ON THIS DAY~APR 27

 

 

     -4977  Universe Is Created, According to Kepler

On this day in 4977 B.C., the universe is created, according to German mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler, considered a founder of modern science. Kepler is best known for his theories explaining the motion of planets.

Kepler was born on December 27, 1571, in Weil der Stadt, Germany. As a university student, he studied the Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus' theories of planetary ordering. Copernicus (1473-1543) believed that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system, a theory that contradicted the prevailing view of the era that the sun revolved around the earth.

 

Kepler's research was slow to gain widespread traction during his lifetime, but it later served as a key influence on the English mathematician Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) and his law of gravitational force. Additionally, Kepler did important work in the fields of optics, including demonstrating how the human eye works, and math. He died on November 15, 1630, in Regensberg, Germany. As for Kepler's calculation about the universe's birthday, scientists in the 20th century developed the Big Bang theory, which showed that his calculations were off by about 13.7 billion years.

 

 

1521  Magellan Killed In The Phillipines

After traveling three-quarters of the way around the globe, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan is killed during a tribal skirmish on Mactan Island in the Philippines

 

1937  The First Social Security Checks Were Issued

 

 

1954  White Christmas Debuts

White Christmas, starring Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, debuts on this day. The film, which opened at Radio City Music Hall, was Paramount's first wide-screen film, made with a process called VistaVision

 

1966  Major railroads mergeFor much of their respective histories, the Pennsylvania and New York Central Railroads stood as two of the mightiest rail concerns in the nation.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1994 South Africa Holds First Multiracial Elections

More than 22 million South Africans turn out to cast ballots in the country's first multiracial parliamentary elections. An overwhelming majority chose anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela to head a new coalition government that included his African National Congress Party, former President F.W. de Klerk's National Party, and Zulu leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi's Inkatha Freedom Party. In May, Mandela was inaugurated as president, becoming South Africa's first black head of state.

 

 

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