August Möbius diesThe Leipzig mathematician and astronomer died at 77, leaving his name on a one-sided strip and on ideas that still shape geometry and number theory.September 26 in history
A one-sided strip, a famous street crossing, and a sweating vice president mark a date that spans mathematics, music, politics, sport, and finance.
September 26 opens in 1868 with the death of August Möbius in Leipzig, a quiet astronomer whose name lives on in a strip of paper with only one side. Nearly a century later, on the same date in 1960, a Chicago television studio hosted the first televised presidential debate, where John F. Kennedy looked calm and rested while Richard Nixon struggled under the lights. Nine years after that, the Beatles released Abbey Road, the last album they recorded together, its cover showing four musicians on a London street crossing.
The later events move from the stage to the wider world. Serena Williams was born in Michigan in 1981 and went on to win 23 major singles titles, changing what power looked like in women’s tennis. In 1999, finance ministers rattled by a run of financial crises founded the G20, a forum that brings much of the world’s economy around one table. Together, the five stories show how an image, a single performance, or a careful idea can shape what comes after it.
August Möbius diesThe Leipzig mathematician and astronomer died at 77, leaving his name on a one-sided strip and on ideas that still shape geometry and number theory.
Kennedy and Nixon face off in the first televised debateIn a Chicago TV studio, a young senator and a sitting vice president held the first televised presidential debate and changed how campaigns are won.
The Beatles release Abbey RoadThe last album the Beatles recorded together reached British shops, with a side-long medley and a cover photo on a London street crossing.
Serena Williams is bornThe youngest of five sisters arrived in Michigan and grew into a champion who won 23 major singles titles, more than anyone else in the Open Era.
The G20 is foundedAfter a wave of financial crises, rich-country finance ministers created a wider forum that grew into the main venue for global economic cooperation.