion-picture projector machine called the ‘Phantoscope’ this day in 1895. Did you know that: • Nathaniel Bowditch, founder of modern maritime navigation, was born on this day in 1773• Robert Frost was an American poet born on this day in 1874• Keira Knightley is an English actress born on this day […]
Gutzon Borglum was an American sculptor born on this day in 1867, best known for his work on Mount Rushmore. Did you know that: • Dutch astronomer Christiaan Huygens discovered Saturn’s largest moon, Titan, on this day in 1655• Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville received a patent for his phonautograph on this day in 1857• Irving […]
Born on this day in 1874, Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Did you know that: • Galen Clark, an American naturalist who discovered the Mariposa Grove, was born on this day in 1814• German scientist Robert Koch discovered and described the tubercle bacillus which […]
Elisha Otis installed his first elevator at 488 Broadway in New York City on this day in 1857. Did you know that: • Josiah Pierson patented a “cold-header” (rivet) machine on this day in 1794• Magnus von Braun was a German-American aerospace engineer and space architect born on this day in 1912• The Swallow Sidecar […]
Auguste and Louis Lumiere presented their first movie – “Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory” – to an audience on this day in 1895. Did you know that: • Orlando Jones patented a method for alkali starch extraction, later applied to corn (cornstarch), on this day in 1814• Rudy Rucker, a popular author of both fiction […]
Albert Kahn, the inventor of modern factory design, was an architect born on this day in 1869. Did you know that: • George David Birkhoff was an American mathematician born on this day in 1884, best known for the ergodic theorem• Gary Oldman is an English actor and filmmaker born on this day in 1958• […]
Alessandro Volta reported his discovery of the electric battery in a letter to Joseph Banks, president of the Royal Society of London, on this day in 1800. Did you know that: • Frederick Winslow Taylor was an American mechanical engineer born on this day in 1856• Jan Matzeliger was granted a patent for a “lasting […]
