Michael Shermer, American historian, author, and academic, founded The Skeptics Society
Michael Brant Shermer (born September 8, 1954) is an American science writer, historian of science, executive director of The Skeptics Society, and founding publisher of Skeptic magazine, a publication focused on investigating pseudoscientific and supernatural claims. The author of over a dozen books, Shermer is known for engaging in debates on pseudoscience and religion in which he emphasizes scientific skepticism.
Shermer was the co-producer and co-host of Exploring the Unknown, a 13-hour Fox Family television series broadcast in 1999. From April 2001 to January 2019, he contributed a monthly Skeptic column to Scientific American magazine.
Once a fundamentalist Christian, Shermer ceased to believe in the existence of God during graduate school. He accepts the labels agnostic, nontheist, atheist but prefers to be called a skeptic. He also describes himself as an advocate for humanist philosophy as well as the science of morality.
1954Sep, 8
Michael Shermer
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Events on 1954
- 13Feb
NCAA Division I
Frank Selvy becomes the only NCAA Division I basketball player ever to score 100 points in a single game. - 28Feb
NTSC
The first color television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public. - 1Apr
United States Air Force Academy
United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower authorizes the creation of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado. - 25Apr
Bell Labs
The first practical solar cell is publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories. - 18Jun
1954 Guatemalan coup d'état
Carlos Castillo Armas leads an invasion force across the Guatemalan border, setting in motion the 1954 Guatemalan coup d'état