Interesting tidbits: 1846 – Astronomers Urbain Jean Joseph Le Verrier, John Couch Adams and Johann Gottfried Galle collaborate on the discovery of Neptune. Neptune was the first planet found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation. Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led Alexis Bouvard to deduce that its orbit was subject to gravitational perturbation by an unknown planet. Neptune was subsequently observed on 23 September 1846 by Johann Galle within a degree of the position predicted by both Urbain Le Verrier and John Couch Adams. 1889 – Nintendo Koppai (Later Nintendo Company, Limited) was founded by Fusajiro Yamauchi to produce and market the playing card game Hanafuda. Nintendo is the worlds largest video game company by revenue. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as cab services and love hotels. Abandoning previous ventures, Nintendo developed into a video game company, becoming one of the most influential in the industry and Japans third most valuable listed company with a market value of over $85 billion. Nintendo of America is also the majority owner of the Seattle Mariners Major League Baseball team. The name Nintendo can be roughly translated from Japanese to English as leave luck to heaven. 1913 – Roland Garros of France becomes the first to fly in an airplane across the Mediterranean (from St. Raphael France to Bizerte, Tunisia). Todays birthday crew: 1861 – Robert Bosch, German engineer and businessman, founded Robert Bosch GmbH. Bosch spent seven years working at diverse companies in Germany, the US (for Thomas Edison), and the UK (for Siemens). On 15 November 1886, he opened his own Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering in Stuttgart. A year later, he made a decisive improvement to an unpatented magneto ignition device made by the engine manufacturer Deutz, providing his first business success. The purpose of the device was to generate an electric spark to ignite the air/fuel mixture in a stationary engine. In 1897, Bosch was the first to adapt a magneto to a vehicle engine. In doing so, he solved one of the greatest technical problems faced by the young automotive industry. The invention of the first commercially viable high-voltage spark plug as part of a magneto-based ignition system by Robert Boschs engineer Gottlob Honold in 1902 greatly enhanced the development of the internal combustion engine. 1869 – Typhoid Mary, Irish-American carrier of Typhoid fever. Mary Mallon was the first person in the United States identified as a carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever who did not appear to have the disease. She was presumed to have infected some 51 people, three of whom died, over the course of her career as a cook. She was forcibly isolated twice by public health authorities and died after a total of nearly three decades in isolation. She repeatedly changed jobs after being employed for only a short time at each, leaving a trail of infected families in her wake. Eventually Mary was discovered to be the source of the typhoid outbreaks and spent the rest of her life in quarentine. 1897 – Walter Pidgeon, Canadian actor who starred in many films, including the science fiction classic Frbidden Planet (based on Shakespeares The Tempest), and the not so classic Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea. 1945 – Paul Petersen, American actor best remembered as the son in the Donna Reed show, but mentioned here for his roles in The Monolith Monsters (1957) and In the year 2889 (1967), which was a remake of Roger Cormans Day the World Ended (1955). 1956 – Peter David, American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games. His notable comic book work included an award-winning, 12-year run on The Incredible Hulk, as well as runs on Aquaman, Young Justice, Supergirl, and Fallen Angel. His Star Trek work includes both comic books and novels such as Imzadi, and co-creating the New Frontier series. His television work included series such as Babylon 5, Young Justice, and Ben 10: Alien Force. David often jokingly describes his occupation as Writer of Stuff, and is noted for his prolific writing, characterized by its mingling of real world issues with humor and references to popular culture, as well as elements of metafiction and self-reference. 1957 – Rosalind Chao, American actress best known as Keiko OBrien on Star Trek:TNG and Star Trek:DSN. 1968 – Yvette Fielding, English actress and producer best known for being the presenter of the TV shows Most Haunted, Most Haunted Live!, and Ghosthunting With.... Tidbits includes Fielding as an example of who made a career on ghosthunting programs of dubious verasity. Her credibility has been called into question in several behind-the-scenes videos on YouTube. Happy birthday guys!
Posted on: Tue, 23 Sep 2014 11:20:59 +0000
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