Alfred Nobel was a Swedish chemist, engineer, and inventor. Throughout his life, Nobel held numerous patents for his inventions, and he accumulated considerable wealth from his inventions, particularly dynamite. The History Channel writes, “What persuaded the ‘dynamite king’ to devote his fortune to charity? Nobel…
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The eradication of smallpox stands as one of the greatest achievements in the history of public health. Smallpox is an infectious disease caused by the variola virus, and it had plagued humanity for centuries. Efforts to combat smallpox date back to ancient China and…
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On December 8, 1980, the world of music was shaken to its core. John Lennon, one of the legendary members of The Beatles, met a tragic end when he was fatally shot outside his apartment building, The Dakota, in New York City. Mark David…
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On December 1, 1824, the presidential election did something that hasn’t happened since–it was turned over the House of Representatives to choose the president after no one achieved a majority in the Electoral College. That year’s race involved four major candidates: John Quincy Adams,…
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The United States became independent on July 4, 1776, but it did not become free from the British until November 30, 1782. The Treaty of Paris, preliminarily signed on that date and sent to both countries for final approval, marked the official end of…
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On November 28, 1660, the first “learned society” meeting followed a lecture at Gresham College in London by Christopher Wren. Joined by other leading polymaths at the time, including Christopher Wren, Robert Boyle, John Wilkins, and Sir Robert Moray, the group soon received royal…
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On November 27, 1973, the Twenty-Fifth Amendment was used for the first time. Gerald Ford’s ascent to the position of Vice President of the United States resulted from the political turbulence that marked the early 1970s. In the aftermath of the Watergate scandal, then-Vice…
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The Mars Rover Curiosity, a marvel of modern space exploration, embarked on its journey to the Red Planet with a historic launch on November 26, 2011. Launched as part of NASA’s Mars Science Laboratory mission, Curiosity aimed to unravel the mysteries of Mars and…
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On November 25, 1999, a five-year-old boy from Cuba was found on Thanksgiving day holding on to an inner tube a few miles off of the coast of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. Fishermen rescued him and took him to a hospital for treatment. Elian Gonazlez’s…
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Australopithecus afarensis, a pivotal hominid species in the human evolutionary timeline, was discovered in the Afar region of Ethiopia on November 24, 1974, by paleoanthropologist Donald Johanson and his team. This ancient species, which thrived between 3.9 and 2.9 million years ago, is best…
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