Day in Engineering History Archive - November 11

November 11

1572: Tycho Brahe first observed the supernova that suddenly appeared in the constellation Cassiopeia. 1851: Alvan Clark was awarded the first U.S. patent for a refractor telescope design. 1855: Philip Mallory, founder of the Mallory battery company, was born. 1911: Radar pioneer and head of the National Security Agency Scientific Advisory Board panel on Electronics Louis Nicot Ridenour, was born. 1918: World War I came to an end when the Allies and Germany signed an armistice - this day became recognized as Veterans Day in the United States, with celebrations traditionally beginning the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of the year. 1921: The Tomb of the Unknowns was dedicated at Arlington National Cemetery. 1930: Albert Einstein and Leó Szilárd are issued a patent for their Einstein refrigerator. 1938: Typhoid Mary (Mary Mallon), famous for spreading typhoid fever in NY, died. 1966: The U.S. launched Gemini 12 from Cape Kennedy, FL, where after the craft circled the earth 59 times before returning. 1980: Saturnian moon Epimetheus was discovered by the Voyager spacecraft. 1981: The USS Ohio was commissioned as the first Trident Class nuclear submarine. 1993: In Washington, D.C., a bronze statue was dedicated honoring the more than 11,000 women who had served in the Vietnam War. 2004: Terrorist leader Yasser Arafat finally died.

Written by Terry Kelly

Published by Jefter Publishing

They fought and some died for their homeland

They fought and some died now it's our land

Look at his little child, there's no fear in her eyes

Could he not show respect for other dads who have died?

Take two minutes, would you mind?

It's a pittance of time

For the boys and the girls who went over

In peace may they rest, may we never forget why they died.

It's a pittance of time

God forgive me for wanting to strike him

Give me strength so as not to be like him

My heart pounds in my breast, fingers pressed to my lips

My throat wants to bawl out, my tongue barely resists

But two minutes I will bide

It's a pittance of time

For the boys and the girls who went over

In peace may they rest, may we never forget why they died.

It's a pittance of time

Read the letters and poems of the heroes at home

They have casualties, battles, and fears of their own

There's a price to be paid if you go, if you stay

Freedom is fought for and won in numerous ways

Take two minutes would you mind?

It's a pittance of time

For the boys and the girls all over

May we never forget our young become vets

At the end of the line it's a pittance of time

It takes courage to fight in your own war

It takes courage to fight someone else's war

Our peacekeepers tell of their own living hell

They bring hope to foreign lands that the hatemongers can't kill.

Take two minutes, would you mind?

It's a pittance of time

For the boys and the girls who go over

In peacetime our best still don battle dress

And lay their lives on the line.

It's a pittance of time

In Peace may they rest, lest we forget why they died.

Take a pittance of time

Copyrights acknowledged - thanks to all involved!

A Pittance of Time, by Terry Kelly (lyrics above)

Note: These historical tidbits (see daily list) have been collected from various sources, mostly on the Internet. As detailed in my It Happened When? Factoid article, there is a lot of wrong information that is repeated hundreds of times because most websites do not validate with authoritative sources. On RF Cafe, events with hyperlinks have been verified. Many years ago, I began commemorating the birthdays of notable people and events with special RF Cafe logos. Where available, I like to use images from postage stamps from the country where the person or event occurred. Images used in the logos are often from open source websites like Wikipedia, and are specifically credited with a hyperlink back to the source where possible. Fair Use laws permit small samples of copyrighted content.