Born on this date were
… Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827).
… Jane Austen (1775-1817). Best known for her novels about young women yearning to get married, she was never married.
… George Santayana (1863-1952). “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”
… Noel Coward (1899-1973).
… Margaret Mead (1901-1978). “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
… Arthur C. Clarke (1917-2008). Clarke’s laws:
- When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is very probably wrong.
- The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
- Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
The first point-contact transistor was built 66 years ago today (1947).