In November of 1684, Edmund Halley received a letter from Isaac Newton in answer to a question he had asked earlier that year. The question (based on Halley’s account some years later) asked for a description of the “Curve that would be described by the Planets supposing the force of attraction towards the Sun to… Continue reading December 10: Newton’s Proof of Kepler’s Laws
December 9: Peter Fourier
One of the lesser known saints on the Roman Catholic calendar has his feast today: Peter Fourier. Fourier did not hold a high episcopal office, nor was he a prolific writer; he attracted my attention in the list of events, births, and deaths for December 9 because he promoted education. He was born in 1565… Continue reading December 9: Peter Fourier
December 8: Horace
Yesterday, we described briefly how Cicero’s philosophy, rhetoric, and insight into human nature influenced Martianus Capella, Augustine, and Petrarch. Today, we look at another Roman author, Quintus Horatius Flaccus, born December 8, 65 B. C, the Latin lyric poet who was Cicero’s and Vergil’s contemporary during the upheaval that ended the Roman Republic and began… Continue reading December 8: Horace