Carl Paul Gottfried Linde was born in Berndorf, Kingdom of Bavaria back in 1842.  In 1854, the family moved to Munich, Germany.  In 1862, he entered the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zürich, Switzerland.  He was expelled in 1864, for participating in a student protest.In 1868, a new university was opening in Munich, he applied for a job as a lecturer and was accepted.  In 1879, he quit and opened up his own business moving to Wiesbaden, Germany.  His business was a good one, in fact we all use it today.  He moved back to Munich in 1888, taking up a professorship but it didn’t last long. In 1897, he was appointed to the Order of Merit of the Bavarian Crown.  He died in 1934, he was 92.What you may not know about Carl is that he discovered a refrigeration cycle and invented the... 06/16/2021

Steven Kenneth Libutti was born in Long Beach, New York.  While a young man he watched M*A*S*H and Marcus Welby, MD on TV.  He even dreamed of being a doctor.  He graduated from Long Beach High School.  He received his B.A. from Harvard College in 1986.  He attended the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons where he graduated Alpha Omega Alpha.I could write so much about him, but that would take a long time, so let’s cut to the chase.What you may not know about DR. Steven is that in 1017, he became the third permanent Director of the Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, Vice Chancellor for Cancer Programs for Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences and the Senior Vice President for Oncology Services for RWJBarabas Health, the largest health system in New Jersey.  I be... 06/02/2021

Frank McDowell Leavitt was born in Athens, Ohio back in 1856 to John and Bethia.  I have no history as to his childhood or where he went to school.  However, for this post that really doesn’t matter, so let’s get to it.  In 1893, he married Gertrude Goodsell, settling in Brooklyn Heights, New York.Within a decade of their marriage he had received some patents that made him a wealthy man.  Frank devised one of the earliest machines for manufacturing tin cans.  By 1904, he had turned his attention to weapons.  He was working with the civilian contracting firm of E.W. Bliss Company when the United States Navy hired the company to design a new type of torpedo.  The head of the company put Frank in charge of the design.  What he later invented was the Bliss-Leavitt torpedo, the chief torpedo... 05/13/2021

Sergel Vasilievich Lebedev was born in Lublin, Congress Poland back in 1874.  He went to school in Warsaw.  In 1900, he graduated from St. Petersburg University.  After graduation he worked at the Petersburg Margarine Factory.Starting in 1902, he moved from university to university in Russia, starting the Saint-Petersburg Institute for Railroad Engineering.  In 1915, he was appointed Professor at the Women’s Pedagogical Institute in St. Petersburg.  By 1916, he was a Professor of the Saint Petersburg Academy for Military Medicine.   By 1925, he was the leader of the Oil Laboratory at St. Petersburg University.  He died in 1934, he was 59.What you may not know about Sergel is that he was a chemist and the inventor of polybutadiene synthetic rubber, the first commercially viable and mass-... 05/08/2021

Paul Christian Lauterbur was born in Sidney, Ohio back in 1929.  She graduated from Sidney High School.  While a teenager, he built his own laboratory in the basement of his parents’ house. He was drafted into the United States Army in the 1950’s where his superiors allowed him to spend his time working on an early nuclear magnetic resonance machine.He received his BS in chemistry from the Case Institute of Technology.  After graduation, he worked at the Mellon Institute laboratories of the Dow Corning Corporation.  He pursued graduate studies in chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh, earning his PhD in 1962.  He died in 2007, he was 77.What you may not know about Paul is that along with Peter Mansfield they shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2003 for their work whi... 04/21/2021

Arthur Charles Hubert Latham was born in Paris, France back in 1883.  He spoke French, English and German fluently.  He attended Balliol College at the University of Oxford, in 1904, after which he fulfilled his reservist military service obligation in Paris.   He led an exploratory expedition to Ethiopia in 1906/07 collecting specimens for the Natural History Museum in Paris.When he returned he saw Wilbur Wright fly his airplane in front of the French Government near Le Mans.  He knew he wanted to fly so he joined the Antoinette company in 1909.  He was taught to fly for the next two year until he could master the controls.  During that same year the Antoinette company worked with the French Army to establish the first military aircraft trials.  Arthur became the school’s principal ins... 04/14/2021

Erik Gustaf Larson was born in Vintrosa, Sweden back in 1887. I don’t have any data to share with you about his parents, or childhood.  He held a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. In 1926, he built his first vehicle.He decided to build a test series of ten vehicles each vehicle was carefully built in the same manner with engines, gearboxes, chassis components all being the same.  Later in 1926 he co-founded the car company where he was appointed vice president and technical manager.  For the first couple of years the company did not show any profit.  They were about to be bought out by Charles Nash, president of Nash Motors in the United States, but at the last-minute Erik backed out of the sale.It wasn’t until 1930, ... 04/11/2021

John Mercer Langston was born in Louisa, Virginia back in 1829, to Ralph and Lucy.  His father died when he was four, he moved to Chillicothe, Ohio.  He attended Gilmore High School. He continued his education earning a bachelor’s degree in 1849 and a master’s degree in theology in 1852 from Oberlin College.  He studied law and was admitted to the bar in1854.  He joined the Union Army assigned to the Massachusetts Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth regiments.  In 1890 he was a member of the board of trustees of St. Paul Normal and Industrial School.  He died in 1897, he was 67.  Are you ready?What you may not know about John is that he was the first dean of the law school at Howard University, the first president of the Virginia State University.  He was appointed as the U.S. Minister to Hait... 04/05/2021

Joseph C. Gayetty was born apparently in Massachusetts, but I can’t say for sure.  The first record I could find was in the 1850 United States Census, stating he was born in 1817.  In 1850, he was living in New York City, New York, he had married Margaret and had two young children.  Ten years later he was still in New York City and had five children.  He invented something we all use and will continue to do so for the next foreseeable future.  He was attacked as a quack by at least one medical society.  He called his product “The Greatest Necessity of the Age”.  By 1859, the business was located at 41 Ann Street in New York City.  He died circa 1890’s but that is all I could find about him.What you may not know about Joseph is that his invention/product with improvements of course, is ... 03/29/2021

Theodore Matthew Michael Kuhn Jr. was born in Waukegan, Illinois back in 1932 to Theodore Sr., and Pearl.  He joined the Navy in 1951 working as an aircraft electrician. Prior to joining the Navy he was an active on-screen child star in movies.  He left the industry in 1956.  He worked for American Airlines from 1965-95 until his retirement.He currently is living in Naples, Florida where he volunteers four hours per week at a local hospital.What you may not know about Theodore as a child he acted in several films I hope you have heard of Red River, Broken Arrow, A tree Grows in Brooklyn and Gone With The Wind to name a few.  Following the death of Dame Olivia de Havilland, he is the last surviving member of Gone With The Wind.  He is also credited as the only actor to share screen time ... 03/22/2021

Irving P. Krick was born in San Francisco, California back in 1906.  He received his bachelor’s degree in physics at the University of California, Berkeley.  He wanted to be a pianist, pursuing a music profession but it wasn’t financially rewarding.  He worked for a radio station and at a stock brokerage until the Wall Street Crash of 1929.In 1930, he began studying at the California Institute of Technology in the Department of Aeronautics.  He completed his doctoral degree in 1935, staying at Caltech as an instructor.  In 1937, he founded the school’s meteorology department.  When WWII started Hap Arnold recruited him to the United States Army Air Corps.  He died in 1996, he was 89.What you may not know about Irving is that he started the first private weather business in the United St... 03/17/2021

Martha Helen Kostyra was born in Jersey City, New Jersey back in 1941 to Edward and Martha.  The family moved to Nutley, New Jersey when she was three.  She graduated from Nutley High School.  After graduation she attended Barnard College of Columbia University.  During her time in Barnard she met Andrew.  They married in 1961.She later returned to Barnard graduating with a double major in history and architectural history.  In 1967, she started working as a stockbroker moving to Westport, Connecticut.  In 1976, she started a catering business in her basement.  She was introduced to Alan Mirken head of the Crown Publishing Company, he was impressed by her talent as a chef and hostess, and as they say the rest is history.  She had her own cooking show and has written many cookbooks.  Whi... 03/14/2021

Elizabeth Duncan Koontz was born in Salisbury, North Carolina back in 1919 to Samuel and Lena.  At seven, she was able to read and write.  At nine years old her father died.  She graduated as salutatorian from Price High School in 1935.  She continued her education with a BA in English for Livingstone College in 1941.She graduated with a master’s degree from Atlanta University.  After graduation, she taught school at Harnett County Training School in Dunn, North Carolina.  She was the assistant state school superintendent in North Caroling from 1975 until her retirement in 1982.  She died from a heart attack in her home in 1989, she was 79.What you may not know about Elizabeth is that she was the first African-American to be president of the National Education Association and the first ... 03/09/2021

Margaret E. Knight was born in York, Maine back in 1838 to James and Hannah.  After her father’s passing she moved to Manchester, New Hampshire to live with her mother. As a child she wasn’t interested in dolls but all she wanted was a jack knife and pieces of wood. Her formal education was limited to secondary school.She worked at the cotton mills throughout her 20’s and 30’s.  in 1867, she started working for the Columbia Paper Bag Company in Springfield, Massachusetts. She died in 1914 in Framingham, Massachusetts, she was 76.What you may not know about Margaret is that she was also an inventor. Throughout her lifetime she was awarded 87 patents, 27 of them are well known, while I won’t list them all, here are a few examples.  She invented the first flat-bottom paper bag, lid removin... 02/26/2021

Melanija Knavs was born in Novo Mesto, Slovenia back in 1970 to Viktor and Amalija.  While a teenager the family moved to Sevnica.  He attended the Secondary School of Design and Photography, later she studied architecture and design at the University of Ljubinana for just one year before dropping out. She began modeling at the age of five, by the time she was sixteen she posed for the Slovenian fashion photographer Stand Jerko.  At eighteen she signed with a modeling agency in Milan, Italy.  In 2010, she launched her own line of jewelry.  In 1996, she moved to the United States.  She continued her modeling career.  She is alive and doing well.What you may not know about Melanija is that she married an American citizen, Donald Trump.  If you haven’t figured it out my now I’m writing abo... 02/23/2021

Nicolaas Bom was born in Velsen, North Holland back in 1937.  I don’t have any information about his parents or early childhood.  He attended Delft University of Technology where he studied electrical engineering.  After graduation he joined the Royal Netherlands Navy where he did sonar research in Italy for six years.  After being discharged, in 1968, he started working at the cardiology department of the Erasmus MC engaging in diagnostic echo research. He continued his education and in 1972 received his PhD.  He served for ten years as (co)-director of the Dutch Heart Institute, he retired in 2003, to my knowledge he is alive and doing well.What you may not know about Nicolaas is that he created a machine that was able to produce a full-view cross-section of a working heart.   He is a... 02/20/2021

David Ward King was born in Springfield, Ohio back in 1857 to Robert and Harriet.  He attended the public school and continued his education at Wittenberg College.  in 1880, he married Mary Willie.  The family moved to Maitland, Missouri where he began working as a farmer.  By 1877, he father obtained 1,597 acres near Maitland in Holt County, Missouri.He was an implacable warrior against alcoholic beverages and saloons.  He organized the Prohibition Party in Missouri.  He attended the Maitland First Presbyterian Church.  He was by all accounts a progressive farmer, actively seeking improved methods of farming.  He established some of the first bluegrass pastures in his township.  He died in 1920, he was 62.What you may not know about David is that he was also an inventor.  In 1896, he i... 02/08/2021

Sarah A. Clark was born in Ohio back in 1839, I can’t find any information about her childhood or schooling.  However, for this post I believe you’ll see she was an intelligent woman.  She married John in 1874, he was a civil engineer.  They moved to Grass Valley, California the following year.Sarah hosted social gatherings and worked as a volunteer for an orphan society.  The couple adopted a daughter Beatrice.  Her husband was a stockholder in the Northern California’s Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad. John died in 1901.  After her husband’s death she became the majority owner and president of the Northern California’s Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad.  Under her management she retired the company’s debt and returned dividends to the shareholder.  She sold her stock in 1913 and ... 02/02/2021

William Francis Kemmler was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania back in 1860.  He dropped out of school when he was 10, having learned neither to read or write.  He started working in his father’s butcher shop. His father and mother were alcoholics, his father died after a drunken brawl with his mother.  Sadly, he was also an alcoholic and was well known around the saloons in his Buffalo neighborhood. To make a living he peddled vegetables in the slums of Buffalo, New York.  On march 29, 1888 as he was recovering from a drinking binge he accused his common-law wife Tillie Ziegler of stealing from him.  He calmly went to the barn, grabbed a hatchet returned to the house and struck her repeatedly, killing her. He went to a neighbor’s house announcing he had just murdered his girlfriend.He ... 01/22/2021

Ferdinand Adolf Kehrer was born in Guntersblum, Germany back in 1837. He studied medicine at the University of Giessen under the direction of Ferdinand von Ritgen.  From 1872 to 1881 he was a professor of obstetrics at the University of Giessen.  In 1881, he relocated to the University of Heidelberg as chair of gynecology. He died in Heidelberg in 1914, he was 77.  What you may not know about Dr. Kehrer is that on September 25th, 1881, in the town of Meckesheim he performed the first modern C setion on a 26-year-old woman.  His procedure is still performed to this day. That procedure has surely saved many women, as it cut down on the mortality rate of women giving birth.  As for me, I had no idea that the first C section was done so long ago, I thought it was later than that, what about... 01/17/2021