MAY 2
Portrait of Kircher at age 53 from Mundus Subterraneus(1664)
Kircher’s diagram showing the interconnectedness of fire inside the earth, featured in Mundus Subterraneus
Illustration of Mount Vesuvius into which Kircher climbed, featured in Mundus Subterraneus.
ATHANASIUS KIRCHER (May 2, 1601)
May 2 is the birthday of Jesuit scholar and polymath ATHANASIUS KIRCHER (1601-1680).
“The highest mountain, the oldest books, the strangest people, there you will find the stone.”
“Nothing is more beautiful than to know all.”
Kircher "published around 40 major works of comparative religion, geology, and medicine. Kircher has been compared to fellow Jesuit Roger Joseph Boscovich and to Leonardo da Vinci for his vast range of interests, and has been honoured with the title 'Master of a Hundred Arts.' He taught for more than 40 years at the Roman College, where he set up a wunderkammer or cabinet of curiosities. A resurgence of interest in Kircher has occurred within the scholarly community in recent decades.
Kircher claimed to have deciphered the hieroglyphic writing of the ancient Egyptian language, but most of his assumptions and translations in the field turned out to be wrong. He did, however, correctly establish the link between the ancient Egyptian and the Coptic languages, and some commentators[who?] regard him as the founder of Egyptology. Kircher was also fascinated with Sinology and wrote an encyclopedia of China, where he revealed the early presence of Nestorian Christians while also attempting to establish links with Egypt and Christianity.
Kircher's work in geology included studies of volcanoes and fossils. One of the first researchers to observe microbes through a microscope, Kircher was ahead of his time in proposing that the plague was caused by an infectious microorganism and in suggesting effective measures to prevent its spread. Kircher also displayed a keen interest in technology and mechanical inventions; inventions attributed to him include a magnetic clock, various automatons and the first megaphone. The invention of the magic lantern has been misattributed to Kircher, although he conducted a study of the principles involved in his Ars Magna Lucis et Umbrae." (Wikipedia)
DÉSIRÉ CHARNAY (May 2, 1828)
May 2 is the birthday of French archaeologist and photographer DÉSIRÉ CHARNAY (1828-1915).
"Charnay was a French traveller and archaeologist notable both for his explorations of Mexico and Central America, and for the pioneering use of photography to document his discoveries." (Wikipedia)
To see examples of Charnay’s photography, CLICK HERE.
PHILIPPE HALSMAN (May 2, 1906)
May 2 is the birthday of Latvian-American photographer PHILIPPE HALSMAN (1906-1979).
"In 1941 Halsman met the surrealist artist Salvador Dalí; they began to collaborate in the late 1940s. The 1948 work Dalí Atomicus explores the idea of suspension, depicting three cats flying, a bucket of thrown water, and Dalí in mid air. The title of the photograph is a reference to Dalí's work Leda Atomica which can be seen in the right of the photograph behind the two cats. Halsman reported that it took 28 attempts before a satisfactory result was achieved ...
In September 1928, 22-year-old Halsman was accused of his father's murder while they were on a hiking trip in the Austrian Tyrol, an area rife with antisemitism. After a trial based on circumstantial evidence he was sentenced to four years of prison. His family, friends and barristers worked for his release, getting support from important European intellectuals including Freud, Einstein, Thomas Mann, Henri Hertz, and Paul Painlevé, who endorsed his innocence. He was pardoned and released in 1930." (Wikipedia)
To see examples of Halsman’s photography, CLICK HERE.
SATYAJIT RAY (May 2, 1921)
May 2 is the birthday of the great Indian film director SATYAJIT RAY (1921-1992).
"The director is the only person who knows what the film is about."
Ray "was an Indian filmmaker, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Ray is celebrated for works such as The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959), The Music Room (1958), The Big City (1963) and Charulata (1964)." (Wikipedia)
LESLEY GORE (May 2, 1946)
May 2 is the birthday of American singer and songwriter LESLEY GORE (1946-2015).
"If I've learned anything in this business, how stupid would it be not to do 'It's My Party' when people come to hear it?"
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
KING JAMES BIBLE
On May 2, 1611, the King James version of the Bible is published for the first time in London.
The title page's central text is: "THE HOLY BIBLE, Conteyning the Old Testament, AND THE NEW: Newly Translated out of the Original tongues: & with the former Translations diligently compared and revised, by his Majesties speciall Comandement. Appointed to be read in Churches. Imprinted at London by Robert Barker, Printer to the Kings most Excellent Majestie. ANNO DOM. 1611 ." At bottom is: "C. Boel fecit in Richmont.".