On this day in 1804 geographer, naturalist, and explorer Alexander von Humboldt returned home from his great South America scientific discovery journey.
On this very day in the year 47 BC the Roman dictator Gaius Iulius Caesar won the battle of Zela against Pharnaces II. king of Pontus. As the Roman victory was won rather quickly, Caesar wanted to emphasize that very fact by the brevity and conciseness of his report sent to the senate and people of Rome. He only wrote three little words:
"Veni, Vidi, Vici."
Most people know American author Herman Melville only by his most famous novel, the story of Captain Ahab and his paranoid and nightmarish hunt for the gigantic white whale Moby Dick. Of course, it is Melville's singular and also very best story. But, if you are trying to get to know the author Herman Melville better, you should also consider a few of his other short stories or novels.
It is the best selling book series ever in history. A fantastic story stretching over seven books of a boy, growing up in between the two worlds of ordinary people - the muggles - and the wizards and witches. It's about the old story of fighting of good against evil. And as the books sold over 400 million copies world wide, almost nobody could escape the news and the story behind the books, too. The story of J. K. Rowling, a single mother living on social security and becoming a multi-millionaire simply because of a children's book within a time frame of only 5 years.
On this day in 1908, the 'Phyletic Museum' was giftet to the University of Jena due to its 350th anniversary by Ernst Haeckel. The famous zoologist was best known for his approaches in evolution theory.
It was 58 years ago today that the first volume of J.R.R. Tolkien's epic fantasy story 'The Lord of the Rings' was published. Ever since it has cast a spell over generations of readers. The Lord of the Rings has become one of the most popular books of the last century. But, who was this Oxford professor for Anglo-Saxon and why in the world did he come up with this terrific and rather unusual piece of writing?
On this day in 1750 one of the most important and productive composers of the Baroque period, Johann Sebastian Bach died. Bach's abilities as an organist were highly respected throughout Europe during his lifetime, although he was not widely recognised as a great composer until a revival of interest and performances of his music in the first half of the 19th century.
What is the driving force behind our motivations and ambitions? Is it pure reasoning? Hardly, as famous psychiatrist Carl Gustav Jung would argue. Moreover its the unconscious buried deep below the surface of our daily self that is responsible. Carl Gustav Jung took into account the unconscious for his new school of analytical psychology, which differs from Freud's original school of psychoanalysis. C. G. Jung was one of the creators of modern depth psychology, which seeks to facilitate a conversation with the unconscious energies which move through each of us.
On this day in 1921, the psychotherapist, psychoanalytic, sociologist, philosopher, and author Paul Watzlawick was born. He was best known for his approaches in the field of schizophrenia and his five axiomes in the theory of communication.
While he was looking for a city called Vilcamba, Hiram Bingham discovered one of the most mysterious towns of all times today 101 years ago. The lost city of Machu Picchu was built in the 15th century by the Inca near Cusco and was declared as an UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
On this day in 1994, the last parts of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 collided with the largest planet within our solar system, Jupiter. This was the first time, that an extraterrestrial collision of two objects could be directly observed.
In 1985 Commodore revolutionized the home computer market by introducing the high end Commodore Amiga with a graphic power that was unheard of by that time in this market segment. Based on the Motorola 68000 microprocessor series the Amiga was most successful as a home computer, with a wide range of games and creative software, although early Commodore advertisements attempted to cast the computer as an all-purpose business machine.
On July 20, 1969 (for Western Europeans it was one day later, i.e. July 21, 3:56 MEZ) United States' space mission Apollo 11 reached the moon with the lunar module Eagle and the two astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin about 76 hours after they left earth from Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The first Science Slam in Potsdam took place yesterday at the Hans-Otto-Theater and we were there to see five young scientists presenting their latest studies on five different topics.
The rules of the Science Slam are easy. The participants have 10 minutes to present their own research results in an entertaining way. The audience then picks the winner by the volume of their applause
236 years ago today, Adam Weishaupt, the first lay professor of canon law, founded the secret order of Illuminati at the University of Ingolstadt on May 1st 1776. It was made up of freethinkers as an offshoot of the Enlightenment and seems to have been modeled on the Freemasons.
543 years ago today, Florentine civil servant, diplomat, historian, philosopher and author Niccolò Machiavelli was born. Besides his seminal work 'Il Principe' (The Prince) he also wrote comedies, carnival songs, and even poetry.
On this day in 1877 Thomas A. Edison conceived the first idea for his phonograph, the very first mechanical tool for recording and reproducing (replaying) sound. The phonograph also was the invention that first gained him public notice.
301 years ago, the great Philosopher David Hume was born. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy as well as the Scottish Enlightenment. In his 'Treatise of Human Nature' (1739), he was about to create a total naturalistic "science of man" examining the psychological basis of human nature.
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