Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 31st, 2012
August 31, 1955: William Cobb, American inventor working at General Motors, demonstrated world’s first solar-powered automobile. When sunlight hit 12 photoelectric cells, made of selenium built into 15-inch-long “Sunmobile”, an electric current was produced that in turn powered a tiny motor that turned a driveshaft connected to car’s rear axle by a pulley. August 31, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 30th, 2012
August 30, 1871: Sir Ernest Rutherford, British nuclear physicist, was born in New Zealand. He discovered alpha & beta particles and gamma radiation. Rutherford announced that radioactive decay involves a series of transformations. With Geiger & Marsden, he devised alpha-particle scattering experiment that led to discovery of atomic nucleus. He developed method to artificially split [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 29th, 2012
August 29, 2005: Hurricane Katrina (Category 5) made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana. It was worst natural disaster in U.S. history, causing 1,300+ deaths & $150 billion in damage. One million people were displaced by the disaster. Note: Seven years later, Hurricane Isaac (Category 1) made landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana. August 29, 1982: An [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 28th, 2012
August 28, 1988: Air show in Germany turned tragic when three jets collided in mid-air & fell into the crowd. Sixty-nine of 100,000 spectators died & hundreds more were injured. Stricter safety measures are now in place. Today, planes must fly designated distance away from spectators & maneuvers may not be made in direction of [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 27th, 2012
August 27, 1859: Modern American petroleum industry was born in Titusville, Pennsylvania when first commercial oil well was completed. Although petroleum usage dates back to the first human civilizations, this event provided the spark that propelled petroleum industry towards the future. “Colonel” Edwin Drake’s well was almost 70 feet deep & yielded 20 barrels of [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 26th, 2012
August 26, 1743: Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier, French scientist, was born. He is best known as “Father of Modern Chemistry”. Lavoisier found that air is mixture of two gases which he called oxygen & nitrogen. He studied role of oxygen in combustion. Lavoisier discovered law of conservation of mass & devised modern method of naming compounds. Unfortunately [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 25th, 2012
August 25, 1916: U.S. National Park Service, an agency of U.S. Department of the Interior, was established. President Woodrow Wilson signed National Park Service Organic Act, which mandated the agency “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 24th, 2012
August 24, 0079: Without any warning, Mt. Vesuvius in Italy exploded. Volcanic eruption spewed stones & lava, burying Pompeii under 13 feet of ash. Estimated 15,000+ Romans died when exposed to hazardous fumes & suffocating ash. Story of this fateful day began to unfold, when archaeologists uncovered outer wall of Pompeii in 1748. August 24, [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 24th, 2012
August 23, 1999: West Nile encephalitis outbreak was first reported in New York City. It was previously found only in Uganda & Middle East. Virus is spread by mosquitoes. Between 1999 & 2008, over 30,000 cases reported in USA & caused death of 1,100 people. West Nile virus has been moving steadily westward across America. [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Aug 24th, 2012
August 22, 1864: International Red Cross was created by Geneva Convention for “Amelioration of Condition of Wounded & Sick of Armies in the Field”. In 1881, Clara Barton helped create American National Red Cross to provide humanitarian aid to victims of wars & natural disasters in concert with International Red Cross. August 22, 200: Russia [...]