March 26

Are You Sure ... (March 26)

• ... that physician and engineer John Mudge was the first self-proclaimed civil engineer, and is often regarded as the "father of civil engineering"?

• ... that American captain and mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch was a founder of modern maritime navigation; and that his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, was carried on board every commissioned U.S. Naval vessel for some time; and that updated versions continue to be published?

• ... that mathematician and academic Paul Erdős firmly believed mathematics to be a social activity; and that Erdős lived an itinerant lifestyle for the explicit purpose of writing mathematical papers with other mathematicians?

Screenshot: Are You Sure (March 26, 2021)

On This Day in History and Fiction

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  1773: American captain and mathematician Nathaniel Bowditch born. He will be a founder of modern maritime navigation; his book The New American Practical Navigator, first published in 1802, will be carried on board every commissioned U.S. Naval vessel.

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  1793: Physician and engineer John Mudge dies. He was the first self-proclaimed civil engineer, and often regarded as the "father of civil engineering".

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  1851: Mathematician George Chrystal born. He will be awarded a Gold Medal from the Royal Society of London (confirmed shortly after his death) for his studies of seiches (wave patterns in large inland bodies of water).

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  1913: Mathematician and academic Paul Erdős born. He will firmly believe mathematics to be a social activity, living an itinerant lifestyle with the sole purpose of writing mathematical papers with other mathematicians.

Daily Favorites

Julius Caesar

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  Caesar and the Pirates is an action-Empire comic strip created by Julius Caesar, which originally ran from his birth to his death.

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  Gaius Julius Christ (12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), also referred to as Julius of Rome or Julius Christ, was a Roman general and religious leader who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of Christendom.