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#OnThisDay, 8 Apr 1959, Mary K Hawes initiates a project to create the first universal programming language for computers used by businesses and government. Grace Hopper led the team that then created COBOL. Some mainframes are still using it.
#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #WomenInSTEM #Histodons
About 250M years ago, 90% of species on Earth died during the Permian extinction. All of that loss created a lot of vacant niches to fill.
And not long after, the first mammals, our ancestors, appeared.
Life on this pale blue dot will be resilient - whether we’re part of it or not. #science #nature #history
David Navarro and Martyna Sobecka have traveled the width and breadth of Eastern Europe, photographing the region’s unique brutalist architecture. "Eastern Blocks II," the duo's new book, captures some of these stark scenes.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/04/eastern-blocks-ii/
#books #brutalism #design #architecture #europe #photography #history
More Than 180 Photographs Chronicle Brutalist Suburbs and Public Buildings in 'Eastern Blocks II' — Colossal
Zupagrafika's 'Eastern Blocks II' chronicles the brutalist housing estates and public structures of the Eastern Bloc.Kate Mothes (Colossal)
#OnThisDay, 24 Feb 1968, Jocelyn Bell Burnell - along with her male supervisor and three other men - published a paper confirming the discovery of pulsars. She had built the array, picked up the signal and argued it was not an anomaly. Hewish received the Nobel prize for it in 1974: Bell Burnell did not.
In 2018 Bell Burnell received a £3m prize for her work. She's used it to set up a foundation to improve the diversity in STEM.
#WomenInHistory #OTD #History #WomensHistory #Histodons
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.youtube.com
How the highlighter was invented in Cambridge by Carter’s Ink, an innovator back to the 1800s
A Piece Of Cambridge MA History Most Folks Didn't Know
#History #LocalHistory #Highlighters #Invention #Cambridge #MA
Tiffany & Company - Liars or Time Travellers
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.youtube.com
AGC is the 60s computer that made history.
https://itsfoss.com/apollo-guidance-computer/
Going Retro With AGC: Smart Computer That Powered Apollo Missions in the 60s
The computer that made the Apollo missions possible.Bill Dyer (It's FOSS)
Vivian Maier was a nanny who, for decades, took photos she never expected anyone to see. She rarely looked at them herself, often didn't develop the negatives and kept the pictures in storage lockers that she eventually stopped paying for so the contents were auctioned off. @Smithsonianmag tells the story of how she came to be considered one of the great street photographers of the 20th century, with a major retrospective on view now at Fotografiska New York.
Link: https://flip.it/aadovS
#Photography #Photos #History @histodons #Culture
Meet Vivian Maier, the Reclusive Nanny Who Secretly Became One of the Best Street Photographers of the 20th Century
The self-taught artist is getting her first museum exhibition in New York City, where she nurtured her nascent interest in photographyEllen Wexler (Smithsonian Magazine)
In case you need some inspiration, Mister Rogers, Julia Child, LeVar Burton, Bob Ross & the wonderful folks at PBS have you covered.
https://www.pbs.org/show/pbs-remixed/extras/more/ #art #tv #history
The Vice Presidents That America Forgot
- YouTube
Enjoy the videos and music that you love, upload original content and share it all with friends, family and the world on YouTube.youtube.com
The hidden story of how ancient India shaped the west
"The flow of knowledge to Europe on maths, astronomy and much more has gone unacknowledged by historians"
#astronomy #mathematics #history
‘In Britain, we are still astonishingly ignorant’: the hidden story of how ancient India shaped the west
The flow of knowledge from India to Europe on everything from maths to astronomy has gone unacknowledged by historiansWilliam Dalrymple (The Guardian)
Born in 1805 in Jamaica, Mary Seacole was a pioneering nurse.
As a child, Mary learned traditional healing methods from her mother. Her mixed race family had few civil rights & could not vote, hold public office or enter many professions.
Known as 'Mother Seacole’ during the Crimean War, Mary helped wounded soldiers heal & find comfort.
In 1857, she published her memoirs, 'The Wonderful Adventures of Mrs Seacole in Many Lands'. https://www.maryseacoletrust.org.uk/learn-about-mary/ #HistoryRemix #history #science
Read Mary’s Story - Mary Seacole Trust, Life, Work & Achievements of Mary Seacole
Photograph: Amoret Tanner/Alamy. The above picture depicts Mary seated in front of a wide valley, beside a tent, next to a camp stool and table full of medicine bottles. Mary is wearing a military looking outfit (thought to have been self-designed).Mary Seacole Trust, Life, Work & Achievements of Mary Seacole
Pioneering geologist & oceanographer Marie Tharp changed our understanding of the ocean.
When Tharp sought a geology job at Columbia in 1948, women couldn’t go on research ships. So she was hired to assist male grad students.
Back then, many scientists still assumed the bottom of the ocean was featureless. Tharp figured out how to use data to create sketches of the ocean floor. Her hand-drawn maps helped develop plate tectonic theory. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/marie-tharp #science #history
Marie Tharp
Learn about Marie Tharp, a pioneering ocean mapper who discovered the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and proved the validity of the theory of continental drift.National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
Born in 1894, physicist Marietta Blau’s research led to a way to capture the tracks of speeding subatomic particles.
In 1937, Blau & Hertha Wambacher made a discovery that launched the field of particle physics. But she was forced to pause her work in 1938 bc of the Nazis.
Blau was nominated several times for the Nobel Prize but never won. Cecil F. Powell later built on her work & earned the Nobel Prize in Physics. https://www.sciencehistory.org/stories/magazine/the-dark-stars-of-marietta-blau/ #history #science #historyremix
The Dark Stars of Marietta Blau | Science History Institute
A scientist pitted hard work and ingenuity against the constraints she faced as a Jewish woman.Science History Institute
Born in 1750, Caroline Herschel worked as assistant to her astronomer brother William. But she also made her own discoveries of nebulae, stars & 8(!) comets.
In 1787, King George III employed Caroline as her brother's assistant, including a small salary that made her one of the first women paid for their contributions to #science.
Caroline submitted over 550 stars to the existing star catalog & received honorary membership in the Royal Society. https://www.space.com/17439-caroline-herschel.html #history
Caroline Herschel Biography
Caroline Herschel was the first woman to discover a comet. She made several contributions to the field of astronomyNola Taylor Tillman (Space)
Ben Barres was a trailblazing transgender neurobiologist who promoted equity & diversity.
His pioneering research on glial cells changed science & he became the 1st #trans person admitted into the National Academies of Science.
Barres was a strong advocate for women, early career scientists & the #LGBTQ+ community at a time when few people openly discussed gender identity. https://www.forbes.com/sites/matthewherper/2017/12/28/mourning-ben-barres-the-transgender-scientist-who-changed-neuroscience/ #history #science
Excerpt from his autobiography: https://stanmed.stanford.edu/ben-barres-autobiography-transgender-scientist/
Transgender scientist Ben Barres’ book excerpt describes transition decision | Stanford Medicine
In an autobiography released after his death, transgender scientist Ben Barres describes the emotional process of becoming a manPatricia Hannon (Stanford Medicine Magazine)
When I post about #science & #history, I tend to highlight the trailblazers we don’t usually read or hear about in #HistoryRemix.
But tonight I want to share this beautifully composed piece about Nikola Tesla.
While his inventions are legendary, you may not know how Tesla’s OCD shaped his approach to science & ultimately led to his world-changing ideas. It also left him isolated & alone. But he still experienced deep connection by caring for birds. https://nautil.us/teslas-pigeon-460446/
Beatrice ‘Tilly’ Shilling was born in 1909 in Hampshire. She became an aeronautical engineer & daredevil motorcycle racer.
In 1936, Shilling joined The Royal Aircraft Establishment. 5 yrs later, she led a team that designed a device to prevent Merlin plane engines from stalling during flight, which helped the Allies win WWII.
Shilling was also the 2nd woman to earn a Brooklands Gold Star for lapping the track at >100mph. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beatrice_Shilling #science #history
“Engravings, first in Arabic script, then in Hebrew, tell the story of how knowledge was created, shared & developed by Islamic & Jewish scholars living & working side by side.”
https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/05/extraordinary-islamic-and-jewish-science-merge-in-11th-century-astrolabe #history #science
‘Extraordinary’: Islamic and Jewish science merge in 11th-century astrolabe
Instrument was adapted, translated and corrected by Muslim and Jewish users in Spain, north Africa and ItalySam Jones (The Guardian)
Would love to see a similar map of first nations/native peoples perspective, who had reached the depths of the Amazon and Patagonia, and even islands of the Pacific, without knowledge of Europeans.
#maps #history #map #cartography #Native #america
Born in 1906, computer scientist Grace Hopper invented the first compiler for computer programming language & was among the first programmers of the Harvard Mk1 computer.
Hopper popularized the idea of machine-independent programming languages & paved the way to develop COBOL (an early high-level programming language). She originated the term "bug" to describe computer glitches & became a celebrated Rear Admiral in the US Navy. https://news.yale.edu/2017/02/10/grace-murray-hopper-1906-1992-legacy-innovation-and-service #science #history
Grace Murray Hopper (1906-1992): A legacy of innovation and service
On Feb. 11, President Peter Salovey announced that he and the Yale Corporation had voted to change the name of Calhoun College, one of the university's undergraduate residential colleges, to honor alumna Grace Murray Hopper.YaleNews
So apparently the term "patch" in software development comes from punched paper tape.
"Small corrections to the programmed sequence could be done by patching over portions of the paper tape and re-punching the holes in that section."
https://chsi.harvard.edu/harvard-ibm-mark-1-language
#til #computers #development #language #history
Born in 1885, Clara Belle Williams became the 1st Black graduate of New Mexico College of Agriculture & Mechanic Arts (now NMSU).
While a student, many professors did not allow her into lecture halls so she took notes from the hallway. When she graduated in 1937, commencement ceremonies were canceled bc a group of students refused to walk with her.
Williams persevered despite discrimination, earning recognition as a teacher & lifelong learner. https://libexhibits.nmsu.edu/onlinexhibits/cbwilliams/index.html #HistoryRemix #history
Born in 1896, biochemist Gerty Theresa Cori became the 1st woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (and the 3rd to win a Nobel Prize).
Cori faced gender discrimination & was marginalized for years. But she never gave up.
With her husband Carl, she discovered how glycogen is broken down & eventually stored as an energy source (aka the “Cori cycle”). They also identified the Cori ester. http://beckerexhibits.wustl.edu/women/cori.htm #HistoryRemix #science #history
Born in 1919, Isabella Aiona Abbott became the first native Hawaiian woman to earn a PhD in #science.
A marine botanist, Abbott became the 1st woman & person of color to become a full professor in Stanford’s Biology dept.
She wrote 8 books, >150 articles & was awarded the Gilbert Morgan Smith Medal by the National Academy of Sciences.
In 2005, Abbott was named a “Living Treasure of Hawaii” by the Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii. https://woc.aises.org/content/isabella-aiona-abbott-becoming-“first-lady-limu” #history
“I think [bicycling] has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. I stand & rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel. It gives woman a feeling of freedom & self-reliance. It makes her feel as if she were independent. The moment she takes her seat she knows she can’t get into harm unless she gets off her bicycle & away she goes, the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.”
- Suffragist Susan B. Anthony, 1896 https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/06/obituaries/annie-londonderry-overlooked.html?unlocked_article_code=1.NU0.gAMP.GI5GiD5Z7SJR&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare #history #bike /2
In 1894, a Boston man bet another $20K that no woman could travel around the world by bicycle.
So Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, then penniless, learned to bike & set out to prove him wrong & earn prize money.
From 1894-95, she did just that (sailing between continents). Kopchovsky kept her husband & family a secret, using the alias Londonderry. She won $10K for her accomplishment & returned to raise her family.
https://jwa.org/thisweek/jun/25/1894/annie-cohen-kopchovsky #HistoryRemix #history
First woman to cycle the globe begins journey | Jewish Women's Archive
Annie Cohen Kopchovsky, known as Annie Londonderry, began a round-the-world bicycle trip. She became the first woman to travel around the globe by bicycle.Jewish Women's Archive
Born in 1794, pioneering marine biologist Jeannette Villepreux-Power collected specimens from local fisherman in Sicily for study. She built a natural history collection & was especially interested in cephalopods like octopus & squid 🐙.
Villepreux-Power invented the modern aquarium was one of the first people to observe living cephalopods & their behaviors.
Unfortunately, much of her work & collections were lost in a shipwreck in 1843. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Villepreux-Power #HistoryRemix #science #history
Did you know Monopoly was invented by a woman named Elizabeth Magie in 1903?
Originally ‘The Landlord’s Game,’ it was designed as a protest against the big monopolists like Carnegie & Rockefeller.
But it was Charles Darrow, an unemployed salesman, who eventually sold it to Parker Brothers after playing a version.
Parker Brothers credited Monopoly with saving their company. Magie died in 1948 without recognition. Darrow became very wealthy & his legend lives on. #history
Over 100M years ago, titanosaur ‘Patagotitan mayorum‘ wandered around what is now Argentina. It grew >120 feet long, 28 feet tall & weighed ~ 70 tons. (That’s longer than a blue whale!)
https://www.amnh.org/explore/news-blogs/news-posts/meet-patagotitan-mayorum #science #history #SharedPlanet
![A scale diagram showing the giant titanosaur Patagotitan mayorum, compared to some humans. via Wikimedia Commons
“• Patagotitan silhouette based proportionally on a skeletal reconstruction by Henrique Paes, used with permission.[1]
• Patagotitan is one of the more complete giant titanosaurs but there are still areas that are unknown.[2] The proportions shown here, such as neck and tail length, are dependent on how many vertebrae are used to fill in the gaps; these proportions might differ slightly between reconstructions.
• Humans scaled to 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) and 160 cm (5 ft 3 in).”](https://keybored.me/photo/preview/640/1195093 "A scale diagram showing the giant titanosaur Patagotitan mayorum, compared to some humans. via Wikimedia Commons
“• Patagotitan silhouette based proportionally on a skeletal reconstruction by Henrique Paes, used with permission.[1]
• Patagotitan is one of the more complete giant titanosaurs but there are still areas that are unknown.[2] The proportions shown here, such as neck and tail length, are dependent on how many vertebrae are used to fill in the gaps; these proportions might differ slightly between reconstructions.
• Humans scaled to 170 cm (5 ft 7 in) and 160 cm (5 ft 3 in).”")