1895 – While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-ray.
German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen is usually credited as the discoverer of X-rays in 1895, because he was the first to systematically study them, though he is not the first to have observed their effects. He is also the one who gave them the name “X-rays” (signifying an unknown quantity) though many others referred to these as “Röntgen rays” (and the associated X-ray radiograms as, “Röntgenograms”) for several decades after their discovery and even to this day in some languages, including Röntgen’s native German.
1923 – Jack Kilby, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate is born.
Jack St. Clair Kilby was an American electrical engineer who took part (along with Robert Noyce) in the realization of the first integrated circuit while working at Texas Instruments (TI) in 1958. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in physics on December 10, 2000. To congratulate him, US President Bill Clinton wrote, “You can take pride in the knowledge that your work will help to improve lives for generations to come.”
He is also the inventor of the handheld calculator and the thermal printer, for which he has patents. He also has patents for seven other inventions.
1926 – Darleane C. Hoffman, American nuclear chemist is born.
Darleane C. Hoffman is an American nuclear chemist who was among the researchers who confirmed the existence of Seaborgium, element 106. She is a faculty senior scientist in the Nuclear Science Division of Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory and a professor in the graduate school at UC Berkeley.
1947 – Margaret Rhea Seddon, American physician and astronaut is born.
Margaret Rhea Seddon is a physician and retired NASA astronaut. After being selected as part of the first group of astronauts to include women, she flew on three Space Shuttle flights: as mission specialist for STS-51-D and STS-40, and as payload commander for STS-58. Both before and after her career in the astronaut program, she has been active in the medical community in Tennessee, Mississippi and Texas.
1986 – Aaron Swartz, American computer programmer and activist is born.
Aaron Hillel Swartz was an American computer programmer, entrepreneur, writer, political organizer, and Internet hacktivist. He was involved in the development of the web feed format RSS and the Markdown publishing format, the organization Creative Commons, the website framework web.py, and the social news site Reddit, in which he became a partner after its merger with his company, Infogami.
Swartz’s work also focused on civic awareness and activism. He helped launch the Progressive Change Campaign Committee in 2009 to learn more about effective online activism. In 2010, he became a research fellow at Harvard University’s Safra Research Lab on Institutional Corruption, directed by Lawrence Lessig. He founded the online group Demand Progress, known for its campaign against the Stop Online Piracy Act.
On January 6, 2011, Swartz was arrested by MIT police on state breaking-and-entering charges, after connecting a computer to the MIT network in an unmarked and unlocked closet, and setting it to download academic journal articles systematically from JSTOR using a guest user account issued to him by MIT. Federal prosecutors later charged him with two counts of wire fraud and eleven violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, carrying a cumulative maximum penalty of $1 million in fines, 35 years in prison, asset forfeiture, restitution, and supervised release.
He committed suicide while under federal indictment for his alleged computer crimes. Swartz declined a plea bargain under which he would have served six months in federal prison. Two days after the prosecution rejected a counter-offer by Swartz, he was found dead in his Brooklyn apartment, where he had hanged himself.
In June 2013, Swartz was inducted posthumously into the Internet Hall of Fame.
2012 – New Arduino Micro in collaboration with Adafruit – @Arduino announces the release of the new Arduino Micro board
Wohoo! Here is the official press release for the new Arduino Micro in collaboration with Adafruit.
New Arduino Micro in collaboration with Adafruit
Arduino announces the release of the new Arduino Micro board. Based on the technology behind the Leonardo board, its main feature is the very small size.The Arduino Micro packs all of the power of the Arduino Leonardo in a 48mm x 18mm module (1.9″ x 0.7″).
It makes it easier for makers to embed the Arduino technology inside their projects by providing a small and convenient module that can be either used on a breadboard or soldered to a custom designed PCB.
The Micro has been developed in collaboration with Adafruit Industries, one of the leaders of the Maker movement. Adafruit is already developing a series of accessories for the new board that will complement its power and simplicity.
Throughout the month of November the product is available exclusively from Adafruit online and Radio Shack in retail stores.