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23:30, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About.

Posted by OceanLake
OceanLake
supporter, 1076 posts
Sat 29 Jun 2019
at 00:00
  • msg #1

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

Saw in the local paper: Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché

Example: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_cYhqVblLc
praguepride
member, 1445 posts
"Hugs for the Hugs God!"
- Warhammer Fluffy-K
Sun 30 Jun 2019
at 18:16
  • msg #2

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

For me it's Dr. Edland, the hero (and a victim of) of the Attica Riots.

https://www.democratandchronic...and-victim/89963672/


Basically cops went in heavy handed and shots a bunch of people during the Attica riots, including some staff members. Police tried to cover it up claiming that the prisoners did it but the medical examiner, Dr. Edland, uncovered the truth and refused to change his story. He was intimidated and vilified by the corrupt police department but stuck to his guns and the truth came out and it did prompt some critical looks and reforms within law enforcement.

However he ended up suffering continual harassment by police ever since. Police continually questioned friends and family trying to  uncover dirt on him to the point that they used code words with one another to know if their phone calls were being coerced or not.

He ended up moving to Tennessee to escape but switched from working state cases to only being a defense witness:

quote:
He told the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle in 1981, “I’m no longer interested in the state’s case because it seems they have so much power and the poor little guy on the other end who, though he may be guilty, ultimately has not much going for him.”

This message was last edited by the user at 18:16, Sun 30 June 2019.
12th Doctor
member, 108 posts
Laugh Hard. Run Fast.
Be kind.
Mon 1 Jul 2019
at 20:47
  • msg #3

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

Mine is Yasuke, a former slave from Africa who became a samurai and served under Oda Nobunaga.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yasuke
OceanLake
supporter, 1077 posts
Mon 1 Jul 2019
at 23:54
  • msg #4

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

Possible persons to base PCs on.
pdboddy
supporter, 687 posts
EST/EDT [GMT-5/GMT-4]
Tue 2 Jul 2019
at 11:45
  • msg #5

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler

aka Hedy Lamarr

One of the most beautiful people to ever grace the stage and screen, Hedy Lamarr is also (now) famous for one of the backbones of the modern, mobile internet.  Her patent, originally created to allow for radio controlled torpedoes that could not easily be jammed, is the basis for bluetooth, wifi, and how cellphones transmit and receive data.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hedy_Lamarr

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbZnrseHihI

She was wicked smart.
Michi_chan
member, 122 posts
Tue 2 Jul 2019
at 12:46
  • msg #6

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

Let em add to the list the following awesome lesser known, but important figures:

 Akebono Taro, first non-Japanese born wrestler to reach Yokozuna rank.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akebono_Tar%C5%8D


 Stanislav Petrov of the Soviet Air Defense Forces, the man who single-handedly prevented the world from going to nuclear war.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislav_Petrov


 Lise Meitner, the physicist who discovered nuclear fission.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lise_Meitner


 Rosalind Franklin, the chemist who discovered the double-helix structure of DNA and got a lot of her research stolen.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosalind_Franklin
pdboddy
supporter, 688 posts
EST/EDT [GMT-5/GMT-4]
Tue 2 Jul 2019
at 14:03
  • msg #7

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

In reply to OceanLake (msg # 4):

I'm actually going to steal this and run with it.
seraphmoon
member, 75 posts
I've Been Touched By
His Noodly Appendage
Mon 15 Jul 2019
at 14:28
  • msg #8

Almost-Forgotten People I'm Glad to Learn About

This seems to fit here: The women who went from making girdles and bras to spacesuits for the US' Apollo program.  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/a...t-a-man-on-the-moon/

I've always been kind of a space nut and I recall hearing that the moon suits had been made by Playtex, but I don't think I'd ever heard any of the makers' names before. We know the pilots and physicists and politicians, and even some of the animals involved in humanity's ventures into space. (Side note: My kid was upset about the library's not having any Voltron books, so when I spotted a book about Laika I said, "Hey! Do you want to learn about the first dog in space?" I . . . had forgotten how that ended. Fortunately, reading it wasn't too traumatic for any of us. Anyway.) Rarely do we hear or even think about the ordinary people who turned all that theory into reality, and it's fascinating.

I can't imagine how nerve-wracking it would be to watch the launches or landings and know that one tiny thing missing or done wrong could mean someone's life. I mean, I've gotten nervous just setting up a ladder for someone else!
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