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Otto Hahn (1879–1968) was a German chemist who was a pioneer in the field of radiochemistry. He is referred to as the father of nuclear chemistry. Working with Lise Meitner at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Chemistry in the building that now bears their names, they discovered isotopes of the radioactive elements radium, thorium, protactinium and uranium. He also discovered the phenomena of atomic recoil and nuclear isomerism, and pioneered rubidium–strontium dating. In 1938, Hahn, Meitner, Otto Robert Frisch and Fritz Strassmann discovered nuclear fission, for which Hahn alone was awarded the 1944 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. He worked on the German nuclear program during World War II; at the end of the war he was arrested by the Allied forces and detained in Farm Hall. After the war, he became the founding president of the Max Planck Society and one of the most influential and respected citizens of post-war West Germany. (Full article...)

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Mitchell Sabattis

... that Abenaki guide Mitchell Sabattis (pictured) co-invented the Adirondack guideboat?
... that President Maximiliano Hernández Martínez resigned prior to the 1935 Salvadoran presidential election so that he could circumvent a constitutional ban on re-election?
... that Hyde Park Presbyterian Church in Austin, Texas, was disassembled and moved in order to drive a saloon out of the neighborhood?
... that most cocoa in Samoa is consumed locally as a drink known as koko Samoa?
... that Chris Samuels, on the last play of his NFL career, caught a pass that set up a game-winning score – and broke his leg?
... that a dream of a concert inspired the creation of the band behind Shobaleader One: d'Demonstrator?
... that Xymmer phungi was named after the revolutionary leader Phan Đình Phùng?
... that there was a baseball match between the two most common surnames in Japan?
... that Bootles' Baby's author's baby was Bootles?

In the news

Guillaume V

Guillaume V (pictured) succeeds his father Henri as Grand Duke of Luxembourg after the latter's abdication.
Sarah Mullally is announced as the next archbishop of Canterbury, which will make her the first female leader of the Anglican Communion.
English zoologist and primatologist Jane Goodall dies at the age of 91.
A magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu, Philippines, leaves at least 70 people dead.

On this day

October 5: World Teachers' Day

Samuel Griffith

1838 – A band of Cherokee people attacked settlers near Larissa, Texas, killing or abducting 18 people.
1903 – Samuel Griffith (pictured) became the first Chief Justice of Australia, while Edmund Barton and Richard O'Connor became the first Puisne Justices of the High Court of Australia.
1962 – Dr. No, the first James Bond film, was released.
2000 – Colour revolutions: During protests over irregularities in the Yugoslavian general election, a wheel-loader was driven into the Radio Television of Serbia building, giving the protests the nickname "Bulldozer Revolution".
2014 – Formula One racing driver Jules Bianchi sustained fatal head injuries in a crash at the Japanese Grand Prix, dying the following year.

Jacques Offenbach (d. 1880)
Eduardo Duhalde (b. 1941)
Kate Winslet (b. 1975)
Pin Malakul (d. 1995)

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Today's featured picture

Chester A. Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was the 21st president of the United States, serving from 1881 to 1885. He was a Republican from New York who previously served as the 20th vice president under President James A. Garfield. Assuming the presidency after Garfield's assassination, Arthur's presidency saw the largest expansion of the U.S. Navy, the end of the so-called "spoils system", and the implementation of harsher restrictions for migrants entering from abroad. Suffering from poor health, Arthur made only a limited effort to secure the Republican Party's nomination in 1884, and he retired at the end of his term. He has been described as one of the least memorable presidents in the history of the United States. This photograph by Abraham Bogardus shows Arthur around 1880.

Photograph credit: Abraham Bogardus; restored by Adam Cuerden

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