Yet another heretic, Nicolaus Copernicus, 1473 - 1543 gave us the Heliocentric solar system He wasn't the first to propose heliocentrism, nor is his model that close to correct, relying on circular orbits with epicycles, but our current model largely evolved from his and not those of any of his predecessors. He died very shortly after his work, Dē revolutionibus orbium coelestium was published and was thus not around when his person and his work was maligned and missed out on the banning of his book. Had he lived a while longer he cerainly would've suffered Gailileo's fate or worse, given that Galileo was admonished by the church not to hold or defend "the Copernican doctrine".
On this day in 1954, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's union with Russia (also known in the Soviet Union as the Pereiaslav Agreement) and boost Ukrainian born Nikita Kruschev's standing at home and abroad, and give Ukraine itself a bit of a boost, the Soviet Politburo transferred administration of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR
It is the third Monday in February which makes it Presnuts Day. I can recall when we celebrated Washington's Birthday and then, in 1968, decided to lump in Lincoln's birthday and call the holiday Presnuts Day. This honored both men without creating another day off for the plebes. Some allege that the idea was to celebrate all presnuts, but that is not the case, and is simply a feeble attempt to get some consideration for the various presnuts who should most definitely be neither celebrated nor honored. Andy Jackson and James Polk; Herbie Hoober, no matter how admired, greatly beloved and honored by Stanfoo U, come to mind, others do too, too many others, sadly enough, but I won't go there today.
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On this day in history:
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0356 -- Emperor Constantius II decreed the closing of all pagan temples in the Empire. *
1674 -- The Treaty of Westminster ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War. **
1878 -- Thomas Edison patented the phonograph.
1942 -- FDR signed executive order 9066, allowing the forced internment of Japanese Americans
1943 -- The Battle of Kasserine Pass began
1945 -- The US Marines landed on Iwo Jima.
1949 -- Ezra Pound was awarded the first Bollingen Prize in poetry
1953 -- Georgia approved the US' first literature censorship board
1954 -- The Soviet Politburo transferred administration of the Crimean Oblast from the Russian SFSR
to the Ukrainian SSR.,br. 1963 -- Betty Friedan's "The Feminine Mystique" was published
1976 -- Gerald Ford rescinded FDR's Executive Order 9066 ***
1985 – William J. Schroeder became the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital
* Leading to centuries of intellectual, behavioral, and occupational tyranny, the shadow and stink of which still permeates our lives
** It also transferred the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam (to be renamed New York) to England.
*** Truman, Ike, JFK, LBJ, and Nixon couldn't be bothered.
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Some people who were born on this day:
To know that we know what we know, and to know that we do not know what we do not know, that is true knowledge.
~~ Nicolaus Copernicus
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1473 -- Nicolaus Copernicus, heretical mathematician and astronomer
1526 – Carolus Clusius, botanist
1743 -- Luigi Boccherini, Italian cellist and composer
1859 – Svante Arrhenius, physicist and chemist
1869 – Hovhannes Tumanyan, poet and author
1877 – Gabriele Münter, painter
1896 – André Breton, poet and author, seminal surrealist
1902 – Kay Boyle, novelist, short story writer, activist, and educator 1904 -- Elisabeth Welch, singer and actress 1917 – Carson McCullers, novelist, short story writer, playwright, and essayist
1936 -- Sam Myers, singer and songwrite
1939 – Erin Pizzey, activist and author, founded Refuge
1940 -- Smokey Robinson, singer, songwriter, and producer
1940 -- Bobby Rogers, singer, songwriter, and miracle
1946 – Paul Dean, guitarist
1946 -- Karen Silkwood, technician and activist
1948 -- Mark Andes, singer, songwriter, and bassist
1949 -- Eddie Hardin, singer, songwriter, and pianist
1950 – Juice Leskinen, singer and songwriter
1950 – Andy Powell, singer, songwriter, and guitarist
1952 -- Amy Tan, author
1954 – Francis Buchholz, bass player
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Some people who died on this day:
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
~~ André Gide
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1916 -- Ernst Mach, physicist and philosopher
1951 – André Gide, novelist, essayist, and dramatist
1962 – Georgios Papanikolaou, pathologist, invented the Pap smear
1972 -- Lee Morgan, trumpet player and composer
1980 – Bon Scott, singer and songwriter
1998 – Grandpa Jones, singer, songwriter, and banjo player
2003 -- Johnny Paycheck, singer, songwriter and guitarist
2009 – Kelly Groucutt, singer and bass player
2016 – Umberto Eco, novelist, literary critic, and philosopher
2016 -- Harper Lee, author
2017 -- Larry Coryell, jazz guitarist
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Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such:
Roll your own
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Today's Tunes
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Nicolaus Copernicus
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The Treaty of Westminster
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Luigi Boccherini
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Elisabeth Welch
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Sam Meyers
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Smokey Robinson & Bobby Rogers
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Mark Andes
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Juice Leskinen
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Lee Morgan
Bon Sccott
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Johnny Paycheck
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Kelly Groucutt
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Larry Coryell
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Bonus Sam Meyers
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Ok, it's an open thread, so it's up to you folks now. So what's on your mind?
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Cross posted from http://caucus99percent.com
Open thread, Copernicus, phonograph, Constantius II, Luigi Boccherini, Sam Meyers, Smokey Robinson, Bobby Rogers, Larry Coryell
Edited to fix beaucoups typos