Today in History 12/21 (Curies Discover Radium)

Discovered: 1898
Symbol: Ra
Atomic number: 88
Electron configuration: Rn 7s2
Boiling point: 3,159°F (1,737°C)
Melting point: 1,760°F (960°C)

Marie and Pierre Curie experimenting with radium, a drawing by André Castaigne
wiki/Radium
(1898) Pierre and Marie Curie discover the element radium.
Also on this day,
1891 | Hoops history as first basketball game played
Also on this day,
1891 | Hoops history as first basketball game played
James Naismith nails two peach baskets to the balcony of the gym at the YMCA Training School in Springfield, MA, hands his students a soccer ball, and makes sports history with his new game. Basketball will catch on quickly, spreading to colleges and fledgling professional leagues within a few years.1913 | The first crossword puzzle is published
Arthur Wynne introduces a new puzzle called ‘Word-Cross’ in the New York World newspaper’s ‘Fun’ section. The diamond-shaped grid has numbered squares, clues, and simple instructions to fill the blanks. A typographical error a few weeks later will change the name to ‘Cross-Word.’ That one will stick.1991 | Soviet states break away as eleven of 12 former Soviet republics form commonwealth
Having previously declared independence from the USSR, 11 Soviet republics proclaim the creation of a new alliance, the Commonwealth of Independent States. The Republic of Georgia, dealing with a civil war, abstains. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev will step down a few days later and the Soviet Union will dissolve.
Today in History 12/21/17

Founded: 1991
Headquarters: Minsk, Belarus
Founders: Russia · Ukraine · Belarus
Subsidiary: Warriors-Internationalists Affairs Committee
Orthographic projection of Commonwealth of Independent States.
wiki/Commonwealth_of_Independent_States