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Maria, born in Germany was the only child of a professor who understood the value of education. She attended Gottingen University, a rarity for a woman then and planned to become mathematician. However, she found her true niche in studying physics. In 1930, she received her doctorate in theoretical physics and met her future husband, an American who was also working in physics. That same year, they moved to New York where she continued her research and taught part time at both Columbia and Sarah Lawrence College. At Columbia, she became part of the Manhattan Project exploring the potential of […]

“We can only see a short distance ahead, but we can see plenty there that needs to be done.” On June 23, 1912, Alan M Turing was born in London, England, and eventually became a noted British mathematician, logician and cryptographer. He is recognized as the father of modern computer science and artificial intelligence. In 1936 he invented the “Turing Machine,” an abstract information-processing mathematical model that foreshadowed digital computers. During WWII he worked for the Government Code and Cypher School and was a member of their top-secret code-breaking team at England’s Bletchley Park. There he played a key role […]

Seventy-two years ago on June 21, 1945, the fierce fighting that had been going on for eighty-two days came to a halt.  It was the largest amphibious assault in the Pacific, and Winston Churchill’s cable to President Truman acknowledged that this lengthy and epic battle for Okinawa would be remembered as “among the most intense and famous of military history.” It indeed took its toll on both sides with 7,613 American casualties on land and another 4,907 killed in the air or from kamikaze attacks. A total of thirty-six American warships were also sunk. The Japanese suffered even greater losses […]

According to the US Census, there are over 70 million fathers in the US, and many will be celebrating Father’s Day with their families this Sunday. The push to have an annual holiday recognizing fathers started as early as 1908 but it was not as quickly embraced as the efforts had been to honor mothers. In fact there was much controversy and push-back for establishing a day to honor fathers. Sonora Smart Dodd from Spokane, Washington, was the first person to garner statewide support for such a holiday, and on June 19, 1910, the entire state of Washington celebrated their […]