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A Rubik's Cube, whose manipulations form the Rubik's Cube group

A group, in mathematics, is a set together with an operation that combines any two of its elements to form a third element, in such a way that the operation is associative, an identity element exists, and every element has an inverse. These three conditions, called group axioms, are familiar from number systems. The ubiquity of groups in numerous areas—both within and outside mathematics—makes them a central organizational tool in contemporary mathematics. The concept of a group arose from the study of polynomial equations, starting with Évariste Galois in the 1830s. After contributions from other fields such as number theory and geometry, the group notion was generalized and firmly established around 1870. Today, group theory is a very active mathematical discipline that studies groups in their own right. Symmetry groups are widely applied in molecular chemistry and various physical disciplines. (Full article...)

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Verena Conzett

... that Verena Conzett (pictured) found commercial success when she offered serial novels together with accident insurance?
... that American president Calvin Coolidge wrote his statement "I do not choose to run" at Rapid City High School?
... that women's-rights activist Khairunnisa Ash'ari was appointed to the Legislative Council of Brunei as its youngest member?
... that the site of Longacres has been home to a dairy farm, a horse racetrack, headquarters of a Boeing division, and a potential new facility for Seattle Sounders FC?
... that before she became a Mexican federal deputy, Celeste Sánchez Romero was a dental researcher with more than 40 published articles?
... that Anderson Stadium in Austin, Texas, is the last high-school football stadium in the state built exclusively for African-American students?
... that Anna Korsun, a composer who studied in Kyiv and Munich, and teaches in Amsterdam, was awarded a scholarship at the Villa Massimo in Rome in 2018?
... that according to a Schiphol Airport official, installing pictures of flies in urinals reduced "spillage" by 80 per cent?

In the news

Yoon Suk-yeol

The wreck of the Endurance, the ship sunk during Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, is found.
Yoon Suk-yeol (pictured) is elected president of South Korea.
Australian cricketer Shane Warne dies at the age of 52.
An attack at a mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan, kills at least 63 people and injures more than 190 others.
The Winter Paralympics is held in Beijing, China.

On this day

March 14: New Year's Day (Sikhism); Commonwealth Day in the Commonwealth of Nations (2022); White Day in parts of East Asia; Pi Day

Catherine Cornaro

1309 – On Eid al-Fitr, the citizens of Granada stormed palaces in the city, deposing Sultan Muhammad III and placing his half-brother Nasr on the throne.
1489 – Catherine Cornaro (pictured), Queen of Cyprus, was forced to abdicate and sell the administration of the island to the Republic of Venice.
1885 – The Mikado, Gilbert and Sullivan's most frequently performed Savoy opera, debuted at the Savoy Theatre in London.
1969 – Edward M. Burke, the longest-serving alderman in the history of the Chicago City Council, was sworn into office.
1984 – Gerry Adams, leader of Sinn Féin, was seriously wounded in an assassination attempt by Ulster Freedom Fighters in central Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Charles Ammi Cutter (b. 1837)
Phil Vincent (b. 1908)
Lies Noor (d. 1961)

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Charles Darwin

The Darwin Medal is one of the medals awarded by the Royal Society of London for "distinction in evolution, biological diversity and developmental, population and organismal biology". It was established in 1885 after the transfer of the International Darwin Memorial Fund to the Royal Society. The Darwin Medal commemorates the work of English biologist Charles Darwin (pictured). The medal was first awarded in 1890 to Alfred Russel Wallace. It has been awarded over 60 times. It is currently awarded along with a grant of £2,000. From 1890 till 2018, it was awarded biennially. Since then, it is awarded annually. The diameter of the medal is 2+1⁄4 inch (5.7 cm). Made of silver, the obverse has Darwin's portrait, while the reverse has a wreath of plants with Darwin's name in Latin, "Carolus Darwin". It is surrounded by the years of his birth and death in Roman numerals. All citizens who have been residents of either the United Kingdom, Commonwealth of Nations, or the Republic of Ireland for more than three years are eligible for the medal. (Full list...)

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Today's featured picture

Haliotis clathrata, the lovely abalone, is a species of sea snail in the abalone family. It has a shell whose shape forms a logarithmic spiral. The species occurs in the western Pacific Ocean, on the coasts of Australia and the islands and mainland of Southeast Asia, as well as islands in the Indian Ocean such as Madagascar and Mauritius, and stretches of the East African coast. Clockwise from top left, this picture shows an empty H. clathrata shell in dorsal, lateral, ventral, front and back views. The shell is 3.2 centimetres (1.3 inches) in length, and was found in the Philippines.

Photograph credit: H. Zell

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