Leibniz first uses the long s as the integral sign (1675), and First computer-to-computer link made on ARPANET (1969). Born on this day: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Joseph Goebbels and Abdullah Gül. Died: Jean Le Rond d’Alembert, Joseph Pulitzer and Gustav V.
29 events, 54 births and 57 deaths on this date.
Leibniz introduced the elongated letter s, shortened from the Latin summa, as the symbol for integration. The notation he chose is still used in calculus classrooms today.
Christoph Bernhard Francke · Public domainEngineers at UCLA sent the first message between two machines on ARPANET, an early experimental network that grew into the modern Internet. The attempt famously crashed after only the first two letters, yet it marked the start of networked computing as we know it.
Delegates from eighteen countries gathered in Geneva and agreed to set up what became the International Red Cross, a neutral body to aid wounded soldiers in war. The city's later role as a centre for humanitarian diplomacy grew directly from that meeting.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher declared the M25 open, the motorway that rings London and has since carried enormous volumes of traffic. Thatcher, who led the country from 1979 to 1990, was known as the Iron Lady for her uncompromising politics.
Born in the town of Rheydt, Goebbels would become the Nazi regime's chief propagandist, running the Reich Ministry of Propaganda from 1933. He was especially skilled at using radio and film to spread antisemitic hatred and build support for Hitler.
Heinrich Hoffmann · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Paris held its first trial for witchcraft, and three people died as a result. The case shows how accusations of sorcery could end in death in the city.
For the full day, download Chunks today. Every date, the stories behind them, and a new day each morning. Free to start.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is a Liberian economist and politician who became Africa's first elected female head of state. She later won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work bringing women into peacekeeping.
U.S. Institute of Peace · CC BY 2.0
Remembered as Hitler's most devoted propagandist, Goebbels ran the Propaganda Ministry from 1933, using radio and film to spread antisemitism and build support for the regime. He was also a gifted public speaker who pushed for the extermination of Jews and later for total war.
Heinrich Hoffmann · CC BY-SA 3.0 de
Abdullah Gül is a Turkish politician and former diplomat who served as Turkey's president from 2007 to 2014. He had earlier been prime minister for a few months in 2002 and 2003, and later foreign minister.
Salih Turan (VOA) · Public domain
French mathematician who co-edited the Encyclopédie with Diderot until 1759. He is remembered for the wave equation, which still carries his name, and a formula for solving it.
After Maurice Quentin de La Tour · Public domain
Joseph Pulitzer was a Hungarian-American newspaper publisher whose rivalry with Hearst helped create sensational yellow journalism. His will funded the Pulitzer Prizes, awarded each year for excellence in American journalism, literature and music.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Gustaf V ruled Sweden for almost 43 years, the longest reign of any Swedish king until his great-grandson's. He was the last Swedish monarch to use royal powers, which faded as parliamentary democracy took hold.
Unknown author Unknown author · Public domain
Download on iOS
Download on Android