Who is Neil Armstrong?Know About Him

On 21 July 1969, Neil Armstrong uttered the famous words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” as he placed his foot upon the soil of the moon, the first man ever to stand or walk on the moon. These words, and the moon landing of the Apollo 11 mission, are perhaps some of the most memorable of the 20th century. Many people who witnessed the first moon landing in 1969 comment that it is one of the most impressive memories in the history of their lives. Armstrong was the quintessential astronaut; sometimes overshadowing those other NASA astronauts who bravely risked their lives and sometimes lost them in the Space Race to the moon. In particular, some are apt to forget that Buzz Aldrin also walked on the moon with Armstrong during that historic mission.

Neil Armstrong’s road to the moon began inauspiciously enough with his birth in 1930. Like Jim Lovell and several others who would serve in the NASA program, Armstrong was an avid scout, earning the rank of Eagle Scout. This was more difficult for Armstrong to accomplish, since his father and family moved repeatedly around his birth state of Ohio (His father was an Ohioan government official). The Armstrong family’s last move, back to his birth town of Wapakoneta, at least allowed Armstrong to finish high school, where he exhibited a strong aptitude for the sciences. This led him to first study at Purdue University, where he pursued a major in aeronautical engineering.

Money problems meant that continuation of college would have to be put on hold for Neil Armstrong. He was able to attend Purdue under the Holloway Plan, which gave full tuition for two years and then required three years of military service before beneficiaries of the scholarship could complete their four-year degrees. In 1949, Neil Armstrong was called to serve the Navy, and did so as a pilot, taking part in the Korean War and logging numerous flights. He officially left military service in 1960, but returned to Purdue in the mid 1950s to finish his degree, where he met and married his first wife, Janet Shearon. The couple had three children together, but lost their daughter Karen, when she was three.

Armstrong officially became an astronaut in 1962. His early missions were with the Gemini program, and he was on both the Gemini 8 and Gemini 11 flights. These earlier flights would be far eclipsed by the Apollo 11 mission, with Armstrong as commander. Armstrong has stated in interviews since the flight that he was only 50% certain the flight would even land on the moon, and he does admit to some fears and difficulties while traveling in space. After the success of the Apollo 11 mission, he declared his intent of not flying in space again. He continued to briefly serve NASA, but left in 1971 to pursue a career as professor at the University of Cincinnati.

The career of Neil Armstrong has been diverse. He did participate in the investigation of the Challenger shuttle disaster of 1985, and has served as a spokesman on many occasions. He’s also participated or headed boards for a variety of companies, and in 1979 became an official spokesman for Chrysler. He expressed disinterest in a political career though he was approached by both the Democrats and Republicans to run in a variety of positions. Armstrong and Shearon divorced in 1994, and Neil Armstrong remarried, to Carol Held Knight, shortly after his divorce was finalized.

Who is Benjamin Franklin? Know About Him

Benjamin Franklin was a man of many talents; an accomplished inventor, philosopher, writer, statesman, economist and musician. The eclectic and active life of Ben Franklin earned him the titles both of the model American citizen and one of the founding fathers of the United States. Franklin was born in Boston, Massachusetts in 1706 although he considered Philadelphia, Pennsylvania his hometown. Franklin died in 1790 at the age of 84 and is buried in Philadelphia. 

At the young age of 12, Benjamin Franklin became an apprentice to his older brother James who was a printer and ran a newspaper in Boston. The newspaper titled The New England Courant, was the first of its kind in Boston. At age 15 Franklin desperately wanted to write for the paper. Knowing that his brother would not allow him to do so, Franklin created for himself the pen name Silence Dogood; a widow who criticized society, especially the treatment of women, through letters slipped under the door at night. Franklin’s writings became extremely popular and fueled intense jealousy from his brother when he revealed that he was the author.

Among his many accomplishments, Benjamin Franklin is renowned for his scientific work with electricity. Franklin was the first to prove that lightening was in fact electricity. He did this by developing his famous kite experiment which intended to extract electricity from a developing storm. Although he designed the experiment, he was not the first person to carry it out. From his work in electricity, Benjamin Franklin invented the lightning rod, which is designed to protect tall structures from being struck and damaged during electrical storms.

Benjamin Franklin is one of the founding fathers of the United States. He was instrumental in securing military and financial assistance from France which was critical in the young nation’s independence from British rule.

Ben Franklin’s wisdom lives on in many popular adages that are spoken today. He wrote “If you would not be forgotten as soon as you are dead and rotten, either write something worth reading or do things worth the writing,” which he unquestionably made true for himself. Some of his other popular quotes include:

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy wealthy and wise.”

“He is ill clothed that is bare of virtue.”

“But in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.”

Know About Socreates, Who Was Socrates?

When we speak of Socrates, we must differentiate between the historical person and the figurative one, i.e., the Socrates of Plato. Either way, Socrates perhaps can be considered the father of western philosophy. His influence can be found in virtually all philosophical works, and his views are still discussed and debated today.

The historical man lived in ancient Athens from 470-399 BCE. He was a very well known philosopher during his lifetime, but made his living as a stonemason. As a philosopher, it is peculiar that Socrates never wrote down any of his views. For this reason, what is known of him and his philosophy must be surmised from the works of other ancient philosophers such as Xenophon, Aristotle and especially Plato, all of whom wrote of him after his death. The only known work produced about Socrates during his lifetime was a fictional play called Clouds.

It is widely accepted that Socrates lived an honorable and virtuous life. He lived meticulously according to the laws of his state and believed strongly in justice. He believed that virtue is knowledge and famously stated that, “The unexamined life is not worth living.” Despite his noble character, Socrates suffered a lot of criticism that eventually led to his condemnation and subsequent death.

Socrates was egregiously disliked by the prestigious citizens of Athens. This was because of what is now called Socratic irony and the Socratic method. Socratic irony means that one pretends to be ignorant in order to expose the false beliefs of another during a discussion. The Socratic method refers to a series of questions and answers which are meant to analyze, test or define a particular concept.

The philosopher was famous for claiming that the only thing he knew was that he knew nothing, hence Socratic irony. He made it his mission to question all the self-professed wise men of Athens in order to learn from them through the Socratic method. By his questioning, Socrates intended to make clear the lack of logic in their beliefs. This turned out to be extremely embarrassing and deflating to his aristocratic contemporaries. However, the youth of Athens found the deflation extremely amusing and fascinating, and so he gained a large following.

Public disdain for Socrates ultimately resulted in his conviction on the vague charges that he was guilty of corrupting the young and worshiping false gods. Plato’s Apology is thought to be a meticulous, word for word record of the man's trial and death, which explicates these charges as well as his defense. Socrates passively accepted his conviction and death sentence because of his commitment to the law. He died at the age of 71 from hemlock poisoning, despite the opportunity to escape into exile with the help of his friends. 

Socrates was the teacher and mentor of the great philosopher Plato. When we speak of the figurative man, we are referring to Plato’s writings of Socrates, in which he is the character that expresses Plato’s views. In many of Plato’s books, such as The Republic, Crito and Phaedrus, he is the interlocutor or speaker. Although we can not be sure which views written by Plato actually belonged to the other man, it is thought that much of his character and style was preserved.

The figurative Socrates also appears as the main character in an ancient satirical play. Clouds, written by the Greek poet Aristophanes, was written and preformed during his lifetime. The play poked fun at the man, as well as other philosophers melded into his character. According to Plato, Socrates was extremely annoyed by Aristophanes’ portrayal. Despite the satirical nature of Clouds, scholars believe that some of Socrates character in the play was true to his historical nature.