Template:Selected anniversaries/August 28
413 BC: A lunar eclipse caused panic among the sailors of the Athens fleet and thus affected the outcome of a battle in the Peloponnesian War. The Athenians were ready to move their forces from Syracuse when the Moon was eclipsed. The soldiers and sailors were frightened by this celestial omen and were reluctant to leave. Their commander, Nicias, consulted the soothsayers and postponed the departure for 27 days. This delay gave an advantage to their enemies, the Syracusans, who then defeated the entire Athenian fleet and army, and killed Nicias. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sicilian_Expedition
1801: Mathematician and philosopher Antoine Augustin Cournot born. He will introduce the ideas of functions and probability into economic analysis.
1802: Mathematician and engineer Gaspard Monge publishes new class of Gnomon algorithm functions, based on his pioneering work in differential geometry, which detect and prevent crimes against mathematical constants.
- C. Wright Mills.jpg
1916: Sociologist and author C. Wright Mills born. He will be published widely in popular and intellectual journals, advocating public and political engagement over disinterested observation.
1966: New study reveals that the Brainiac Explains lecture series is funded by a Brownian racket.