March 28

Born in 1488 in Adelboden, Glarean studied at the universities of Cologne and Pavia. He served as a scholar and educator before publishing his groundbreaking treatise Dodecachordon in 1547, which expanded the system of musical modes from eight to twelve. Glarean was also a poet, writing Latin verses and contributing to humanist scholarship. His work influenced composers and theorists by incorporating Greek and medieval modal theory into contemporary practice. He held academic positions in Basel and engaged with leading intellectuals of the Reformation era. Glarean’s dual talents in poetry and music theory marked him as a key figure of the northern Renaissance.

Born in 1486 into an Austrian noble family. He served as a diplomat for Emperors Maximilian I and Ferdinand I, making multiple embassies to Muscovy. During his travels, he documented Russian politics, culture, and geography in Rerum Moscoviticarum Commentarii. This work became one of the first comprehensive Western accounts of 16th-century Russia. His vivid descriptions influenced European views of Eastern Europe for centuries. He is remembered as a founder of modern Russian historiography.

Peter Andreas Hansen was born in 1795 in Tønder, in the Duchy of Schleswig. He studied astronomy at the University of Copenhagen before directing the Gotha Observatory under Friedrich Bessel’s patronage. Hansen published his Lunar Tables in 1857, improving the accuracy of the Moon’s predicted positions. His work advanced celestial mechanics and aided navigation and astronomy throughout the 19th century. He received the Copley Medal in 1860 for his contributions to lunar and planetary theory. Hansen died in 1874, and his methods remained influential in astronomical computation.

James Strachan-Davidson (1843–1916) was a distinguished classical scholar and administrator at the University of Oxford, serving as President of Corpus Christi College. He published critical editions and translations of ancient Greek texts, making classical literature more accessible to students and scholars. Strachan-Davidson was known for his rigorous scholarship and commitment to academic reform. He also wrote on ancient political theory, bridging classical studies with modern concerns. His legacy endures in the field of classical philology and the institutions he guided.

Born in 1869 in England and raised in Canada, Stephen Leacock studied at McGill University and the University of Chicago before becoming a professor of political science at the University of Toronto. His academic work in economics and politics was widely respected, but he gained international fame for his humorous writings. Leacock's best-known work, "Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town" (1912), satirized small-town life with warmth and wit. He wrote over 30 books, including collections of essays and novels, and was president of the Royal Society of Canada. Leacock's clear prose and comedic talent influenced generations of writers. He passed away in 1944, leaving a legacy as a pioneer of Canadian literature and humor.

William Francis Giauque (1895–1982) was a Canadian-American chemist renowned for his research on chemical thermodynamics. He received the 1949 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of the properties of matter at extremely low temperatures. Giauque's work enabled the development of low-temperature physics and cryogenics. He served as a professor at the University of California, Berkeley, guiding generations of chemists. His methods of magnetic cooling laid groundwork for modern refrigeration and superconductivity research. Giauque published extensively and was celebrated as a leading figure in 20th-century physical chemistry.

Nikolaos Platon (1909–1992) was a pioneering Greek archaeologist noted for his excavation of the Minoan palace at Phaistos in Crete. He developed the three-age system for Minoan chronology, refining understanding of Bronze Age civilizations. Platon's work illuminated the social and artistic achievements of the Minoans. He served as director of the Greek Archaeological Service and taught at universities in Athens. His publications on Aegean prehistory remain fundamental texts in classical archaeology. Platon's contributions advanced the study of Mediterranean ancient cultures.

Born in Mouscron, Belgium, in 1912, Schepens earned his medical degree from the University of Ghent. During World War II, he joined the Belgian Resistance and used his ophthalmology practice as a cover to smuggle refugees to safety. After the war, he emigrated to the United States and founded the Retina Foundation (now Schepens Eye Research Institute) in Boston. He developed the scleral buckling technique, transforming the treatment of retinal detachment and saving countless patients’ vision. A prolific author, Schepens wrote memoirs and scientific texts, leaving a lasting legacy in medicine until his death in 2006.

Born in England, Box earned his Ph.D. from the University of London before relocating to the United States. As a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he made fundamental contributions to the design of experiments. He co-developed the Box–Jenkins methodology for time series forecasting, a staple in econometrics and engineering. Box also introduced the Box–Cox transformation to stabilize variance in statistical modeling. His publications, including the influential book 'Statistics for Experimenters', have guided generations of researchers. He held leadership roles in the American Statistical Association and was a recipient of the Wilks Medal. Box's pioneering work continues to underpin modern statistical practice across diverse scientific fields.