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Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte De Buffon

Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon

:For the town in Côte-d'Or, see Buffon, Côte-d'Or. Buffon, Côte-d'Or Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (September 7, 1707 – April 16, 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, biologist, cosmologist and author. Buffon's views influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and Charles Darwin. Buffon is best remembered for his great work Histoire naturelle, générale et particulière (1749-1788: in 36 volumes, 8 additional volumes published after his death by Lacépède). It included everything known about the natural world up until that date. In it Buffon considered the similarities between humans and apes, and the possibility of a common ancestry. Those who assisted him in the production of this great work included Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton. Buffon's work is considered to have greatly influenced modern ecology (see history of ecology). The problem of Buffon's needle in probability theory is named in his honor. In Les époques de la nature (1778) Buffon discussed the origins of the solar system, speculating that the planets had been created by comets colliding with the sun. He also suggested that the age of the earth was much greater than the 6,000 years proclaimed by the church. Based on the cooling rate of iron, he calculated that the age of the earth was 75,000 years. For this he was condemned by the Catholic Church in France and his books were burned. Despite his many brilliant insights he is also known for expounding the theory that nature in the New World was inferior to that of Eurasia. He argued that the Americas were lacking in large and powerful creatures, and that even the people were far less virile than their European counter parts. He ascribed this to the marsh odours and dense forests of the continent. He was born at Montbard, Côte d'Or. His father, Benjamin Leclerc, was the Lord of Dijon and Montbard. He attended Jesuit College from the age of ten, and then Angers University. He began studying law, but soon began to concentrate on his twin interests of mathematics and science. He was forced to leave university after becoming involved in a duel, and set off on a grand tour of Europe, returning when his father's remarriage threatened his inheritance. He first made his mark in the field of mathematics and in Sur le jeu de franc-carreau introduced differential and integral calculus into probability theory. During this period he corresponded with the Swiss mathematician, Gabriel Cramer. His translations of works by Isaac Newton and Stephen Hales' Vegetable staticks into French heightened his interest in biology. He moved to Paris, making the acquaintance of Voltaire and other intellectuals. He joined the French Academy of Sciences at the age of 27. He was Keeper of the Jardin du Roi (later Jardin des Plantes) in Paris from 1739. During his period in charge he converted it from the King's garden to a research centre and museum, and the park was considerably enlarged, with the addition of many trees and plants from around the world. He was created Comte de Buffon in 1773. He died in Paris 1788.

Wood tests

1788 Buffon performed one of the most comprehensive series of tests that had been undertaken at his time on the mechanical properties of wood. Included were a series of tests to compare the properties of small clear specimens with those of large members. After carefully testing more than 1,000 small specimens and being extremely careful to ensure that the specimens contained no knots or other defects, Buffon concluded that it was not possible to predict the properties of full-size timbers containing defects from tests of small specimens, and he began a series of tests on full-size structural members. His conclusion that tests of small specimens (without further adjustment) cannot be used to predict the properties of full-size members raised a question that was to continue into the 20th century. Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de

Côte-d'Or

:For other uses, see Côte d'Or (disambiguation). Côte-d'Or is a département in the eastern part of France.

History

Côte-d'Or was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.

Geography

The département is part of the current région of Bourgogne. It is surrounded by the départements of Yonne, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, Aube, and Haute-Marne. A chain of hills called the Plateau de Langres runs from north-east to south-west through the département to the north of Dijon and continues south-westwards as the Côte d'Or escarpment, after which the département is named. It is the south-east facing slope of the escarpment which is the site of the celebrated Burgundy vineyards. To the west of the Plateau de Langres, towards Champagne, lies the densely wooded district of Châtillonais. To the south-east of the plateau and escarpment, the département lies in the broad, flat-bottomed valley of the middle course of the Saône. Rivers include:
- The Saône
- The Seine rises in he southern end of the Plateau de Langres.
- The Ouche rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows to the Saône via Dijon.
- The Armançon rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows north-westward.
- The Arroux rises on the dip slope of the escarpment at the southern end of the département.

Climate

The climate of the département is temperate, with abundant rain on the west side of the central range.

Economy

This is a premier wine-growing region of France. Other crops include cereal grains and potatoes. Sheep and cattle are also raised in the département. The region is famous for its Dijon mustard. There are coal mines and heavy industry, including steel, machinery, and earthenware. The industries most developed in Côte-d’Or are
- agriculture and food (14% of employees)
- metallurgy and metal manufacture (12% of employees)
- chemicals, rubber and plastics (12% of employees)
- pharmacy
- electrical and electronic components and equipment
- wood and paper industries. The big works are generally in the conurbation of Dijon although biggest (CEA Valduc) is at Salives in the Plateau de Langres. There is also the SEB metal works at Selongey below the plateau on the margin of the Saône plain and the Valourec Group at Montbard in the west of the départment on the River Armançon. The Pharmaceutical industry has shown the greatest growth in recent years. However, since the Dijon employment statistics zone includes the urban and administrative centre of the Burgundy region, the service sector is proportionately bigger there in relation to the industrial, than in the other three zones of Côte-d'Or.
- Reference [http://www.industrie-bourgogne.org/Site/Template/IndexGeo.php?NumSecteur=0&NumeroPage=0 Industrie en Bourgogne website]

Demographics

The inhabitants of the département are called Côte-d'Oriens.

Tourism

Some of the major tourist attractions are the Gothic abbey church of Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye and the Romanesque abbey church at Saulieu, as well the Château de Bussy Rabutin at Bussy-le-Grand. The Abbey of Cîteaux, headquarters of the Cistercian Order, lies to the east of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the south of the département.

Miscellaneous topics

- Communes of the Côte-d'Or département

External links

- [http://seurre-21.site.voila.fr/index2.htm Seurre and the river Saone, Burgundy - Tourism and local life - french and english]
- [http://www.cote-dor.pref.gouv.fr/ Prefecture website] (in French)
- [http://www.cg21.fr/ Conseil Général website] (in French)
- http://www.ot-dijon.fr/
- http://5.1911encyclopedia.org/C/CO/COTE_D_OR.htm
- [http://www.industrie-bourgogne.org/Site/Template/IndexGeo.php?NumSecteur=0&NumeroPage=0 The Côte-d'Or economy (in French)] Click on Côte-d'Or then Spécificité.
- ja:コート＝ドール県

September 7

September 7 is the 250th day of the year (251st in leap years). There are 115 days remaining.

Events

- 70 – A Roman army under General Titus occupies and plunders Jerusalem.
- 1191 - Third Crusade: Battle of Arsuf - Richard I of England defeats Saladin at Arsuf.
- 1539 - Guru Angad Dev ji becomes the second Guru of the Sikhs
- 1776 - World's first submarine attack. The American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship Eagle in New York Harbor.
- 1812 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Borodino - Napoleon defeats the Russian army of Alexander I near the village of Borodino.
- 1818 - Carl III of Sweden-Norway is crowned king of Norway, in Trondheim.
- 1821 - The Republic of Gran Colombia (a federation covering much of presentday Venezuela, Colombia, Panama, and Ecuador) was established, with Simón Bolívar as the founding President and Francisco de Paula Santander as vice president.
- 1822 - Brazil declares its independence from Portugal.
- 1860 - Steamship Lady Elgin sinks on Lake Michigan, with the loss of around 400 lives.
- 1864 - American Civil War: Atlanta, Georgia, is evacuated on orders of Union General William Tecumseh Sherman.
- 1876 - In Northfield, Minnesota, Jesse James and the James-Younger Gang attempt to rob the town's bank but are surrounded by an angry mob and are nearly killed.
- 1901 - The Boxer Rebellion in China officially ends with the signing of the Peking Protocol.
- 1911 - French poet Guillaume Apollinaire is arrested and put in jail on suspicion of stealing the Mona Lisa from the Louvre museum.
- 1915 - Former cartoonist John B. Gruelle is given a patent for his Raggedy Ann doll.
- 1921 - In Atlantic City, New Jersey, the first Miss America Pageant, a two-day event, is held.
- 1927 - The University of Minas Gerais is founded in Belo Horizonte, Brazil, by Governor Antônio Carlos.
- 1927 - The first fully electronic television system is achieved by Philo Taylor Farnsworth.
- 1940 - World War II: The Blitz - Nazi Germany begins to rain bombs on London. This will be the first of 57 consecutive nights of bombing.
- 1940 - Treaty of Craiova: Romania loses Southern Dobrudja to Bulgaria.
- 1943 - A fire at the Gulf Hotel in Houston, Texas, kills 55 people.
- 1950 - Coal mine collapses in New Cumnock, Scotland - 13 miners dead. 116 rescued.
- 1950 - The gameshow Truth or Consequences debuts on television.
- 1953 - Nikita Khrushchev becomes head of the Soviet Central Committee.
- 1963 - The Pro Football Hall of Fame opens in Canton, Ohio with 17 charter members.
- 1965 - China announces that it will reinforce its troops in the Indian border.
- 1965 - Vietnam War: In a follow-up to August's Operation Starlight, United States Marines and South Vietnamese forces initiate Operation Pirahna on the Batangan Peninsula.
- 1966 - The final new episode of The Dick Van Dyke Show airs (the first episode aired on October 3, 1961).
- 1970 - An anti-war rally is held at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, attended by John Kerry, Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland.
- 1970 - Fighting between Arabic guerillas and government forces in Amman, Jordan.
- 1971 - The last new episode of The Beverly Hillbillies is aired (the first episode debuted on September 26, 1962).
- 1977 - The Torrijos-Carter Treaties between Panama and the United States on the status of the Panama Canal are signed. The US agrees to transfer control of the canal to Panama at the end of the 20th century.
- 1979 - The Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) makes its debut.
- 1979 - The Chrysler Corporation asks the United States government for USD $1 billion to avoid bankruptcy.
- 1986 - Desmond Tutu becomes the first black to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa.
- 1986 - Gen. Augusto Pinochet, president of Chile, escapes attempted assassination.
- 1988 - Abdul Ahad Mohmand, the first Afghan in space, returns aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz TM-5 after 9 days on the Mir space station
- 1991 – Ty Detmer of BrighamYoung passes for a then-NCAA Division I-A career record 11,606 yards.
- 1996 - In Las Vegas, Nevada, actor and recording artist Tupac Shakur is shot several times after attending a boxing match, he dies six days later.
- 1997 - The first test flight of the F/A-22 Raptor takes place.
- 1998 - Google Inc. is founded.
- 1999 - A major earthquake close to Athens, Greece, results to the collapse of few buildings in the area. About 150 people are killed.
- 2004 - The Serbian government backs a decision by Minister of Education and Sport Ljiljana Čolić to require the teaching of both creationism and evolution in schools.
- 2004 - The Deluxe Edition DVD of Resident Evil in released.
- 2005 - Apple Computer introduced the iPod nano, a revolutionary full-featured iPod that holds 1,000 songs yet is thinner than a standard #2 pencil and less than half the size of competitive players.
- 2005 - Apple Computer announced iTunes 5.

Births

- 1395 - Reginald West, 6th Baron De La Warr, English politician (d. 1450)
- 1524 - Thomas Erastus, Swiss theologian (d. 1583)
- 1533 - Queen Elizabeth I of England (d. 1603)
- 1615 - Colonel John Birch, English soldier (d. 1691)
- 1707 - Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (d. 1788)
- 1717 - Martin Dobrizhoffer, Austrian Jesuit missionary (d. 1791)
- 1816 - Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, Austrian physician (d. 1880)
- 1829 - Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz, German chemist (d. 1896)
- 1860 - Grandma Moses, American painter (d. 1961)
- 1866 - Tristan Bernard, French writer (d. 1947)
- 1867 - J. P. Morgan, American financier (d. 1943)
- 1870 - Aleksandr Kuprin, Russian writer (d. 1938)
- 1885 - Elinor Wylie, American writer (d. 1928)
- 1887 - Edith Sitwell, English poet (d. 1964)
- 1870 - Jimmy Tompkins, Canadian Catholic priest (d. 1953)
- 1895 - Brian Horrocks, British general (d. 1985)
- 1900 - Taylor Caldwell, American author (d. 1985)
- 1908 - Paul Brown, American football coach (d. 1991)
- 1908 - Dr. Michael DeBakey, American heart surgeon
- 1909 - Elia Kazan, Hungarian-born film director (d. 2003)
- 1912 - David Packard, American electrical engineer and businessman (d. 1996)
- 1913 - Sir Anthony Quayle, English actor (d. 1989)
- 1913 - Miguel Rolando Covian, Brazilian physiologist (d. 1992)
- 1917 - John Cornforth, Australian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1917 - Jacob Lawrence, American painter (d. 2000)
- 1923 - Peter Lawford, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1929 - Sonny Rollins, American jazz saxophonist
- 1930 - King Baudouin I of Belgium (d. 1993)
- 1932 - Paul Getty, American-born philanthropist (d. 2003)
- 1936 - Buddy Holly, American singer (d. 1959)
- 1937 - John Phillip Law, American actor
- 1939 - Donnie Allison, American race car driver
- 1944 - Robert Laxton, English politician
- 1944 - Bora Milutinovic, Serbian football coach
- 1945 - Jacques Lemaire, Canadian hockey player
- 1946 - Willie Crawford, baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1946 - Francisco Varela, Chilean biologist (d. 2001)
- 1947 - Graham Young, British serial killer (d. 1990)
- 1949 - Lee McGeorge Durrell, American author, television presenter, and zookeeper
- 1949 - Gloria Gaynor, American singer
- 1951 - Morris Albert, Brazilian singer
- 1951 - Chrissie Hynde, American guitarist and singer
- 1951 - Julie Kavner, American voice actress
- 1952 - Susan Blakely, American actress
- 1954 - Corbin Bernsen, American actor
- 1954 - Benmont Tench, American keyboardist
- 1955 - Mira Furlan, Croatian actress
- 1958 - Danny Chan, Hong Kong singer, actor, and songwriter (d. 1993)
- 1962 - Thomas L. Beard, American musician, composer
- 1963 - Eazy-E, American rapper (d. 1995)
- 1966 - Gunda Niemann-Stirnemann, German speed skater
- 1968 - Marcel Desailly, French footballer
- 1976 - Stevie Case (Killcreek), American video game celebrity
- 1976 - Shannon Elizabeth, American actress
- 1978 - Nora Greenwald, American professional wrestler
- 1980 - Mark Prior, baseball player
- 1982 - Lorne Berfield, American actor
- 1984 - Vera Zvonareva, Russian tennis player
- 1987 - Evan Rachel Wood, American actress

Deaths

- 1151 - Geoffrey of Anjou (b. 1113)
- 1312 - King Ferdinand IV of Castile (b. 1285)
- 1496 - King Ferdinand II of Naples (b. 1469)
- 1548 - Catherine Parr, queen of Henry VIII of England
- 1552 - Guru Angad Dev, second Sikh Guru (b. 1504)
- 1559 - Robert Estienne, French printer (b. 1503)
- 1632 - Sissinios of Ethiopia
- 1644 - Guido Bentivoglio, Italian statesman and historian (b. 1579)
- 1654 - Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller, Bohemian rabbi and liturgical poet (b. 1579)
- 1655 - François Tristan l'Hermite, French dramatist (b. 1601)
- 1657 - Arvid Wittenberg, Swedish field marshal and statesman (b. 1606)
- 1719 - John Harris, English writer
- 1728 - William Burnet, British Governor of New York and New Jersey (b. 1688)
- 1777 - Tekle Haymanot I of Ethiopia
- 1799 - Louis Guillaume Lemonnier, French botanist (b. 1717)
- 1809 - Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke, King of Thailand (b. 1737)
- 1840 - Étienne-Jacques-Joseph-Alexandre MacDonald, French marshal (b. 1765)
- 1881 - Sidney Lanier, American writer (b. 1842)
- 1892 - John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet (b. 1807)
- 1951 - Maria Montez, Dominican actress (b. 1912)
- 1962 - Kirstin Flagstad, Norwegian soprano (b. 1895)
- 1962 - Isak Dinesen, Danish author (b. 1885)
- 1969 - Everett Dirksen, U. S. Senator from Illinois (b. 1896)
- 1971 - Spring Byington, American actress (b. 1886)
- 1976 - Daniel F. Galouye, American author (b. 1920)
- 1978 - Keith Moon, English drummer (The Who) (b. 1946)
- 1982 - Ken Boyer, baseball player (b. 1931)
- 1985 - Rodney Robert Porter, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1917)
- 1991 - Edwin Mattison McMillan, American physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (b. 1907)
- 1994 - James Clavell, Australian-born American author (b. 1924)
- 1997 - Mobutu Sese Seko, dictator of Zaire (b. 1930)
- 2001 - Spede Pasanen, Finnish television personality (b. 1930)
- 2002 - Erma Franklin, American singer (b. 1938)
- 2003 - The Great Antonio, Canadian strongman and eccentric (b. 1925)
- 2003 - Warren Zevon, American musician and songwriter (b. 1947)
- 2004 - Bob Boyd, baseball player (b. 1925)
- 2005 - Hope Garber, Canadian actress, hostess, entertainer and singer; also mother of actor Victor Garber (b. circa 1924)

Holidays and observances

- RC Saints - Saint Regina; Saint Evurtius (Heortius), St. Cload (Clodoald) Also see September 7 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Brazil - Independence day (from Portugal, 1822)
- Mozambique - Victory Day

External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/september/7 BBC: On This Day] ---- September 6 - September 8 - August 7 - October 7 – more historical anniversaries ko:9월 7일 ms:7 September ja:9月7日 simple:September 7 th:7 กันยายน

April 16

April 16 is the 106th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (107th in leap years). There are 259 days remaining.

Events

- 1178 BC - A solar eclipse may mark the return of Odysseus, legendary King of Ithaca, to his kingdom after the Trojan War.
- 1071 - Bari falls to Robert Guiscard, ending Byzantine rule in Italy.
- 1521 - Martin Luther's first appearance before the Diet of Worms to be examined by the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and the rest of the estates of the empire.
- 1746 - Second Jacobite Rebellion: The Battle of Culloden, the last battle of the Jacobite Uprising is fought, ultimately leading to the destruction of the Highland clans.
- 1780 - The University of Münster in Münster, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany is founded
- 1799 - Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Mount Tabor – Napoleon drives Ottoman Turks across the River Jordan near Acre.
- 1853 - The first passenger rail opens in India, from Bori Bunder, Bombay to Thane.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Siege of Vicksburg – 12 ships led by Union Admiral David Dixon Porter move through heavy Confederate artillery fire on approach to Vicksburg, Mississippi. Only one ship is lost.
- 1881 - In Dodge City, Kansas, Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle.
- 1912 - Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
- 1917 - Vladimir Lenin returns to Petrograd (present-day Saint Petersburg) from exile in Finland.
- 1919 - Mohandas Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the British slaughter of Indian protestors in the Amritsar Massacre.
- 1922 - The Treaty of Rapallo, in which Germany and the Soviet Union re-establish diplomatic relations between Berlin and Moscow, is signed.
- 1926 - Lolly Willows by Sylvia Townsend Warner is distributed as the first Book-of-the-Month Club selection.
- 1935 - Radio program Fibber McGee and Molly debuts.
- 1943 - Dr. Albert Hofmann discovers the psychedelic effects of LSD.
- 1945 - WWII: The Red Army begins the final assault on German forces around Berlin.
- 1945 - The United States Army liberates Nazi Sonderlager (high security) Prisoner of War camp Oflag IVc (Colditz Castle).
- 1945 - German ship Goya sinks, killing more than 7,000 people.
- 1947 - Texas City Disaster: An explosion on board a freighter in port causes the city of Texas City, Texas, to catch fire, killing almost 600.
- 1947 - Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union.
- 1949 - Dave Garroway moves from radio to television to host the musical-variety show Garroway at Large.
- 1963 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his famous Letter From a Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation.
- 1972 - Apollo program: Apollo 16 launches toward the Moon from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
- 1972 - Vietnam War: Nguyen Hue Offensive – Prompted by the North Vietnamese offensive, the United States resumes bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong.
- 1992 - The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique. 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean.
- 1996 - France Télécom introduces its Wanadoo Internet service.
- 1998 - One of the most serious urban tornadoes in history does significant damage to downtown Nashville, Tennessee (see Nashville Tornado of 1998).
- 2001 - First 3G voice call on Vodafone UK's 3G network.
- 2003 - Makobo Modjadji is crowned the new Rain Queen of Balobedu.
- 2003 - The Accession Treaty is signed in Athens admitting 10 new member states to the European Union.
- 2005 - The BBC announces David Tennant's casting as the Tenth Doctor in the long-running science-fiction television series, Doctor Who.
Births

- 778 - King Louis the Pious (d. 840)
- 1319 - King John II of France (d. 1364)
- 1495 - Petrus Apianus, German mathematician (d. 1557)
- 1646 - Jules Hardouin Mansart, French architect (d. 1708)
- 1660 - Hans Sloane, British collector and physician (d. 1753)
- 1661 - Charles Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, English poet and statesman (d. 1715)
- 1682 - John Hadley, inventor (d. 1744)
- 1728 - Joseph Black, Scottish chemist (d. 1799)
- 1730 - Henry Clinton, British general (d. 1795)
- 1755 - Elisabeth Vigee-Lebrun, French painter (d. 1842)
- 1800 - George Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan, British soldier (d. 1888)
- 1823 - Ferdinand Eisenstein, German mathematician (d. 1852)
- 1844 - Anatole France, French writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
- 1865 - Henry George Chauvel, Australian general (d. 1945)
- 1867 - Wilbur Wright, American aviation pioneer (d. 1912)
- 1871 - John Millington Synge, Irish writer (d. 1909)
- 1878 - Tip Foster, English cricketer (d. 1914)
- 1886 - Ernst Thälmann, German politician (d. 1944)
- 1889 - Charles Chaplin, English actor, writer, and film producer (d. 1977)
- 1904 - Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (d. 1983)
- 1905 - Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (d. 2005)
- 1912 - Garth Williams, American illustrator (d. 1996)
- 1915 - Gerard McLarnon, Irish playwright and actor (d. 1997)
- 1918 - Spike Milligan, British comedian (d. 2002)
- 1919 - Merce Cunningham, American dancer and choreographer
- 1921 - Peter Ustinov, English writer, actor, and film director (d. 2004)
- 1922 - Kingsley Amis, English author (d. 1995)
- 1924 - Henry Mancini, American composer (d. 1994)
- 1927 - Edie Adams, American actress
- 1927 - Pope Benedict XVI
- 1927 - Peter Mark Richman, American actor
- 1928 - Dick "Night Train" Lane, American football player (d. 2002)
- 1930 - Herbie Mann, American jazz flute player (d. 2003)
- 1933 - Joan Bakewell, British broadcaster
- 1935 - Sarah Kirsch, German poet
- 1935 - Bobby Vinton, American singer
- 1937 - Joseph Whipp, American actor
- 1939 - Dusty Springfield, English singer (d. 1999)
- 1940 - Queen Margaret II of Denmark
- 1946 - Margot Adler, American journalist
- 1947 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, American basketball player
- 1947 - Gerry Rafferty, British musician and songwriter
- 1951 - Pierre Toutain-Dorbec, French photographer, painter, sculptor
- 1951 - Ioan Mihai Cochinescu, Romanian writer, musicologist, photographer, essayst
- 1952 - Bill Belichick, American football coach
- 1953 - J. Neil Schulman, American writer and activist
- 1954 - Ellen Barkin, American actress
- 1955 - Bruce Bochy, baseball player and manager
- 1956 - Lise-Marie Morerod, Swiss skier
- 1959 - Alison Ramsay, Scottish field hockey player
- 1960 - Rafael Benitez, Spanish football manager
- 1962 - Ian MacKaye, American musician (fugazi and Minor Threat)
- 1965 - Jon Cryer, American actor
- 1965 - Martin Lawrence, American actor, comedian, and producer
- 1971 - Selena, American singer (d. 1995)
- 1975 - Sean Maher, American actor
- 1976 - Lukas Haas, American actor
- 1977 - Fredrik Ljungberg, Swedish footballer
- 1978 - Matthew Lloyd, Australian football player
Deaths

- 69 - Otho, Roman Emperor (b. 32)
- 744 - al-Walid II, Umayyad caliph
- 924 - Berengar of Friuli, King of Italy
- 1113 - Sviatopolk II of Kiev, Russian prince (b. 1050)
- 1118 - Adelaide del Vasto, queen of Roger II of Sicily
- 1198 - Duke Frederick I of Austria
- 1645 - Tobias Hume, English composer
- 1687 - George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English statesman (b. 1628)
- 1689 - Aphra Behn, English dramatist
- 1783 - Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (b. 1719)
- 1788 - Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
- 1828 - Francisco de Goya, Spanish painter (b. 1746)
- 1846 - Domenico Dragonetti, Italian composer (b. 1763)
- 1859 - Alexis de Tocqueville, French historian (b. 1805)
- 1904 - Samuel Smiles, Scottish writer and reformer (b. 1812)
- 1914 - George William Hill, American astronomer (b. 1838)
- 1915 - Nelson W. Aldrich, U.S. Senator from Rhode Island (b. 1841)
- 1938 - Steve Bloomer, English footballer (b. 1874)
- 1946 - Arthur Chevrolet, Swiss-born race car driver and automobile designer (b. 1884)
- 1958 - Rosalind Franklin, British chemist (b. 1920)
- 1968 - Edna Ferber, American author (b. 1885)
- 1972 - Kawabata Yasunari, Japanese writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
- 1978 - Lucius Clay, American general (b. 1897)
- 1985 - Scott Brady, American actor (b. 1924)
- 1991 - David Lean, British film director (b. 1908)
- 1992 - Neville Brand, American actor (b. 1920)
- 1994 - Ralph Ellison, American writer (b. 1914)
- 1997 - Doris Angleton, American socialite (b. 1951)
- 1998 - Fred Davis, English snooker player (b. 1913)
- 2001 - Michael Ritchie, American film director (b. 1920)
- 2002 - Ruth Fertel, American restaurateur (b. 1927)
- 2002 - Robert Urich, American actor (b. 1946)
- 2003 - Graham Stuart Thomas, English author and garden designer (b. 1909)
- 2005 - Kay Walsh, British actress (b. 1911)
Holidays and observances

- Feast days:
- Benedict Joseph Labre in the Roman Catholic Church
- Saint Bernadette
- Saint Paternus
- Saint Fructuosus
- Saint Turibius
- Saints Martial, Urban, Eventius, Caecilian, Julia, and their companions martyrs of 304
- Saint Drogo
- Birthday of the Queen celebrated in Greenland
External links

- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/16 BBC: On This Day] ---- April 15 - April 17 - March 16 - May 16 – listing of all days ko:4월 16일 ms:16 April ja:4月16日 simple:April 16 th:16 เมษายน

1788

1788 was a leap year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar).

Events

- January 1 - First edition of The Times, previously The Daily Universal Register, was published.
- January 2 - Georgia ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 4th U.S. state.
- January 9 - Connecticut ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 5th U.S. state.
- January 18 - Captain Arthur Phillip's ship arrives at Botany Bay
- January 26 - Captain Arthur Phillip decides to make the permanent settlement at Sydney Cove
- January 22 - Cyrus Griffin becomes the tenth and last President of the United States in Congress Assembled.
- January 26 - Australia Day: 11 ships of First Fleet from Botany Bay led by Arthur Phillip land in what would become Sydney, Australia.Great Britain establishes the prison colony of New South Wales, the first permanent European settlement on the continent.
- January 31 - Henry Benedict Stuart becomes the new Stuart claimant to the throne of Great Britain as King Charles IX and the figurehead of Jacobitism.
- February 1 - Isaac Briggs and William Longstreet patent the steamboat.
- February 6 - Massachusetts ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 6th U.S. state.
- February 9 - Austria enters the Russo-Turkish War of 1787-1792 and attacks Moldavia.
- March 14 - The Edinburgh Evening Courant carries a notice of £200 reward for capture of William Brodie, town councilor doubling as a burglar
- March 21 - A fire destroys 856 buildings in New Orleans leaving most of the town in ruins and twenty five percent of the population dead.
- April 28 - Maryland ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 7th U.S. state.
- May 23 - South Carolina ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 8th U.S. state.
- June 21 - New Hampshire ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 9th U.S. state.
- June 25 - Virginia ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 10th U.S. state.
- July 26 - New York ratifies the United States Constitution and becomes the 11th U.S. state.
- August 8 - The French king agreed to convene the Estates-General meeting in May of 1789. It was the first time since 1614.
- August 27 - Trial of William Brodie begins in Edinburgh, Scotland. He is sentenced to death by hanging
- October 1 - William Brodie hanged
- December 14 - King Charles III of Spain dies and is succeeded by his son Charles IV of Spain.
- "Battle" of Karansebes - Forces of Joseph II of Austria marching against Turks rout for nothing in Karansebes

Births

- January 22 - George Gordon, Lord Byron, English poet (d. 1824)
- February 5 - Robert Peel, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1850)
- February 22 - Arthur Schopenhauer, German philosopher (d. 1860)
- March 10 - Joseph von Eichendorff, German poet (d. 1857)
- April 14 - David G. Burnet, President of the Republic of Texas (d, 1870)
- May 16 - Friedrich Rückert, German poet, translator, and professor of Oriental languages (d. 1866)
- September 22 - Theodore Edward Hook, English author (d. 1841)
- October 11 - Simon Sechter, Austrian music teacher
- October 24 - Sarah Josepha Hale, American author (d. 1879)

Deaths

- January 14 - François Joseph Paul, marquis de Grasetilly, comte de Grasse, French admiral (b. 1722)
- January 31 - Charles Edward Stuart, claimant to the British throne (b. 1720)
- February 18 - John Whitehurst, English clockmaker and scientist (b. 1713)
- February 21 - Johann Georg Palitzsch, German astronomer (b. 1723)
- February 28 - Thomas Cushing, American Continental Congressman (b. 1725)
- April 12 - Carlo Antonio Campioni, French-born composer (b. 1719)
- April 15 - Giuseppe Bonno, Austrian composer (b. 1711)
- April 16 - Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, French naturalist (b. 1707)
- May 8 - Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian-born physician and naturalist (b. 1723)
- June 18 - Adam Gib, Scottish religious leader (b. 1714)
- August 2 - Thomas Gainsborough, British painter (b. 1727)
- October 13 - Robert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent, Irish politician and poet (b. 1702)
- December 6 - Jonathan Shipley, English bishop and politician (b. 1714)
- December 14 - Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (b. 1714)
- December 14 - King Charles III of Spain (b. 1716)
- December 22 - Percivall Pott, English surgeon (b. 1714) Category:1788 ko:1788년 ms:1788 simple:1788

Natural history

:For other meanings of "natural history", see Natural History "Natural history" is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as a number of distinct scientific disciplines. Most definitions include the study of living things (e.g. biology, including botany and zoology); other definitions extend the topic to include paleontology, ecology or biochemistry, as well as parts of geology, astronomy, and physics and even meteorology. A person interested in natural history is known as a naturalist. This was predominantly an amateur activity and not an occupation. The rise of interest in natural history in Britain is linked with the tradition of herbalists and apothecarians. This grew into specialist hobbies such as the study of birds, butterflies and wildflowers. In the 18th century and well into the 19th century, natural history as a term was frequently used to refer to all scientific studies, as opposed to political or ecclesiastical history. As such, the subject area would include all aspects of physics, astronomy, archeology, etc. This broad usage is still used for some institutions including museums and societies.

Famous natural history museums

The term "natural history" forms the descriptive part of institution names, such as the Natural History Museum in London, the Humboldt Museum für Naturkunde in Berlin, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington D.C., the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture in Seattle, the Peabody Museum of Natural History in New Haven, and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, which also publishes a magazine called Natural History. For more museums, see Natural history museums

Natural history societies

The term "natural history" alone, or sometimes together with archaeology, forms the name of many national, regional and local natural history societies that maintain records for birds (ornithology), mammals, insects (entomology) and plants (botany). They may also have microscopical and geological sections. Examples of these societies in Britain include the British Entomological and Natural History Society founded in 1872, Birmingham Natural History Society, Glasgow Natural History Society, London Natural History Society, Manchester Microscopical and Natural History Society established in 1880 and the Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield, founded in 1918. The growth of natural history societies was also spurred due to the growth of British colonies in tropical regions with numerous new species to be discovered. Many civil servants took an interest in their new surroundings, sending specimens back to museums in Britain. (See also Indian natural history)

External links

- [http://www.nhm.ac.uk/ Natural History Museum, London]
- [http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~lnhsweb/ London Natural History Society]
- [http://freespace.virgin.net/clare.h/bnhs.htm Birmingham Natural History Society]
- [http://www.bnhs.org Bombay Natural History Society, India]
- [http://www.gnhs.freeuk.com/ Glasgow Natural History Society]
- [http://www.manchestermicroscopical.org.uk/ Manchester Microscopical & Natural History Society]
- [http://www.sorby.org.uk/ Sorby Natural History Society, Sheffield]
- [http://www.amnh.org American Museum of Natural History, New York]
- [http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/ Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, Seattle]
- [http://www.fieldmuseum.org/ Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago]
- [http://www.uri.edu/ce/rinhs/index.htm Rhode Island Natural History Survey] Category:Geology Category:Botany Category:Zoology Category:Biology Category:History of science ja:博物学

Mathematician

A mathematician is a person whose area of study and research is mathematics. Today, most mathematicians are professors at a university or other research institution; however, a minority have a non-academic career and are often known as amateur mathematicians. While a number of misinformed people may believe mathematics is fully understood (as it is often presented this way in elementary textbooks), in fact, there is ongoing research into many areas of mathematics. In fact, the publication of new discoveries in mathematics continues at an immense rate in hundreds of scientific journals, many of them devoted to mathematics and many devoted to subjects to which mathematics is applied (such as theoretical computer science and theoretical physics). Unlike the other sciences, research in mathematics generally does not consist of performing experiments. Rather, mathematics is about problem-solving, where truths are deduced from other known truths. Computer experiments and other numerical evidence might be a part of this process, but in the end, mathematics research is about constructing proofs of theorems. In particular, calculation is not a big part of mathematics research, and mathematicians need not have any extraordinary ability in adding or multiplying numbers. See mental calculators to read about prodigies at performing such calculations.

Motivation

Mathematicians are typically interested in finding and describing patterns that may have originally arisen from problems of calculation, but have now been abstracted to become problems of their own. Problems have come from physics, economics, games, generalizations of earlier mathematics, and some problems are simply created for the challenge of solving them. Although much mathematics is not immediately useful, history has shown the eventually applications are found. For example, number theory originally seemed to be without purpose, but after the invention of computers it gained countless applications to algorithms and cryptography.

Differences

Mathematicians differ from philosophers in that the primary questions of mathematics are assumed (for the most part) to transcend the context of the human mind; the idea that "2+2=4 is a true statement" is assumed to exist without requiring a human mind to state the problem. Not all mathematicians would strictly agree with the above; the philosophy of mathematics contains several viewpoints on this question. Mathematicians differ from physical scientists such as physicists or engineers in that they do not typically perform experiments to confirm or deny their conclusions; and whereas every scientific theory is always assumed to be an approximation of truth, mathematical statements are an attempt at capturing truth. If a certain statement is believed to be true by mathematicians (typically as special cases are confirmed to some degree) but has neither been proven nor disproven to logically follow from some set of assumptions, it is called a conjecture, as opposed to the ultimate goal, a theorem that is proven true. Unlike physical theories, which may be expected to change whenever new information about our physical world is discovered, mathematical theories are static. Once a statement is considered a theorem, it remains true forever.

Demographics

As is the case in many scientific disciplines, the field of mathematics has been disproportionately dominated by men. Among the minority of prominent female mathematicians are Emmy Noether (1882 - 1935), Sophie Germain (1776 - 1831), Sofia Kovalevskaya (1850 - 1891), Rózsa Péter (1905 - 1977), Julia Robinson (1919 - 1985), Mary Ellen Rudin, Eva Tardos, Émilie du Châtelet, Mary Cartwright and Marianna Csörnyei.

Quotes

...beware of mathematicians, and all those who make empty prophecies. The danger already exists that the mathematicians have made a covenant with the devil to darken the spirit and to confine man in the bonds of Hell. :-Saint Augustine, De Genesi ad Litteram (actually "mathematicians" in this context refers mainly to astrologers and such) A mathematician is a machine for turning coffee into theorems. :-Paul Erdős Die Mathematiker sind eine Art Franzosen; redet man mit ihnen, so übersetzen sie es in ihre Sprache, und dann ist es alsobald ganz etwas anderes. (Mathematicians are [like] a sort of Frenchmen; if you talk to them, they translate it into their own language, and then it is immediately something quite different.) :-Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Some humans are mathematicians; others aren't. :-Jane Goodall (1971) In the Shadow of Man

Jokes

Several old jokes common amongst the scientific disciplines illustrate the difference between the mathematical mind and that of other disciplines. One goes as follows: :An engineer, a physicist, and a mathematician are all staying at a hotel one night when a fire breaks out. The engineer wakes up and smells the smoke; he quickly grabs a garbage pail to use as a bucket, fills it with water from the bathroom, and puts out the fire in his room. He then refills the pail and douses everything flammable in the room with water. He then returns to sleep. :The physicist wakes up, smells the smoke, jumps out of bed. He picks up a pad and pencil and makes some calculations, glancing frequently at the flames. He then measures exactly 15.6 liters of water into the garbage pail, and throws it on the flames, which are extinguished. Smiling, he returns to sleep. :Finally the mathematician wakes up. He too grabs a pad and begins furiously writing; glancing at the flames; and then writing more. After a while he gets a satisfied look on his face; entering the bathroom, he produces a match, lights it, and then extinguishes it with a bit of running water. "Aha! A solution exists," he murmurs - and returns to his slumbers. Another joke goes thus: :Three men are flying in a hot air balloon and suddenly they realize that they are lost. Luckily they see a man plowing a field and ask, "Where are we?". The man on the ground thinks for a minute and then answers, "You are in a hot air balloon". One of the men in the air then says to his friends, "He was a mathematician - he thought before answering, his answer was totally right and totally useless" And another: :An astrologer, a chemist, and a mathematician are on a bus during their first visit to Scotland. They see a black sheep grazing alone in a pasture as they drive by. The astrologer excitedly exclaims, "Ah, this shows Scottish sheep are black!" The chemist didactically corrects him: "No, no, it just shows some Scottish sheep are black." The mathematician then says, "Actually, we can only be sure there is at least one Scottish sheep of which at least one side is black" And finally: : An experiment is being made. A physicist (or an engineer) and a mathematician are asked to boil hot water, but the kettle is in the living room. The physicist goes to the living room, takes the kettle, returns to the kitchen and puts it on the stove and boils the water. The mathematician does the same. In the second stage, the kettle is in the kitchen and the two are again asked to boil hot water. The physicist simply puts the kettle on the stove and boils the water. However, the mathematician takes the kettle, puts it in the living room and declares: "We have already solved this problem!"

Links and references

References

- A Mathematician's Apology, by G. H. Hardy. Memoir, with foreword by C. P. Snow.
- Reprint edition, Cambridge University Press, 1992; ISBN 0521427061
- First edition, 1940
- Dunham, William. The Mathematical Universe. John Wiley 1994.

External links

- [http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/history/index0.html The MacTutor History of Mathematics archive], a very complete list of detailed biographies.
- [http://genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/ The Mathematics Genealogy Project], which allows to follow the succession of thesis advisors for most mathematicians, living or dead. Category:Mathematical science occupations
- ja:数学者 ko:수학자 th:นักคณิตศาสตร์ __NOTOC__

Cosmology

:For the jazz band, see Cosmology (band). Cosmology, from the Greek: κοσμολογία (cosmologia, κόσμος (cosmos) world + λογια (logia) discourse) is the study of the Universe in its totality and by extension man's place in it. Though the word cosmology is itself of fairly recent origin, first used in Christian Wolff's Cosmologia Generalis (1730), the study of the Universe has a long history involving science, philosophy, esotericism, and religion.

Disciplines

The earliest form of cosmology appears in the origin beliefs of many religions as they seek to explain the existence and nature of the world. In many cases, views about the creation (cosmogony) and destruction (eschatology) of the Universe play a central role in shaping a framework of religious cosmology for understanding humanity's role in the Universe and his relationship to one or more divine beings. In recent times, physics and astrophysics have come to play a central role in shaping what is now known as physical cosmology, i.e. the understanding of the Universe through scientific observation and experiment. This discipline, which focuses on the Universe as it exists on the largest scales and at the earliest times, begins by arguing for the big bang, a sort of cosmic explosion from which the Universe itself is said to have erupted ~13.7 ± 0.2 billion (10⁹) years ago. After its violent beginnings and until its very end, scientists then propose that the entire history of the Universe has been an orderly progression governed by physical laws. In between the doctrines of religion and science, stand the philosophical perspective of metaphysical cosmology. This ancient field of study seeks to draw logical conclusions about the nature of the Universe, man, god and/or their connections based on the extension of some set of presumed facts borrowed from religion and/or observation. One example is the cosmological argument which is an argument for the existence of God based primarily on the point of view that the mere existence of a universe demands a creator. As a finer distinction between religion and philosophy, esoteric cosmology is distinguished from religion in its more sophisticated construction and reliance on intellectual understanding rather than faith, and from philosophy in its emphasis on techniques of psycho-spiritual transformation.

Religious cosmology

Many world religions have origins beliefs that explain the beginnings of the Universe and life. Often these are derived from scriptural teachings and held to be part of the faith's dogma, but in some cases these are also extended through the use of philosophical and metaphysical arguments (e.g. argument for the existence of God). In the vast majority of origin beliefs, the Universe was created by a direct act of a god or gods who are also responsible for the creation of man. As a conscious creation, the Universe is usually assumed to be endowed by its creator with some purpose or design, aspects of which are often used to frame man's role in the world and his relationship with God. In many cases, religious cosmologies also foretell the end of the Universe, either through another divine act or as part of the original design.
- Both Christianity and Judaism accept creation according to Genesis, although the Roman Catholic Church recognizes evolutionary debates, as long as God is recognized as the driving force behind Evolution. See also Biblical cosmology and Tzimtzum.
- Kalam cosmological argument in Islam's Kalam.
- Buddhism, Hinduism and Jainism believe that the Universe passes through endless cycles of creation and destruction, each cycle lasting for trillions of years (e.g. 331 trillion years, or the life-span of Brahma, according to Hinduism), and each cycle with sub-cycles of local creation and destruction (e.g. 4.32 billion years, or a day of Brahma, according to Hinduism). The Vedic (Hindu) view of the world sees one true divine principle self-projecting as the divine word, 'birthing' the cosmos that we know from the monistic Hiranyagarbha or Golden Womb. Many religions accept the findings of physical cosmology, in particular the big bang, and some, such as the Roman Catholic Church, have embraced it as suggesting a philosophical first cause. Others have tried to use the methodology of science to advocate for their own religious cosmology, as in intelligent design or creationist cosmologies.

Physical cosmology

Physical cosmology is the branch of physics and astrophysics that deals with the study of the physical origins of the Universe and the nature of the Universe on its very largest scales. In its earliest form it was what is now known as celestial mechanics, the study of the heavens. The Greek philosophers Aristarchus, Aristotle and Ptolemy proposed different cosmological theories. In particular, the geocentric Ptolemaic system was the accepted theory to explain the motion of the heavens until Nicolaus Copernicus, and subsequently Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei proposed a heliocentric system in the 16th century. This is known as one of the most famous examples of epistemological rupture in physical cosmology. With Isaac Newton and the 1687 publication of Principia Mathematica, the problem of the motion of the heavens was finally solved. Newton provided a physical mechanism for Kepler's laws and his law of universal gravitation allowed the anomalies in previous systems, caused by gravitational interaction between the planets, to be resolved. A fundamental difference between Newton's cosmology and those preceding it was the Copernican principle that the bodies on earth obey the same physical laws as all the celestial bodies. This was a crucial philosophical advance in physical cosmology. Modern scientific cosmology may be considered to begin in 1915 with Albert Einstein's publication of his general theory of relativity and the growing ability of astronomers to study very distant objects. Prior to this, physicists had assumed that the Universe was static and unchanging. However, the general theory of relativity was not amenable to a static Universe. Thus the big bang theory was proposed by the Belgian priest Georges Lemaître in 1927 and rapidly confirmed by Edwin Hubble's discovery of the red shift in 1929 and later by the discovery of the cosmic microwave background radiation by Arno Penzias and Robert Woodrow Wilson in 1964.

Metaphysical cosmology

In philosophy and metaphysics, cosmology deals with the world as the totality of space, time and all phenomena. Historically, it has had quite a broad scope, and in many cases was founded in religion. The ancient Greeks did not draw a distinction between this use and their model for the cosmos. However, in modern use it addresses questions about the Universe which are beyond the scope of science. It is distinguished from religious cosmology in that it approaches these questions using philosophical methods (e.g. dialectics). Modern metaphysical cosmology tries to address questions such as:
- What is the origin of the Universe? What is its first cause? Is its existence necessary? (see monism, pantheism, emanationism and creationism)
- What are the ultimate material components of the Universe? (see mechanism, dynamism, hylomorphism, atomism)
- What is the ultimate reason for the existence of the Universe? Does the cosmos have a purpose? (see cosmological argument)

Esoteric cosmology

Many esoteric and occult teachings involve highly elaborate cosmologies. These constitute a "map" of the Universe and of states of existences and consciousness according to the worldview of that particular doctrine. Such cosmologies cover many of the same concerns also addressed by religious and philosophical cosmology, such as the origin, purpose, and destiny of the Universe and of consciousness and the nature of existence. For this reason it is sometimes difficult to distinguish where religion or philosophy end and esotericism or occultism begins. However, esoteric cosmology is distinguished from religion in its more sophisticated construction and reliance on intellectual understanding rather than faith, and from philosophy in its emphasis on techniques of psycho-spiritual transformation. Common themes addressed in esoteric cosmology are emanation, involution, evolution, epigenesis, planes of existence, hierarchies of spiritual beings, cosmic cycles (e.g., cosmic year, Yuga), yogic or spiritual disciplines, and references to altered states of consciousness. Examples of esoteric cosmologies can be found in Gnosticism, Tantra (especially Kashmir Shaivism), Kabbalah, Sufism, Surat Shabda Yoga, Theosophy, Anthroposophy, the Fourth Way teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky and in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception (book).

External links

- [http://www.strw.leidenuniv.nl/~icke/ps/CosmEquations.pdf Cosmology lecture notes] with a GF