Radium is a chemical element with symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily combines with nitrogen on exposure to air, forming a black surface layer of radium nitride. All isotopes of radium are highly radioactive, with the most stable isotope being radium-226, which has a half-life of 1600 years and decays into radon gas. When radium decays, ionizing radiation is a product, which can excite fluorescent chemicals and cause radioluminescence.

Discovered: 1898
Symbol: Ra
Atomic number: 88
Electron configuration: Rn 7s2
Boiling point: 1,737 °C
Melting point: 960 °C
Atomic mass: 226 u
Discoverers: Maria Sklodowska-Curie · Pierre Curie
Chemical series: Alkaline earth metal · Metal · Period 7 element

— Source: wiki/Radium

Arthur Wynne was the British-born inventor of the modern crossword puzzle. Arthur Wynne was born on June 22, 1871, in Liverpool, England. He emigrated to the United States on June 6, 1891, at the age of 19, settling for a time in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Born: Jun 22, 1871 · Liverpool, England
Died: Jan 14, 1945 · Clearwater, FL
Inventions: Crossword

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Highlights

• 1871: Arthur Wynne was born on June 22, 1871, in Liverpool, England.


• 1913: He is best known for the invention of the crossword puzzle in 1913, when he was a resident of Cedar Grove, New Jersey.


• 1945: He died in Clearwater, Florida, on January 14, 1945.

— Source: wiki/Arthur_Wynne

Pan Am Flight 103 was a regularly scheduled Pan Am transatlantic flight from Frankfurt to Detroit via London and New York. On 21 December 1988, N739PA, the aircraft operating the transatlantic leg of the route, was destroyed by a bomb, killing all 243 passengers and 16 crew, in what became known as the Lockerbie bombing. Large sections of the aircraft crashed onto residential areas of Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 11 more people on the ground.

Date: Dec 21, 1988

— Source: wiki/Pan_Am_Flight_103

The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization formed during the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Nine out of the 15 former Soviet Republics are member states, and two are associate members. Georgia withdrew its membership in 2008, while the Baltic states refused to participate.

Founded: 1991
Founders: Russia · Ukraine · Belarus
Headquarters: Minsk, Belarus

— Source: wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States

The attack on Pearl Harbor, also known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor, the Hawaii Operation or Operation AI by the Japanese Imperial General Headquarters, and Operation Z during planning, was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy against the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii Territory, on the morning of December 7, 1941. The attack led to the United States’ entry into World War II.

Date: Dec 07, 1941

— Source: wiki/Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor

Instant replay is a video reproduction of something that recently occurred which was both shot and broadcast live. The video, having already been shown live, is replayed in order for viewers to see again and analyze what had just taken place. Some sports allow officiating calls to be overturned after the review of a play. Instant replay is most commonly used in sports, but is also used in other fields of live TV. While the first near-instant replay system was developed and used in Canada, the first instant replay was developed and deployed in the United States.

— Source: wiki/Instant_replay

The 1988 Armenian earthquake, also known as the Spitak earthquake occurred in the northern region of Armenia on December 7 at 11:41 local time. The earthquake measured 6.8 on the surface wave magnitude scale and had a maximum perceived intensity of X on the Medvedev–Sponheuer–Karnik scale. The region that the earthquake occurred is vulnerable to occasional large and destructive earthquakes and is part of a larger active seismic belt that stretches from the Alps to the Himalayas. Activity in the area is associated with tectonic plate boundary interaction and the source of the event was a slip of a thrust fault just to the north of Spitak.

Date: Dec 07, 1988

— Source: wiki/1988_Armenian_earthquake

On December 7, 1993, as a Long Island Rail Road train pulled into the Merillon Avenue station in Garden City, New York, a passenger, identified as Colin Ferguson, pulled out his gun and started firing at other passengers. He killed six and wounded nineteen before being stopped by three of the passengers: Kevin Blum, Mark McEntee, and Mike O’Connor. Ferguson’s trial was notable for a number of unusual developments, including his firing of his defense counsel and insisting on representing himself and questioning his own victims on the stand.

Born: Jan 14, 1958 (age 58) · Kingston, Jamaica
Spouse: Audrey Warren (m. 1986 – 1988)
Parents: May Ferguson (Mother) · Von Herman Ferguson (Father)
Education: Calabar High School · Nassau Community College · Adelphi University
Date: Dec 07, 1993

— Source: wiki/1993_Long_Island_Rail_Road_shooting

Women’s suffrage in New Zealand was an important political issue in the late nineteenth century. In early colonial New Zealand, as in other European societies, women were excluded from any involvement in politics. Public opinion began to change in the latter half of the nineteenth century, however, and after years of effort by suffrage campaigners, led by Kate Sheppard, New Zealand became the first self-governing colony in the world in which all women had the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

The Electoral Bill granting women the franchise was given Royal Assent by Governor Lord Glasgow on 19 September 1893. Women voted for the first time in the election held on 28 November 1893 (elections for the Māori electorates were held on 20 December). In 1893, Elizabeth Yates also became Mayor of Onehunga, the first time such a post had been held by a woman anywhere in the British Empire.

— Source: wiki/Women’s_suffrage_in_New_Zealand

The Battle of Hürtgen Forest was a series of fierce battles fought from 19 September 1944 to 10 February 1945 between American and German forces on the Western Front during World War II in the Hürtgen Forest about 50 sq mi east of the Belgian–German border. It was the longest battle on German ground during World War II, and is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought.

Start date: Sep 19, 1944
End date: Feb 10, 1945

— Source: wiki/Battle_of_Hürtgen_Forest

Glastonbury Festival is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts that takes place near Pilton, Somerset. In addition to contemporary music, the festival hosts dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret, and other arts. Leading pop and rock artists have headlined, alongside thousands of others appearing on smaller stages and performance areas. Films and albums recorded at Glastonbury have been released, and the festival receives extensive television and newspaper coverage. Glastonbury is the largest greenfield festival in the world, and is now attended by around 175,000 people, requiring extensive infrastructure in terms of security, transport, water, and electricity supply. The majority of staff are volunteers, helping the festival to raise millions of pounds for good causes.

First occurred: Sep 19, 1970

— Source: wiki/Glastonbury_Festival

Gregory Efthimios “Greg” Louganis is an American Olympic diver, LGBT activist, and author who won gold medals at the 1984 and 1988 Olympic Games on both the springboard and platform. He is the only male and the second diver in Olympic history to sweep the diving events in consecutive Olympic Games. In 1984, he received the James E. Sullivan Award from the Amateur Athletic Union as the most outstanding amateur athlete in the United States.

Born: Jan 29, 1960 (age 56) · El Cajon, CA
Height: 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
Education: University of Miami · University of California, Irvine

— Source: wiki/Greg_Louganis