| MAY 28 - BIRTHS | |
| Stanley B. Prusiner | |
(source) |
 Born 28
May 1942
Stanley Ben Prusiner is an American neurologist whose discovery (1982) of the prions as a new biological principle of infection won him the 1997 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Prions are novel infectious agents differing from all other known pathogenic agents. They are simple proteins that are much smaller than viruses. They are unique since they lack a genome. All other known infectious agents contain genetic material. |
| Frank Drake | |
(source) |
Born 28
May 1930
Frank Donald Drake is an American astronomer who formulated the Drake Equation (1961) to estimate the number of technological civilizations that may exist in our galaxy, N = R* × fp × ne × fl × fi × fc × L. In 1960, Drake led the first search, the two-month Project Ozma to listen for patterns in radio waves with a complex, ordered pattern that might be assumed to represent messages from some extraterrestrial intelligence. Carl Sagan and Drake designed the plaques on Pioneer 10 and Pioneer 11 for the purpose of greeting and informing any extraterrestrial life that might find the vessels after they left the solar system. |
| Joseph H(arold) Greenberg | |
(source) |
Born 28
May 1915
American anthropologist and linguist specializing in African culture and in language universals. Greenberg's classification of African languages, first published in 1955 and in a revised edition, Languages of Africa (1963), postulated four families: Niger-Kordofanian, Afroasiatic, Nilo-Saharan, and Khoisan. In his highly controversial "Greenberg Theory," he suggested that the first Americans arrived from Asia in at least three separate waves, each wave giving rise to one of three linguistic groups (Amerind, Eskimo-Aleut, and Na-Dene). Greenberg states that this is evident by the genetic code found in the dental records of Native Americans. However, most linguists disregard the hypothesis as grossly lacking empirical foundation. |
| Alfred O. C. Nier | |
(source) |
Born 28
May 1911; died 16 May 1994
Alfred Otto Carl Nier was a physicist who refined the mass spectrometric process to distinguish isotopes. In 1934, with Lyman T. Aldrich he applied the decay of potassium-40 to argon-40 to measure the age of geological materials. He discovered (1936-38) a number of new isotopes of such low abundance they had not been previously detected, including S36, Ca46, Ca48, and Os186. Nier showed how the ratio of radioactive isotopes of uranium and its decay products was a second method to estimate the age of rocks. During WW-II, with others, he showed (1940) that the rarer uranium-235 undergoes fission, not common U-238. Thereafter, Nier was active in the separaton of these two isotopes, important in developing atomic bombs. |
| Rudolph Leo B. Minkowski | |
(source) |
Born 28
May 1895; died 4 Jan 1976.
German astronomer who studied spectra, distributions, and motions of planetary nebulae and more than doubled the number known. He investigated novae and supernovae and their remnants, especially the the physics and expansion of the Crab Nebula (a pulsar remnant). With Walter Baade, Minkowski divided supernovae into Types I and II on the basis of spectral characteristics and they identified optical counterparts of many of the early radio sources, including Cygnus A, Virgo A (M87), Perseus A (NGC 1275), and Centaurus A (NGC 5128). Just before retirement he found what was for years the largest known redshift in a galaxy. He was awarded the Bruce Medal in 1961 for distinguished services to astronomy. |
| Hugh Robert Mill | |
(source) |
Born 28
May 1861; died 5 Apr 1950.
British geographer and meteorologist who exercised a great influence in the reform of geography teaching and on the development of meteorology as a science. As Royal Geographic Librarian he had a great influence on Scott and Shakleton and was involved with the exploration of the Antarctic, around 1901. He redefined geography, tracing its history from Aristotle and Ptolemy into the Middle Ages, the reawakening in the 16th century, the Oxford geographers, then Varenius and Newton and Immanuel Kant to modern times. He lectured on geography as a science and its mathematical principles, descriptive surveys and the importance of cartography.  Shackleton:
The Polar Journeys by Ernest Henry Shackleton, with Introduction
by Hugh Robert Mill. |
| Louis Agassiz | |
(source) |
Born 28
May 1807; died 14 Dec 1873.
(Jean) Louis (Rodolphe) Agassiz was a Swiss-born U.S. naturalist, geologist, and teacher who made revolutionary contributions to the study of natural science with landmark work on glacier activity and extinct fishes. Agassiz began his work in Europe, having studied at the University of Munich and then as chair in natural history in Neuchatel in Switzerland. While there he published his landmark multi-volume description and classification of fossil fish. In 1846 Agassiz came to the U.S. to lecture before Boston's Lowell Institute. Offered a professorship of Zoology and Geology at Harvard in 1848, he decided to stay, becoming a citizen in 1861. His innovative teaching methods altered the character of natural science education in the U.S. |
| Joseph Ignace Guillotin | |
(source) |
Born 28
May 1738; died 26 Mar 1814
French physician and inventor of the guillotine. He first promoted a law that all executions, even those of commoners, be carried out by means of a “machine that beheads painlessly”. Such consideration was no longer to be the prerogative of nobles. After a series of experiments on cadavers taken from a public hospital, the first of these machines was put up in the Place de Grève in Paris on 4 Apr 1792. The first to be so executed was a highwayman, on 25 Apr 1792. Soon this invention was to become the hallmark of the years 1792-94. Known first as the “machine”, after the beheading of Louis XVI it became known also as “la louisette” or “le louison.” After 1800 the term “la guillotine” became established, used in many countries. |
| MAY 28 - DEATHS | |
| Ilya Prigogine | |
(source) |
Born 25
Jan 1917; died 28 May 2003.
Russian-born Belgian physical chemist who received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1977 for contributions to nonequilibrium thermodynamics, or how life could continue indefinitely in apparent defiance of the classical laws of physics. The main theme of Prigogine's work was the search for a better understanding of the role of time in the physical sciences and in biology. He attempted to reconcile a tendency in nature for disorder to increase (for statues to crumble or ice cubes to melt, as described in the second law of thermodynamics) with so-called "self-organisation", a countervailing tendency to create order from disorder (as seen in, for example, the formation of the complex proteins in a living creature from a mixture of simple molecules). The
End of Certainty, by Ilya Prigogine |
| Ralph A. Bagnold | |
(source) |
 
Died 28 May 1990 (born 3 Apr 1896)
English geologist who was a leading authority on the mechanics of sediment transport and on eolian (wind-effect) processes. While a career soldier, serving in Egypt prior to WW II, he first studied sand dune formation and movement. After retiring from the army (1935), he continued his research and wrote the book Physics of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, investigating the physics of particles moving through the atmosphere and deposited by wind. He recognized two basic dune types, the crescentic dune, which he called "barchan," and the linear dune, which he called longitudinal or "sief" (Arabic for "sword"). During WW II, his avocational interest in vehicle performance on blowing sand aided the Allies in North Africa. [Image right source ] Physics
of Blown Sand and Desert Dunes, by Ralph A. Bagnold |
| Alfred Adler | |
(source) |
Died
28 May 1937 (born 7 Feb 1870)
Austrian doctor and psychologist who founded the school of individual psychology. Adler began his medical career as an ophthalmologist, but later turned to mental disease and became a prominent member of the psychoanalytical group which formed around Sigmund Freud in 1900. Adler developed a theory of organic inferiority and compensation (inferiority complex). In 1911 he broke with Freud and investigated the psychology of the individual person considered to be different from others. His therapeutic methods were supportive, designed to avoid blame or a superior attitude by the practitioner, to reduce resistance and raise awareness of individual behaviour. He moved to the USA to teach in 1932.« [Image from Adler's U.S. immigration card, which gave date admitted as 24 Sep1933.]  Understanding
Human Nature, by Alfred Adler, Colin Brett. |
| John Lubbock | |
(source) |
Died
28 May 1913 (born 30 Apr 1834)
1st Baron Avebury. English banker, politician, naturalist and archaeologist who coined the terms Neolithic and Paleolithic. Like his father, astronomer Sir John William Lubbock, his scientific work was an avocation. Lubbock was a friend and advocate of Charles Darwin. He discovered the first fossil remains of musk-ox in England (1855), and undertook archaeological work identifying prehistoric cultures. As a naturalist, he studied insect vision and colour sense. He published a number of books on natural history and primitive man. In 1870, he became a member of Parliament. The legislation he initiated included the Bank Holidays Act (1871) and the Ancient Monuments Act (1882) and the Shop Hours Act (1886). He was made a peer in 1900.« Ants,
Bees, and Wasps: A Record of Observations, by John Lubbock. |
| Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran | |
(source) |
Died
28 May 1912 (born 18 April 1838)
French chemist who developed improved spectroscopic methods which had recently been developed by Kirchhoff. In 1859, he set out to scan minerals for unknown spectral lines. Fifteen years of persistence paid off when he discovered the elements gallium (1875), samarium (1880), and dysprosium (1886). He ranks with Bunsen, Kirchoff and Crookes as one of the founders of the science of spectroscopy. Guided by the general arrangement of spectral lines for elements in the same family, he believed the element he called gallium (in honour of France) was the eka-aluminium predicted by Mendeléeff between aluminium and indium. Since it is liquid between about 30 - 1700 deg C, a gallium in quartz thermometer can measure high temperatures. |
| MAY 28 - EVENTS | |
| First cloned horse | |
(source) |
In 2003, the first cloned horse was born
in a natural delivery. It is also the first cloned mammal born to its genetic
mother. The foal, called Prometea, was created in the lab by fusing
an adult skin cell and an empty egg then returning the resulting embryo
to the female's womb after a few days. The cloning was accomplished by
Prof Cesare Galli, of the Laboratory of Reproductive Technologies, Cremona,
Italy. It was the only successful one of 328 reconstructed embryos. DNA
tests confirmed that she is genetically identical to her mother and twin.
Although clones are currently banned from racing, tissue from many top
animals has been stored for cloning. The birth was announced in
Nature
on 7 Aug 2003. |
| New planet in Taurus | |
(source) |
In 1998, NASA released
a picture of what California astronomer Susan Terebey said may be the first
extrasolar planet ever seen, dubbed TMR-1C. Digitized pictures taken by
the Hubbell Space Telescope seemed to show an image of a planet apparently
flung from a pair of young stars in the constellation Taurus, 450 light
years from Earth. Located at one end of a bright trail that led from the
newborn stars, the faint object appeared as if it was their offspring,
a planet a few times as massive as Jupiter that had been expelled from
its birthplace. However, by the following year, scrutiny
of its spectrum suggested to other astronomers
that it could be merely a background star. Telescopic tracking for several
years should resolve the answer. |
| Taxol | |
(source) |
In 1991, a patent
was issued for the "Production of taxol or taxol-like compounds in cell
culture" (No. 5,019,504). This miracle drug was an important break-through
in cancer treatment. However, it only existed naturally in the bark of
the Pacific
Yew, Taxus Brevifolia, found solely in the Pacific Northwest,
where the number of trees is limited. Further, a vast number of trees must
be felled in order to collect the large amount of bark necessary for commercial
drug production. Thus, clinical trials were limited by an extremely small
supply of taxol. Alternatives,
such as extracting taxol from yew needles,
or to produce taxol synthetically, are source in the following years. Inventors
Christen, Gibson and Bland assigned the patent the U.S. Dept of Agriculture. |
| Mars landing | |
(source) |
In 1971, the U.S.S.R. Mars 3 was launched.
It arrived at Mars on December 2, 1971. The lander was released from the
Mars 3 orbiter and became the first spacecraft to land successfully on
Mars. It failed after relaying 20 seconds of video data to the orbiter.
The Mars 3 orbiter returned data until Aug 1972, sending measurements of
surface temperature and atmospheric composition. The first USSR Mars probe
was launched 10 Oct 1960, but it failed to reach earth orbit. The next
four USSR probes, including Mars 1, also failed. The USA Mariner 3 Mars
Flyby attempt in 1964 failed when its solar panels did not open. USA's
Mariners 4, 6, and 7 successfully returned Mars photos. Also in 1971, the
USSR Mars 2 lander crashed. |
| Animals in space | |
(source) |
In 1959, Rhesus monkey Abel and squirrel monkey Baker, both female, were
launched
for a brief suborbital space flight
in the nose cone of Jupiter Missile AM-18. They reached 300 miles altitude,
and travelled 1500 miles at speeds over 10,000 mph. Heart rate and sounds,
body temperature, blood pressure and radiation were monitored, plus muscle
performance by electromyogram. Abel was trained to tap a switch when a
red light flashed, to collect data on performance. After the mission, their
successful recovery was the first for living beings. The monkeys survived
the flight. Afterwards Able died
during anesthesia as doctors were about to remove an electrode from under
her skin. Baker died of kidney failure in 1984 at age 27. [Image:
Rhesus monkey Able, preflight.] |
| Golden Gate Bridge opened to traffic | |
(source) |
In 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco was ceremonially opened
to vehicles by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt who pressed a telegraph
key in the White House. Within the first hour after the toll gates opened,
1,800 cars crossed the bridge. By day's end, 32,300 vehicles and 19,350
pedestrians had paid to pass over the bridge. A firework display that night
celebrated the opening of the bridge. The previous day, a Pedestrian
Day had been held which first opened the bridge for public use. The
building and design of the bridge had been supervised by chief engineer
Joseph
B. Strauss. Construction had started
on 5 Jan 1933. It was the first bridge to span the mouth of a major U.S.
ocean harbour.«
The
Gate: The True Story of the Design and Construction of the Golden Gate
Bridge, by John Van Der Zee. |
| Dionne quints born | |
(source) |
In 1934, the Dionne quintuplets were born to Elzire Dionne at the family
farm near Callender, Ontario. All five babies survive infancy. They were
named Marie, Cecile, Yvonne, Emile and Annette. When they were just 4 months
old, the government removed the girls from their parents, saying it feared
American promoters would exploit them. Instead, the infants were put into
a nearby hospital where they were paraded, sometimes up to four times a
day, before paying spectators for a decade. Their faces were plastered
on soap and milk cartons and they became the grist for a series of movies
and radio specials. They grew
up as prize exhibits, a tragic exploitation
of a family. Emilie died in 1954 and Marie died in 1970. |
| Dutch barrier dam | |
|
In 1932, the last opening was sealed completing the 32-km-long Barrier
Dam in Holland to seal off the Zuyder Zee, a shallow inlet of the North
Sea. Work had begun in 1927 on the dam, which was built from the tip of
North Holland to the Frisian mainland. It was prompted by disastrous floods
in 1916. The work was commissioned by Cornelis Lely (1854-1929), later
Minister of Water Management. The dam was built with a a width of 90 m,
at an initial height of 7.25 m above sea-level using primarily boulder
clay simply dredged from the bottom of the Zuiderzee. Later, large parts
of the Zuyder Zee - rechristened the IJsselmeer - were drained to create
1650 km² of new land from two huge polders: the Noordoostpolder
and Flevoland.« |
|
| Chrysler Dodge | |
|
In 1928, the Dodge Brothers, Inc. and the Chrysler Corporation merged.
Both Dodge
brothers died in 1920. Walter
P. Chrysler created Chrysler Corporation on 6 Jun 1924. Dodge Brothers,
Inc., was sold to a New York banking firm for $146 million in 1925. Chrysler
Corporation purchased the company for $170 million in 1928. Dodge became
a Chrysler division. Said Walter
P. Chrysler: "Buying Dodge was one of the soundest acts of my life.
I say sincerely that nothing we have done for the organization compares
with that transaction." By 1929, Chrysler
Corporation was one of the "Big Three" of the auto industry, alongside
General Motors and Ford. The Chrysler Building in N.Y.C. opened in 1930
as the world's tallest building. |
|
| First regular TV programs began broadcast in U.S. | |
|
In 1928, the first U.S. television
station WGY began
broadcasting regular programs on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday afternoons
from 1:30 to 3:30 pm, using 24 lines. Sets were built and distributed by
General Electric in Schenectady. |
|
| Blasting powder | |
| [Place-holder;
waiting verification] In 1923, Giant Blasting Powder
was patented by the Giant Blasting Company of San Francisco, California
and was used for bomb lances in whale hunting. |
|
| Edison patent | |
(source) |
In 1901, Thomas A. Edison was issued patents
for a "Magnetic Separator" and an "Apparatus for Screening Pulverized Material"
(U.S. Nos. 675,056 and -7), two of several patents for which he applied
in mid-1897 concerned with "a Method of breaking rock", rolls, a conveyor,
drying apparatus, mixer, and "Lubricating Journal-Bearings." The patent
diagram (left) shows a magnet at the centre separating falling streams
of magnetic and non-magnetic materials. |
| Jell-o | |
(source) |
In 1897, Jell-o was introduced,
52 years after Peter Cooper (inventor of the Tom Thumb engine) held the
first U.S. patent for a gelatine dessert. Pearl B. Wait, a carpenter and
cough medicine manufacturer from LeRoy, N.Y., produced varieties in strawberry,
raspberry, orange and lemon fruit flavours, named Jell-O by his wife, May
Davis Wait. Sales were poor; Wait sold the Jell-O business for $450 to
his neighbor, Orator F.Woodward, who had founded the Genesee Pure Food
Co. two years earlier. Success came slowly, but with Woodward's creative
sales and sampling strategies, Jell-O began to catch on. In 1902, when
he launched his first advertising campaign in Ladies' Home Journal, sales
eventually reached $250,000. |
| Sierra Club | |
(source) |
In 1892, the Sierra Club was organized
in a meeting at Warren Olney's office in San Francisco. The Sierra Club
was incorporated "to explore, enjoy, and rendure accessible the mountain
regions of the Pacific Coast; to publish authentic information concerning
them," and "to enlist the support and cooperation of the people and government
in preserving the forests and other natural features of the Sierra Nevada."
John
Muir was elected president. The 182 men and women charter members shared
a passion for wild places. In its first conservation effort, the Sierra
Club led a campaign to defeat a proposed reduction in the boundaries of
Yosemite National Park. The Sierra
Club helped translate concern into concrete, effective action. |
