Good morning, Whitewater.

Friday in the Whippet City will be mostly sunny with a high of thirty-three. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:32 PM for 9h 07m 25s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 93.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

Prolific science fiction author Isaac Asimov is born this day in 1920:

Isaac Asimov (/?a?z?k ?æz?m?v/;[2] born Isaak Yudovich Ozimov; circa January 2, 1920[1] – April 6, 1992) was an American author and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, best known for his works of science fiction and for his popular science books. Asimov was one of the most prolific writers of all time, having written or edited more than 500 books and an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards.[3] His books have been published in 9 of the 10 major categories of the Dewey Decimal Classification.[4]

Asimov is widely considered a master of hard science fiction and, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, he was considered one of the “Big Three” science fiction writers during his lifetime.[5] Asimov’s most famous work is the Foundation Series;[6] his other major series are the Galactic Empire series and the Robot series. The Galactic Empire novels are explicitly set in earlier history of the same fictional universe as the Foundation series.

Later, beginning with Foundation’s Edge, he linked this distant future to the Robot and Spacer stories, creating a unified “future history” for his stories much like those pioneered by Robert A. Heinlein and previously produced by Cordwainer Smith and Poul Anderson.[7] He wrote hundreds of short stories, including the social science fiction “Nightfall”, which in 1964 was voted by the Science Fiction Writers of America the best short science fiction story of all time. Asimov wrote the Lucky Starr series of juvenile science-fiction novels using the pen name Paul French.[8]

Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as much nonfiction. Most of his popular science books explain scientific concepts in a historical way, going as far back as possible to a time when the science in question was at its simplest stage. He often provides nationalities, birth dates, and death dates for the scientists he mentions, as well as etymologies and pronunciation guides for technical terms. Examples include Guide to Science, the three-volume set Understanding Physics, and Asimov’s Chronology of Science and Discovery, as well as works on astronomy, mathematics, the Bible, William Shakespeare’s writing, and chemistry.

On this day in 1918, Wisconsinites leave for combat in Europe:

On this date the Wisconsin 127th and 128th Infantries departed for France from their training facility at Camp Arthur in Waco, Texas. Initially, these divisions were assigned to construct depots and facilities for troops that would follow. On May 18, they were assigned to the frontline at Belmont in the Alsace where they faced three German divisions. In the following months, 368 troops were killed, wounded or missing. Ironically, their enemy, native Alsatians, spoke German and the Wisconsin troops were better able to communicate with them than their French allies.

Google-a-Day asks a question about architecture:

Who is credited with introducing Early Renaissance-style architecture to the capital city of Lombardy, Italy?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Our new year begins with a mixture of clouds and sunshine, and a high of thirty-one. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:32 PM, for 9h 06m 32s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 86.8% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1863, having announced earlier his intention to do so, Pres. Lincoln issues the Emancipation Proclamation:

Although the Emancipation Proclamation did not end slavery in the nation, it captured the hearts and imagination of millions of Americans and fundamentally transformed the character of the war. After January 1, 1863, every advance of federal troops expanded the domain of freedom. Moreover, the Proclamation announced the acceptance of black men into the Union Army and Navy, enabling the liberated to become liberators. By the end of the war, almost 200,000 black soldiers and sailors had fought for the Union and freedom.

From the first days of the Civil War, slaves had acted to secure their own liberty. The Emancipation Proclamation confirmed their insistence that the war for the Union must become a war for freedom. It added moral force to the Union cause and strengthened the Union both militarily and politically. As a milestone along the road to slavery’s final destruction, the Emancipation Proclamation has assumed a place among the great documents of human freedom.

The original of the Emancipation Proclamation of January 1, 1863, is in the National Archives in Washington, DC. With the text covering five pages the document was originally tied with narrow red and blue ribbons, which were attached to the signature page by a wafered impression of the seal of the United States. Most of the ribbon remains; parts of the seal are still decipherable, but other parts have worn off.

The document was bound with other proclamations in a large volume preserved for many years by the Department of State. When it was prepared for binding, it was reinforced with strips along the center folds and then mounted on a still larger sheet of heavy paper. Written in red ink on the upper right-hand corner of this large sheet is the number of the Proclamation, 95, given to it by the Department of State long after it was signed. With other records, the volume containing the Emancipation Proclamation was transferred in 1936 from the Department of State to the National Archives of the United States.

Here’s some inspiration for the new year, from a competition last year — in a world competition, Michael van Gerwen throws 17 consecutive perfect darts:

Van Gerwen’s accomplishment is well beyond well-played.

Google-a-Day asks a question on military history:

What battle halted the German invasion of Russia?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Our year ends on a day of mostly sunny and windy skies, with a high of twenty. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:31 PM, for 9h 05m 43s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous, with 78.4% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1946, Pres. Truman formally proclaims America’s role in the Second World War ended:

Washington, Dec. 31–President Truman in a surprise proclamation terminated formally the period of hostilities in World War II as of noon today.

The action was announced by the President personally at a suddenly called news conference this forenoon at which he said:

“The time has come when such a declaration can properly be made, and it is in the public interest to make it.”

At the same time he emphasized that the states of emergency that were proclaimed by the late President Roosevelt in 1939 and 1941 and the state of war itself, which presumably will run until peace treatise [sic] have been terminated. They would require action by Congress, he pointed out.

The state of hostilities, a term covering the period of actual fighting and one used in defining the duration of many war-time statues, alone was involved in the President’s proclamation, but this served to terminate immediately eighteen emergency laws and scheduled for expiration six months from now or later provisions of thirty-three other statutes.

On this day in 1967, the Packers win the Ice Bowl:

1967 – Green Bay Packers Triumph in “Ice Bowl”
On this date the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys played in what many consider to be the greatest game in NFL history – The Ice Bowl. With the thermometer dipping to a shocking 13 below zero and a wind chill of minus 46, Bart Starr scored the winning touchdown from the 1-yard line with 13 seconds remaining, sealing a record third straight championship for the Packers, their fifth in seven years. Green Bay defeated Dallas, 21-17, to win the NFL Championship. [Source: Pro Football Hall of Fame]

Google-a-Day presents a question on science and industry:

Who founded the company named for the man who invented vulcanized rubber?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Tuesday in town will be sunny with a high of seventeen. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:30 PM for 9h 05m 00s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 69.1% of its visible disk illuminated.

Whitewater’s Planning Commission is scheduled to meet briefly tonight at 5:15 PM.

On this day in 1916, Rasputin is murdered in Russia:

Grigory Rasputin, a self-fashioned Russian holy man, is murdered by Russian nobles eager to end his sway over the royal family.

Rasputin won the favor of Czar Nicholas II and Czarina Alexandra through his ability to stop the bleeding of their hemophiliac son, Alexei. Although the Siberian-born peasant was widely criticized for his lechery and drunkenness, he exerted a powerful influence on the ruling family of Russia. He particularly influenced the czarina, and when Nicholas departed to lead Russian forces in World War I, Rasputin effectively ruled Russia through her.

In the early hours of December 30, 1916, a group of nobles lured Rasputin to Yusupovsky Palace, where they attempted to poison him. Seemingly unaffected by the large doses of poison placed in his wine and food, he was finally shot at close range and collapsed. A minute later he rose, beat one of his assailants, and attempted to escape from the palace grounds, where he was shot again. Rasputin, still alive, was then bound and tossed into a freezing river. A few months later, the imperial regime was overthrown by the Russian Revolution.

Sixty-two years after Rasputin’s death, the European disco group Boney M. records a song about Rasputin for their album, Nightflight to Venus. The song’s lyrics are historically inaccurate, and often simply odd, but it’s a strangely catchy tune nonetheless.

Hard not to smile at a song that ventures the lyrics, “Ra, ra, Rasputin, Russia’s greatest love machine…” You’ve been forewarned:

On this day in 1922, our state sees an example of how Prohibition leads to violence:

1922 – Authorities Confiscate Illegal Alcohol
On this date authorities in Madison confiscated 1,200 gallons of “mash” and fifteen gallons of moonshine from the home of a suspected bootlegger. As the illegal liquor trade flourished in Madison’s Greenbush neighborhood during Prohibition, two rival gangs, one on Regent Street and the other located on Milton Street, fought to gain control until the “Rum War” erupted among these factions in 1923. [Source: Bishops to Bootleggers: A Biographical Guide to Resurrection Cemetery, p.189]

Google-a-Day asks a science question:

Who presented Tonga’s royal family with the animal that, when he died, was believed to be one of the longest-living animals on record?

Good morning, Whitewater.

Just a few days left in 2014, and the last week of the year begins with a mix of clouds and sun, and a high of twenty-five. Sunrise is 7:25 AM and sunset 4:29 PM, for 9h 04m 20s of daytime. The moon is a waxing gibbous with 58.5% of its visible disk illuminated.

On this day in 1845, Texas becomes a state:

After gaining independence from Spain in the 1820s, Mexico welcomed foreign settlers to sparsely populated Texas, and a large group of Americans led by Stephen F. Austin settled along the Brazos River. The Americans soon outnumbered the resident Mexicans, and by the 1830s attempts by the Mexican government to regulate these semi-autonomous American communities led to rebellion. In March 1836, in the midst of armed conflict with the Mexican government, Texas declared its independence from Mexico.

The Texas volunteers initially suffered defeat against the forces of Mexican General Santa Anna–the Alamo fell and Sam Houston’s troops were forced into an eastward retreat. However, in late April, Houston’s troops surprised a Mexican force at San Jacinto, and Santa Anna was captured, bringing an end to Mexico’s efforts to subdue Texas.

The citizens of the independent Republic of Texas elected Sam Houston president but also endorsed the entrance of Texas into the Union. The likelihood of Texas joining the Union as a slave state delayed any formal action by the U.S. Congress for more than a decade. In 1844, Congress finally agreed to annex the territory of Texas. On December 29, 1845, Texas entered the United States as a slave state, broadening the irrepressible differences in the United States over the issue of slavery and setting off the Mexican-American War.

Today is Gen. Billy Mitchell’s birthday:

On this date [in 1879] aviation pioneer Billy Mitchell was born in Nice, France. Mitchell grew up in Milwaukee and attended Racine College.

During World War I, Mitchell was the first American airman to fly over enemy lines. He also led many air attacks in France and Germany. Upon return to the U.S., he advocated the creation of a separate Air Force. Much to the dislike of A.T. Mahan, Theodore Roosevelt, and other contemporaries, Mitchell asserted that the airplane had rendered the battleship obsolete, and attention should be shifted to developing military air power.

Mitchell’s out-spokenness resulted in his being court martialed for insubordination. He was sentenced to five years suspension of rank without pay. General Douglas MacArthur — an old Milwaukee friend — was a judge in Mitchell’s case and voted against his court martial.

Mitchell’s ideas for developing military air power were not implemented until long after his death. In 1946 Congress created a medal in his honor, the General “Billy” Mitchell Award. Milwaukee’s airport, General Mitchell International Airport, is named after him. [Source: American Airpower Biography]

Google-a-Day asks a question about architecture:

What is the most famous design in Rome by the architect credited with introducing High Renaissance style to the city?