Today in History 09/12 (Steve Biko)

Lived: Dec 18, 1946 – Sep 12, 1977 (age 30)
Nationality: South African
Spouse: Ntsiki Mashalaba (m. 1970 – 1977)
Children: Hlumelo Biko (Son) · Nkosinathi Biko (Son) · Samora Biko (Son) · Lerato Biko (Daughter) · Motlatsi Biko (Daughter)
Founded: Black Consciousness Movement · South African Students’ Organisation · Black People’s Convention
Parents: Alice Mamcete Biko (Mother) · Mzingayi Mathew (Father)Highlights
- 1968: He developed the view that to avoid white domination, black people had to organise independently, and to this end he became a leading figure in the creation of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) in 1968.
- 1970: Biko married Ntsiki Mashalaba in December 1970.
- 1971: Biko presented a paper on “White Racism and Black Consciousness” at an academic conference in the University of Cape Town’s Abe Bailey Centre in January 1971.
- 1972: In 1972, he was involved in founding the Black People’s Convention (BPC) to promote Black Consciousness ideas among the wider population.
- 1972: In September 1972, Biko visited Kimberley, where he met the PAC founder and anti-apartheid activist Robert Sobukwe.
- 1977: There, Biko died alone in a cell on 12 September 1977.

Biko’s grave in Ginsberg cemetery, King William’s Town
wiki/Steve_Biko
(1977) Anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody.
Also on this day,
1846 | A pair of poets Barrett and Browning elope
Also on this day,
1846 | A pair of poets Barrett and Browning elope
The lauded poet Elizabeth Barrett joins her beau, the up-and-coming poet Robert Browning, to marry in secret at a London church. They will then move to Italy, cultivate a circle of literary friends, have a son, and craft words for the ages.1933 | Atom-age breakthrough as Szilárd’s stroll sets off a nuclear chain reaction
Hungarian physicist Leó Szilárd has been puzzling over using atoms as a form of energy, and as he strolls London’s streets, he suddenly conceives the idea of a nuclear chain reaction, which will lead to his work in the atom bomb’s formation and the harnessing of nuclear energy.1978 | ‘Taxi’ brings NYC cab driver stories to TV
‘Taxi’ premieres with a cast that includes Judd Hirsch, Danny DeVito, Marilu Henner, Tony Danza, and Andy Kaufman. Christopher Lloyd will join later as the Rev. Jim Ignatowski. The show will go on to win 18 Emmy Awards during its five seasons on ABC and NBC.
Today in History 09/12/17

Lived: Feb 11, 1898 - May 30, 1964 (age 66)
Spouse: Gertrud Weiss Szilard (m. 1951)
Academic advisors: Albert Einstein · Max von Laue
Inventions: Einstein refrigerator
Education: Budapest University of Technology and Economics · Technical University of Berlin · Humboldt University of Berlin
Awards: Albert Einstein Award (1960)Highlights
- 1922: His doctoral dissertation on thermodynamics Über die thermodynamischen Schwankungserscheinungen (On The Manifestation of Thermodynamic Fluctuations), praised by Einstein, won top honors in 1922.
- 1938: Foreseeing another war in Europe, Szilard moved to the United States in 1938, where he worked with Enrico Fermi and Walter Zinn on means of creating a nuclear chain reaction.
- 1950: He publicly sounded the alarm against the possible development of salted thermonuclear bombs, explaining in radio talk on February 26, 1950, that sufficiently big thermonuclear bomb rigged with specific but common materials, might annihilate mankind.
- 1951: Leó Szilárd married Gertrud Weiss Szilard in 1951.
- 1961: The Voice of the Dolphins, and Other Stories written by Leó Szilárd was first published in 1961.
- 1964: On May 30, 1964, he died in his sleep of a heart attack; when Trude awoke, she was unable to revive him.
An image from the Fermi–Szilard "neutronic reactor" patent
wiki/Leo_Szilard