Milestones: Thursday, November 30, 2023

November 30, 2023 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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REVOLUTIONARY DISCOVERY — THE ITALIAN ASTRONOMER AND PHYSICIST Galileo Galilei utilized his newly-built telescope to observe the moon for the first time on Nov. 30, 1609. Improving on the telescope’s original design by Dutch eyeglass makers, Galileo had ground and polished his own lenses to a sensitivity that gave greater magnification. The telescope helped him discover that the moon’s surface was not smooth but, instead, rich in topography with mountains and valleys. While other astronomers had also used a telescope to observe the moon, Galileo was the first to publish a detailed report, titled “Sidereus Nuncius” (Starry Messenger). The 1610 report, which brought him fame, provided detailed sketches of the moon’s surface, thus challenging the popular ideas of the day.

Galileo ran afoul of church authorities during a time of the 16th-17th century Roman Inquisition, which severely punished people with views divergent from Catholic doctrine. While the Church accepted the news of the moon’s terrain, it rejected the idea that the earth orbited the sun (heliocentrism), which was considered heretical at the time, and placed him on trial.

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HONORARY AMERICAN CITIZEN — SIR WINSTON CHURCHILL, WAS BORN ON NOV. 30, 1874, IN OXFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND to a prestigious military family. He was secretary of state for war from 1919-21, had a lead in defeating the General Strike of 1926, and began expressing warnings to the government about impending threats of German and Japanese aggression. Although unheeded, Churchill’s warnings came true, and he became the intended target of some non-conventional warfare: bombs hidden in foods such as chocolate. Fortunately, British intelligence learned of this Nazi sabotage plot that would have packed even the popular British dish — bangers and mash — with explosives. During World War II, Churchill served as First Lord of the Admiralty but was then able to form a new coalition government and became prime minister. He and King George VI together led the resistance of the people against Nazi Germany, with only Britain among the Allies holding its ground. Churchill also maneuvered President Franklin Roosevelt and Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin into an alliance that prevailed against the Axis. Queen Elizabeth II knighted Churchill, and in 1963 President John F. Kennedy proclaimed him an honorary American citizen.

Churchill’s mother, Jennie Jerome, was American; in fact, she was raised in Brooklyn. Her family was believed to have resided on Henry and Amity streets in Cobble Hill.

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GAME-CHANGING BOOK — ‘UNSAFE AT ANY SPEED: THE DESIGNED-IN DANGERS OF THE AMERICAN AUTOMOBILE,” WAS PUBLISHED ON NOV. 30, 1965. Its author, Ralph Nader, was a 32-year-old attorney who set out to prove that the automobile was an instrument of death and injury and that the manufacturers lacked the motivation to use safer technology as it became available. Called a “muckraking” book, “Unsafe at Any Speed” became an instant best-seller and finally prompted the passage of a law, the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1966, which required safety belt laws in all but one state (New Hampshire), as well as other safety measures. Nader’s book brought out some harsh truths about cars and car companies and revealed that auto safety advocates were aware of them. In the prior decade, in 1956, Congress held a series of hearings after a particularly deadly year in car collisions, with nearly 40,000 people killed.

Nader aimed in particular at the Chevy Corvair, arguing that its design with a swing axle and rear-mounted engine caused the vehicle to skid and roll over more frequently than other cars, although a 1972 government study refuted Nader’s claim.

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BEST NOVELS WRITTEN IN HARTFORD — SAMUEL CLEMENS, LATER KNOWN AS MARK TWAIN, WAS BORN IN FLORIDA, MISSOURI, ON NOV. 30, 1835. Apprenticed to a printer at age 13, he also worked for an elder brother who founded the Hannibal Journal. Weary of writing on his “comic travel letter” beat, he decided to travel himself by steamboat. After serving as a captain of a vessel. Clemens eventually did return to writing. His nom de plume of Mark Twain was a boatman’s signal to indicate that a river met the minimum two-fathom deep requirement for safe navigation. He became a reporter in San Francisco, but after he married he moved with his wife to Hartford, Connecticut, where he became part of an abolitionist literary circle. During this time, as Mark Twain, he penned “Tom Sawyer,” “Huckleberry Finn,” “Life on the Mississippi;” and later. “The Prince and the Pauper” and “A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” After the Civil War, he was vocal about the failed promises of the Reconstruction and the continued mistreatment of former slaves, according to the Mark Twain House & Museum’s website.

Mark Twain/Samuel Clemens seems to have found his Doppelganger in Hollywood actor Hal Holbrook, who played the famed writer starting in 1966; and later, on “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” In 1967, Mark Twain Tonight! was presented on television by CBS and Xerox, and Holbrook received an Emmy for his performance.

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FIRST PERSON HIT BY A METEORITE — A METEORITE BURST INTO THE HOME OF AN ALABAMA WOMAN, Mrs. Elizabeth Hodges, and injuring her. The Nov. 30, 1954 incident marked the first modern instance of a meteorite striking a human being. Newspapers around the nation the next day gave coverage to Mrs. Hodges, who had been asleep, with her face to the back of the couch, when the meteorite crashed into her home. It weighed in at 8.5 lbs. and was 7 inches long. The meteorite, the Post Herald explained, based on U.S. Geological Survey district representative George Swindle’s description, is a meteor that hits the ground. The explosion in which it entered the earth’s atmosphere could be heard 40 miles above ground. The meteorite was taken to Maxwell Laboratory for examination.

Fortunately, Mrs. Hodges’ injuries were not permanent although she suffered a bruise on her hip and leg.

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CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS — Marathon Jeopardy! contestant Ken Jennings lost his 74-victory streak on Nov. 30, 2004, winning $2.5 million, setting a record both for the program and for U.S. game shows, and boosting the program’s viewership significantly. The Brigham Young graduate, 30 at the time he started winning, was named one of the 10 most fascinating people of the year by Barbara Walters and he made appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and even Sesame Street.

After JEOPARDY! host Alex Trebek died on Nov. 8, 2020, the announcement was made that Jennings would serve as the interim host.

See previous milestones, here.