Newsletter for Friday 29 November

TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY NEWSLETTER - 29 NOVEMBER

Book of the Day

On 29 Nov 1852, Augusta Ada King, Countess of Lovelace - known as Ada Lovelace - died at the age of 36. Despite her death at such an early age, she established herself in science history as one of the first to recognize the potential of computers, which in her era meant the mechanical devices she assisted Charles Babbage in developing. She also represents one of the ground-breaking women for her ability to pursue mathematics in a male society of her time. Today's Science Store pick is: Ada, the Enchantress of Numbers: Prophet of the Computer Age, by Betty A. Toole, Betty Alexandra Toole who illuminates this great role model for girls. Many of her letters are provided in this text, which shows how her life had much turmoil and many obstables. It is available New from $9.31. Used from $5.80. (As of time of writing.). For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science History Science Store home page.

Quotations for Today
	A multitude of words doth rather obscure than illustrate, they being a burden to the memory, and the first apt to be forgotten, before we come to the last. So that he that uses many words for the explaining of any subject, doth, like the cuttle-fish, hide himself, for the most part, in his own ink. - John Ray, English naturalist and botanist (born 29 Nov 1627).
	Imagination is the Discovering Faculty, pre-eminently ... It is that which feels & discovers what is, the REAL which we see not, which exists not for our senses... Mathematical science shows what is. It is the language of unseen relations between things... Imagination too shows what is ... Hence she is or should be especially cultivated by the truly Scientific, those who wish to enter into the worlds around us! - Countess of Lovelace Augusta Ada King, English mathematician (died 29 Nov 1852).
	On foundations we believe in the reality of mathematics, but of course, when philosophers attack us with their paradoxes, we rush to hide behind formalism and say 'mathematics is just a combination of meaningless symbols,'... Finally we are left in peace to go back to our mathematics and do it as we have always done, with the feeling each mathematician has that he is working with something real. The sensation is probably an illusion, but it is very convenient. - Jean Dieudonné, French mathematician and educator (died 29 Nov 1992).

Quiz
Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page.
Births
	Richard Ewen Borcherds, born 29 Nov 1959, is a British mathematician who in 1998 was awarded what has been called the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for mathematicians. His achievement was his proof of the so-called “Moonshine” conjecture. What is the name the mathematician's version of the Nobel Prize?
	On 29 Nov 1947, Robert A. Swanson was born, an American chemist who co-founded Genentech, Inc., a pioneer in the biotechnology industry. In 1978, Genentech created the first drug produced by genetic engineering. What was Genentech's drug, the first to be produced by genetic engineering?
	An Austrian physicist, born 29 Nov 1803, first described how the observed frequency of light and sound waves is affected by the relative motion of the source and the detector. This effect became known by his name. Can you name this scientist?
Deaths
	Ada Lovelace(1815-1852) was an English mathematician. She was a stalwart associate of Charles Babbage, for whose prototype of a digital computer she created a program. Hence, she has been called the first computer programmer. Ada Lovelace was the daughter of which famous poet?
Events
	In 1962, the British Aircraft Corporation and the French airline company, Sud Aviation, agreed to jointly design and manufacture a supersonic passenger airliner, which became known as the Concorde. How many passenger seats were designed in the Concorde?
	On 29 Nov 1951, the first U.S. underground atom bomb test was exploded at Frenchman Flat. In which U.S. state was this atom bomb test made?

Answers

When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the November 29 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers. Fast answers for the previous newsletter for November 28: binary pulsar • Celluloid • neutrino • archaeologist • decade containing the year 1948 • Jocelyn Bell.

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