It is my recollection that we used a chunk of galena as a rectifier in building the early radio sets. One contact was through the mounting clamp, the other through a very delicately adjusted “cat’s whisker,” a stiff wire spring. I believe the germanium rectifier was a later development and may have eliminated the cat’s whisker contact, which was always quite frustrating, the signal being very intermittent.
The world’s most prominent actress risked her career by standing up to one of Hollywood’s mega-studios, proving that behind the beauty was also a very savvy businesswoman.
Rarely has the full story been told about how a famed botanist, a pioneering female journalist, and First Lady Helen Taft battled reluctant bureaucrats to bring Japanese cherry trees to Washington.
Often thought to have been a weak president, Carter was strong-willed in doing what he thought was right, regardless of expediency or the political fallout.
Why have thousands of U.S. banks failed over the years? The answers are in our history and politics.
In his Second Inaugural Address, Abraham Lincoln embodied leading in a time of polarization, political disagreement, and differing understandings of reality.