Scientific Amarica Archive 175

Scientific American Archive

 The heat is on (in the Northern Hemisphere) but we’re stuck inside (it feels like pretty much everywhere). Luckily we have some great reading for you: National Radio Day is August 20, when we honor this device that still finds a large space in the digital ecosystem. We can skip the “murder hornets” and salute the honeybee, which pollinates $15 billion in crops every year. Finally, we should look at space travel, because at Scientific American, we can.

And for our 175th anniversary year, more gems from Scientific American’s history can be found at Artifacts from the Archive.

 

I hope you enjoy the journey! Dan Schlenoff, Editor of “50, 100 & 150 Years Ago”

Thomas Cromwell

Thomas Cromwell used 'cut and paste' to insert himself into Henry VIII's Great Bible

By Eyal Poleg - Senior Lecturer in Material History, Queen Mary University of London, Paola Ricciardi - Senior Research Scientist, The Fitzwilliam Museum, University of Cambridge 12 hours ago

Just a year before Cromwell's execution for high treason. (0)

The title page of the Great Bible, which has yielded its secrets after more than four centuries.

(Image: © Ian McKee/St John's College)

The Great Bible is often seen as a monument of English reform — but could it also contain the first known example of political photoshopping in early modern England? Printed in 1538-9, it was to be purchased by every parish church in the realm. Its creation was overseen by Henry VIII's chief minister, Thomas Cromwell. The Great Bible ushered in the English parish Bible and its large size and meticulous printing set the bar for centuries to come. Nowhere is its iconic appearance more evident than in a unique presentation copy made for the Tudor court. This copy was printed on vellum and hand-colored by highly skilled illuminators.

I encountered this lavish copy while carrying out an in-depth study of the production and use of Bibles in late medieval and early modern England. Researchers have long known about the Great Bible and used its striking title page for illustration. But little or no scientific analysis has ever been carried out on it. So I asked Paola Ricciardi, scientist in residence at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, to help me with a new investigation which utilized the latest technology to study the Bible in forensic detail. The results blew us away.

Our analysis revealed a new — and hitherto unknown — plot by Cromwell to literally change the balance of power on the Bible's front page, just one year before his execution for high treason. We plan to publish our research results in full later this year.

The Great Influenza

PRESIDENT WILSON GETS THE SPANISH FLU -- 8/10/20

• 0 COMMENTS

Today's selection -- from The Great Influenza by John M. Barry. In 1919, when President Woodrow Wilson was in Paris singlehandedly masterminding the direction of post-war treaty negotiations toward the new ideals he had established, he fell ill. That illness may very well have been the Spanish Flu, which had as a side effect an unexpected debilitation of the brain. Whatever it was, after he recovered, Wilson was not the same. The outcome of the talks turned darker, conforming much less to his ideals, and resulted in the acrimony that helped lead to a second world war:

"In March another 1,517 Parisians died [of the Spanish influenza], and the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that in Paris 'the epidemic of influenza which had declined has broken out anew in a most disquieting manner .... The epidemic has assumed grave proportions, not only in Paris but in several of the departments.' That month Wilson's wife, his wife's secretary, Chief White House Usher Irwin Hoover, and Cary Grayson, Wilson's personal White House physician and perhaps the single man Wilson trusted the most, were all ill. [Georges] Clemenceau and Lloyd George both seemed to have mild cases of influenza../;;;/

"Berle, later an assistant secretary of state, settled for writing Wilson a blistering letter of resignation: 'I am sorry that you did not fight our fight to the finish and that you had so little faith in the millions of men, like myself, in every nation who had faith in you. Our government has consented now to deliver the suffering peoples of the world to new oppressions, subjections and dismemberments -- a new century of war.'

"Wilson had influenza, only influenza."

author: John M. Barry
title: The Great Influenza
publisher: Penguin Group
date: Copyright John M. Barry, 2004, 2005
page(s): 383-388

Amadeo Avogadro

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Amedeo Avogadro

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WW II ended in Europe

FEATURED EVENT 1945 World War II in Europe ended Lembro que nesse dia eu entalhei a data VII/V/1945 no tronco de um abacateiro no quintal de casa READ MORE Alexandre Santa Maria 2 h ·  DESFILES DE OUTRORA 75 ANOS DA VITÓRIA 1945 - 2020 Grande Desfile em Comemoração ao " Dia da Vitória " onde nossos pracinhas e demais militares desfilaram na rua do acampamento em homenagem a todos os integrantes da FEB ( Força Expedicionária Brasileira ) que sacrificaram suas vidas na Segunda Grande Guerra. O militar que aparece mais ao Centro é o Segundo Tenente Aviador, Fernando Péreyron que após enumeras incursões sobre a Europa, retornava a sua amada cidade. Obrigado a todos vocês !!! " Jamais serão esquecidos " Foto: Enviada pela a Senhora France Péreyron , a qual agradeço muito pela a gentileza. 33Ronnie Stone e outras 32 pessoas 1 comentário 2 compartilhamentos Curtir Comentar Compartilhar

Pandemics

Best in History Follow How the Black Death Radically Changed the Course of History And what that can teach us about the coronavirus’ potential to do the same Steve LeVine in GEN9 min read Frightening Lessons from the 1918 Pandemic and Why History May Repeat COVID-19 has the advantages of simple math, human overconfidence and Mother Nature’s lack of empathy Robert Roy Britt6 min read

Einstein's letters

Einstein's letters illuminate a mind grappling with quantum mechanics Mar 30 2020 6:00 AM The latest volume of Einstein's papers covers the infancy of quantum mechanics and new challenges to the theory of relativity. READ MORE

The Red Baron

World War One’s Greatest Ace Pilot: The Red Baron

Calin Aneculaesei

Aug 31, 2019 · 4 min read

World War One was the first instance where air superiority was a major asset for a side to have. As communication evolved intelligence from planes was crucial when bombarding and planning an attack on the enemy. This also gave way to the first instance of air-to-air combat.