Today in History 12/21/16

Today in History
(1898) Pierre and Marie Curie discover the element radium
(GERMANY OUT) Curie, Marie *07.11.1867-04.07.1934+(geb. Maria Sklodowska)Wissenschaftlerin, Physikerin, Chemikerin, Polen/Frankreich; Nobelpreistraegerin- mit ihrem Ehemann Pierre Curie im Labor- 1896 (Photo by ullstein bild/ullstein bild via Getty Images)
The husband-wife team discovers the existence of the radioactive element radium. The pair will win a Nobel Prize for their work with radiation, making Madame Curie the first woman to win a Nobel, and she’ll win another a few years later. Marie Curie will die from radiation exposure in 1934.

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
(1913) The first crossword puzzle is published
Recreation of the first crossword puzzle, created by Arthur Wynne, published on December 21, 1913 (Public domain)
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.

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

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
(1988) Bomb brings down Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland
FILE - In this Dec 22, 1988 file photo Police and investigators look at what remains of the flight deck of Pan Am 103 on a field in Lockerbie, Scotland. Swedish tabloid Expressen said Wednesday Feb. 23, 2011 that Libya's recently resigned justice minister claims Moammar Gadhafi personally ordered the Lockerbie bombing that killed 270 people in 1988. Expressen quotes Mustafa Abdel-Jalil as telling their correspondent in Libya that "I have proof that Gadhafi gave the order about Lockerbie." The comments were translated from Arabic to Swedish. (AP Photo/File)
The New York-bound flight explodes in midair over Lockerbie, killing 270 people, including 11 on the ground. Islamic terrorists will be accused of planting the bomb, hidden in a tape player in the Boeing 747’s cargo hold. In 2003, Libya will take responsibility for the bombing.

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
(1991) Eleven of 12 former Soviet republics form commonwealth
Moscow, RUSSIAN FEDERATION: (FILES) A file picture taken 18 December 1991 shows the Soviet (L) and Russian flags flying over the Kremlin between the Spassky Gate towers, in Moscow. The Soviet flags was taken down 31 December 1991 for the last time to be replaced by the Russian flags, marking the end of the Soviet Union. The ghosts of the past are haunting Russia 15 years after the Soviet collapse, as the country's headlong rush into democracy and capitalism fades to hunger for lost certainties and imperial power. AFP PHOTO / ALAIN-PIERRE HOVASSE (Photo credit should read ALAIN-PIERRE HOVASSE/AFP/Getty Images)
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.

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
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