German scientist discovers X-rays

November 8, 1895

ON this day, physicist Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen becomes the first person to observe X-rays, a significant scientific advancement by making the invisible visible.

The discovery occurred accidentally in Wurzburg, Germany, Rontgen’s lab, where he was testing whether cathode rays could pass through glass when he noticed a glow coming from a nearby chemically coated screen. He dubbed the rays that caused this glow X-rays because of their unknown nature.

Then Rontgen conducted a series of experiments to better understand his discovery and realised that X-rays penetrate human flesh but not higher-density substances such as bone or lead, and that they can be photographed.

Dracula creator Bram Stoker born

November 8, 1847

THIS day, Bram Stoker, author of the horror novel Dracula, is born in Clontarf, Dublin, Ireland. Stoker’s villainous, creation — the vampire Count Dracula, became a pop-culture icon and has been featured in hundreds of movies, books, plays and other forms of entertainment.

Stoker graduated from Trinity College in Dublin. He worked for the Irish Civil Service while writing theatre reviews for a Dublin newspaper on the side. He published several horror novels in the 1890s before the debut of his most famous work, Dracula, in 1897. Bram Stoker died at the age of 64 on April 20, 1912, in London.

Sesame Street debuts

November 10, 1969

THIS day, Sesame Street, a pioneering TV show that would teach generations of young children the alphabet and how to count, made its broadcast debut. Sesame Street went on to become the most widely viewed children’s programme in the world. It has aired in more than 120 countries.

The show was the brainchild of Joan Ganz Cooney, a former documentary producer for public television. Cooney’s goal was to create programming for preschoolers that was both entertaining and educational. She also wanted to use TV as a way to help underprivileged three- to five- year-olds prepare for kindergarten. Sesame Street was set in a fictional New York neighbourhood and included ethnically diverse characters and positive social messages. Today, an estimated eight million people tune in to the show each week in the US alone.