EADS is one of the world’s largest aerospace companies. It was formed in 2000 from the merger of Aerospatiale Matra of France, DaimlerChrysler Aerospace of Germany, and Construcciones Aeronáuticas S.A. of Spain. Responsible for the final assembly of Airbus aircraft, it is one of the top makers of commercial and military aircraft. It is also one of the major arms manufacturers in Europe, and its divisions also produce communications systems, space rockets, and satellites. Where is it based? Discuss
Month: July 2024
John Calvin (1509)
Calvin was a French theologian and a major figure of the Protestant Reformation. In 1531, he became part of a movement that emphasized salvation by grace rather than by works. By 1555, Calvin had succeeded in establishing a theocracy in Geneva, where he served as pastor and head of the Genevan Academy and wrote the sermons, biblical commentaries, and letters that form the basis of Calvinism. What theologian, whose arrest was ordered by Calvin, was burned atop a pyre of his own books? Discuss
The Harappan Civilization
The Harappan civilization is the name given to the mature phase of the Indus Valley civilization, an ancient society that inhabited the Indus and Ghaggar-Hakra river valleys in what is now Pakistan and western India. Named after its city of Harappa, the civilization flourished from 2600 to 1900 BCE, developing a technologically advanced urban culture that was likely the result of efficient planning and a government that emphasized hygiene. What modern convenience first developed in its cities? Discuss
haply
Andy Warhol's Campbell's Soup Cans Exhibition Opens (1962)
One of the most influential artists of the late 20th century, Warhol began painting in the late 1950s and received sudden notoriety in 1962, when he exhibited 32 silkscreened paintings of Campbell’s soup cans in a California art gallery. The blatantly mundane content of the exhibition ran contrary to the abstract expressionist aesthetic of the time and generated much controversy, establishing Warhol as the leading exponent of the pop art movement. How did the soup cans differ from one another? Discuss
Martyrdom of the Bab
The Martyrdom of the Bab is a solemn commemoration of the day in 1850 when the Bab, the first prophet of the Baha’i faith, was executed in Tabriz, Persia (now Iran). Prayers and readings mark the Baha’i holy day, and work is suspended. The Bab was repeatedly exiled and imprisoned by Muslim rulers and priests who opposed the idea that the Bab would provide another avenue to the truth. A committee of priests demanded the Bab’s execution; his body was retrieved by his followers and eventually placed in a mausoleum on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel, where the Baha’i headquarters is today. Discuss
Franz Boas (1858)
Boas was a German-American anthropologist. Trained in physics, he was part of an early scientific expedition to Baffin Island, where he turned to studying Eskimo culture. He is largely credited with establishing anthropology as an academic discipline in the US, and his achievements in anthropology are virtually unrivaled. It is largely because of his work that anthropologists today attribute human differences to cultural, rather than genetic, factors. Who were some of his famous students? Discuss
lidless
Vasco da Gama Sets Sail on First Direct European Voyage to India (1497)
In 1497, da Gama began his epochal voyage to India, becoming the first European to journey there directly by sea. With four vessels, he rounded the Cape of Good Hope, passed the easternmost point reached by Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, continued up the coast of Africa to Malindi, and sailed across the Indian Ocean to Calicut. His voyage opened up a way for Europe to reach the Indies and marked the beginning of the Portuguese Empire. For what brutal methods was da Gama known during his travels? Discuss
Alfred Binet (1857)
A major figure in the development of experimental psychology in France, Binet founded L’Année Psychologique, the first French journal on psychology, in 1895. He is also known for his research and innovations in measuring reasoning ability. Between 1905 and 1911, he and Théodore Simon developed influential scales for the measurement of the intelligence of children, which, with revisions, came into wide use in schools, industries, and the army. How did the scales work? Discuss