When we think of computers today, we think of a Mac or a PC, a laptop or a desktop. If we go back further, we think of the large computers that were seen in movies. They’re comprised of banks of machinery and wires, spitting out long reams of paper. Regardless of the mental image, it […]
It’s fitting that Esquivel’s name was usually printed with an exclamation point: his trademark is the musical exclamation point. It’s between a “Pow!” sung by the chorus or a “zing” from a harpsichord. Esquivel’s orchestrations were like an exploding musical piñata with arrangements that were strikingly futuristic. Scattered among the pianos and trombones were slide […]
“If we go on the way we have, the fault is our greed and if we are not willing to change, we will disappear from the face of the globe, to be replaced by the insect.” Jacques-Yves Cousteau is a name with which most of us are probably familiar. Many of us remember him for […]
Pioneering cartoon animator Joseph Oriolo was born in New Jersey in 1913, one of six children in an Italian immigrant family. As a child, he drew constantly and dreamed of becoming a cartoon animator. In 1933, in the midst of the Depression, he went to work for a renowned animation house, the famous Fleischer Brothers […]
Were it not for the pioneering spirit of Katharine Blodgett, Poindexter from the Felix the Cat cartoons would not be able to see so well. In fact, Katharine Blodgett is responsible for the way we all view the world. Without the research that she and Irving Langmuir pioneered in the 1920’s and 30’s, we would […]
Deemed “The High Priestess of Bach,” Rosalyn Tureck is considered by many to be one of the great musical geniuses of the 20th and early 21st centuries. She was extremely well versed in literature, history, philosophy, and many of the sciences, and believed that “A deeper understanding of all these fields enriches one’s own concepts […]
Maya Angelou is widely known for her numerous books of poetry and her book ‘I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings‘. Throughout her life she held multiple jobs, some as an editor, others as an actress and author. Maya was born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri to Bailey and Vivian […]
In the world of motion pictures, Thomas Edison is usually credited with producing the first movies. His “kinetoscopes” were standard arcade fixtures as early as 1895. As was often the case with Edison, his innovations were built on the foundations of inventors before him. The cornerstone of this foundation is Eadweard Muybridge, one of the […]
Hypatia of Alexandria was a scientist, mathematician, and philosopher who lived in the late fourth and early fifth centuries AD. Some date her birth around 370 AD, while others believe she was born around 355 AD. Regardless of the date, it is known that Hypatia was born in Alexandria, which was then a part of […]
Susan B. Anthony paved the way for what would eventually become the 19th Amendment to the constitution. She was human-rights activist and was heavily involved in the woman’s suffrage movement. Very outspoken and a true leader, Susan was a champion of women’s right to vote, even though she was harshly ridiculed. She serves as a […]