On December 15, 1832, Gustave Eiffel was born in Dijon, France. Eiffel’s creations can be found on several continents. Among other things, he created the framework for the Statue of Liberty, and played a controversial role in the development of the locks of the Panama Canal. But he is best known for his eponymous Parisian tower, so much so that it is written, "the man behind the masterpiece gradually disappeared in the towering shadow of his creation.”
Eiffel is one of many of the world's great inventors and scientists that students can learn about from our SweetSearch Biographies page for this category.
This day in 1961, Adolf Eichmann, a former Gestapo lieutenant colonel who oversaw Nazi Germany’s mass deportation and killing of Jews, was sentenced to hang by a Jerusalem court. After the war, Eichmann had escaped to Argentina, where he lived for a decade, before being captured and secreted out of the country by Israeli agents. His trial was the first televised around the world; it is when much of the world first learned of the horrors of the Holocaust. Eichmann's final statement was chilling; he acknowledged his guilt but attributed it to obedience and allegiance to his country.
We don't profile many contemporary people, but earlier this week we celebrated the 21st birthday of Taylor Swift. Read our profile of Taylor to understand why we write she's "not just another pop princess" and unlikely to follow her many fellow teen stars into scandal.
From SweetSearch2Day:
The BBC News Widget has an article on Voyager 1's 33-year journey to the edge of the solar system.
The New York Times Learning Network asked students, "Is School Stressing You Out?" As usual, the scores of comments offer a lot of insight.
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