Eunice Newton Foote (1819–1888) was an American inventor, women's
rights campaigner, and the first scientist to conclude that rising
levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) could impact climate. Born in
Connecticut, she was raised in New York at the center of movements such
as the abolition of slavery, anti-alcohol activism, and women's rights.
The Troy Female Seminary and Rensselaer School gave her a broad
education in science. After marrying an attorney in 1841, Foote settled
in Seneca Falls. She signed the Declaration of Sentiments and edited the
1848 Seneca Falls Convention's proceedings. In 1856 she published a
paper (pictured) demonstrating the absorption of heat by CO2 and water
vapor, hypothesizing that changing amounts of atmospheric CO2 would
alter the climate. Foote died in 1888; her contributions were largely
unknown before being rediscovered by women academics in the late 20th
century. The American Geophysical Union instituted the Eunice Newton
Foote Medal for Earth-Life Science in 2022.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eunice_Newton_Foote>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1736:
Nader Shah, the founder of the Afsharid dynasty, was crowned
Shah of Iran.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nader_Shah>
1919:
During the Egyptian Revolution, British authorities arrested
rebel leader Saad Zaghloul and exiled him to Malta.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Egyptian_Revolution_of_1919>
1978:
BBC Radio 4 began broadcasting Douglas Adams's The Hitchhiker's
Guide to the Galaxy, a science fiction radio series that was later
adapted into novels, a television series, and other formats.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy_%28radio_series%29>
1983:
Cold War: In a speech to the National Association of
Evangelicals in Orlando, Florida, U.S. president Ronald Reagan described
the Soviet Union as an "evil empire".
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Empire_speech>
2017:
The Azure Window, a limestone natural arch in Gozo, Malta,
collapsed during a storm.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azure_Window>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
foundress:
1. (dated) A female founder (“one who founds or establishes”).
2. (zoology, specifically) A female animal which establishes a colony.
3. (obsolete, rare) A female founder (“one who founds or casts metals”).
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/foundress>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
A definition is the start of an argument, not the end of one.
--Neil Postman
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Neil_Postman>