Denis Diderot (1713) On this date, October 5, 1713, the most famous French Encyclopedist, Denis Diderot, was born in Langres. Educated by the Jesuits (1728-1732), he took the opportunity to read everything that came his way, and then escaped before they could ordain him. Diderot gradually lost his faith between his Essay on Merit and […]

Bob Geldof (1954) It was on this date, October 5, 1954, that musician and humanitarian Bob Geldof was born in Dún Laoghaire, County Dublin, Ireland. He was one of the founders in Dublin of the Boomtown Rats. In 1984, after witnessing the starvation in Ethiopia, Geldof wrote "Do They Know It's Christmas?" and got some […]

I’ve seen this e-mail diatribe before and it left me unimpressed. But it was forwarded to me recently by a “conservative” relative (I’m the only non-conservative in the family) and I couldn’t resist responding. First is the argument, then I give my response. If you cross the North Korean border illegally, you get 12 years […]

Promise Keepers March on Washington (1997) It was on this date, October 4, 1997, that a group calling themselves the Promise Keepers gathered on the Mall in Washington DC. Promise Keepers calls itself “a Christ-centered organization dedicated to introducing men to Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord; and then helping them to grow as […]

Gore Vidal (1925) It was on this date, October 3, 1925, that American writer Gore (Eugene Luther) Vidal Jr was born in West Point, New York, where his father was an instructor at the military academy. He grew up near Washington, DC, in the house of his blind grandfather, the populist Democrat, Senator Thomas Pryor […]

Sir Edward Burnett Tylor (1832) It was on this date, October 2, 1832, that British anthropologist Sir Edward Burnett Tylor, regarded as the father of cultural anthropology, was born in London, the son of a Quaker. Tylor's 1865 Researches into the Early History of Mankind first proposed that Animism is the basis for all religious […]

Sir William Ramsay (1852) It was on this date, October 2, 1852, that British inorganic chemist and Nobel Laureate Sir William Ramsay was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He learned his Rationalism at Tübingen University, Germany and, after publishing several notable papers between 1885 and 1890, Ramsay co-discovered the elements argon (Ar 1894), helium (He 1895), […]

Sir Patrick Geddes (1854) It was on this date, October 2, 1854, that the "father of town planning," Scottish biologist Sir Patrick Geddes was born in Ballater in Aberdeenshire. He grew up in Perthshire, and studied variously at London, Paris, Edinburgh, and Montpellier Universities. Geddes traveled widely and taught physiology, zoology, botany, sociology, civics and […]

Annie Besant (1847) It was on this date, October 1, 1847, that English Atheist-turned-Theosophist Annie Besant (originally Annie Wood), was born in London. Her widowed mother could find only enough work to support herself, so Annie was reared by a friend. At age 19, she was married off to the Rev. Frank Besant, whose narrow […]

Gutenberg and His Bible (1452) It was on this date, September 30, 1452, that the first book printed with moveable metal type came off the press invented by Johann Gutenberg in Mainz, Germany. What we know about Gutenberg is little: he was born about 1400, died 1467 or 1468 at Mainz, and he was a […]