Archbishop Óscar Romero Assassinated in San Salvador (1980)

As the archbishop of San Salvador during El Salvador’s civil war, Romero won international acclaim by speaking out against social injustices, such as human rights abuses and assassinations perpetrated by the Salvadoran government. Just one day after Romero publicly exhorted Salvadoran soldiers to obey God instead of their corrupt government, he was shot to death while celebrating Mass. What unprecedented confession did the president of El Salvador make on the 30th anniversary of Romero’s death? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Olive Schreiner (1855)

Schreiner was a South African author and feminist. Though she had no formal education, she read widely and developed a keen intellect and militantly feminist and liberal views. In 1883, she published her famed semiautobiographical novel, The Story of an African Farm, about a girl who lives on an isolated farm and struggles to attain independence in the face of rigid Boer social conventions. Under what pseudonym did Schreiner publish this text, arguably the first great South African novel? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Elizabeth Needham

Also known as Mother Needham, Elizabeth Needham was a notorious, 18th-century brothel-keeper known for keeping the most exclusive house in London and having customers from the highest strata of fashionable society. Although her well-connected clientele may have allowed her to elude the law for many years, she was eventually arrested in 1731 and sentenced to stand twice in the pillory. What happened the day before she was due to stand in the pillory for the second time? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

First Passenger Elevator Installed (1857)

Elevators—in one form or another—have been used to make human life easier since ancient times. They were once just simple hoists but are now incredibly complex mechanical systems. One of the most significant advances came in 1853 with the invention of a safety device to prevent elevators from plummeting in the event of cable failure. Four years later, the first passenger elevator was installed, paving the way for taller buildings and the urban geography of modern cities. Where was it installed? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Emmy Noether (1882)

After Noether died, Albert Einstein wrote in a letter to The New York Times that she was “the most significant creative mathematical genius thus far produced since the higher education of women began.” Her contributions to abstract algebra and theoretical physics were groundbreaking, evidenced by the inclusion of her name in several concepts, including “Noether’s Theorem,” “Noetherian module,” “Noetherian ring,” and “Noetherian induction.” Where were her ashes buried? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary

Nepenthes Rajah: The Plant with an Appetite

Nepenthes rajah is a carnivorous pitcher plant species endemic to Borneo. Its most distinctive features—giant urn-shaped traps, called pitchers, containing water and digestive fluid—allow it to catch and digest insects and even small vertebrates and mammals. These pitchers also host a number of organisms with which it is thought to form symbiotic relationships. Called nepenthebionts, many of these organisms are so specialized that they cannot survive anywhere else. What are some examples? Discuss

Source: The Free Dictionary