Deaths on July 11

Simon Newcomb

Died on July 11, 1909

Simon Newcomb, Canadian-American astronomer and mathematician (b. 1835)

Simon Newcomb (March 12, 1835 – July 11, 1909) was a Canadian–American astronomer, applied mathematician, and autodidactic polymath. He served as Professor of Mathematics in the United States Navy and at Johns Hopkins University. Born in Nova Scotia, at the age of 19 Newcomb left an apprenticeship to join his father in Massachusetts, where the latter was teaching.

Though Newcomb had little conventional schooling, he completed a BSc at Harvard in 1858. He later made important contributions to timekeeping, as well as to other fields in applied mathematics, such as economics and statistics. Fluent in several languages, he also wrote and published several popular science books and a science fiction novel.

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Simon Newcomb

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Events on 1909

9 Jan

Nimrod Expedition
Ernest Shackleton, leading the Nimrod Expedition to the South Pole, plants the British flag 97 nautical miles (180 km; 112 mi) from the South Pole, the farthest anyone had ever reached at that time.
28 Jan

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base
United States troops leave Cuba with the exception of Guantanamo Bay Naval Base after being there since the Spanish-American War.
22 Feb

Great White Fleet
The sixteen battleships of the Great White Fleet, led by USS Connecticut, return to the United States after a voyage around the world.
31 Mar

Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia accepts Austrian control over Bosnia and Herzegovina.
27 Apr

Abdul Hamid II
Sultan of Ottoman Empire Abdul Hamid II is overthrown, and is succeeded by his brother, Mehmed V.

Deaths on July 11

Simon Newcomb

Died on July 11, 1909

References

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Events on 1909

Nimrod Expedition

Guantanamo Bay Naval Base

Great White Fleet

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abdul Hamid II