December 12 Birthday
On December 12, 1901, Marconi received the letter "S" (three dots in Morse code) transmitted from Poldhu, Cornwall, to Signal Hill, Newfoundland — 2,100 miles across the Atlantic. The transmission proved that radio waves could follow the curvature of the Earth, which physicists had thought impossible. Marconi did not understand why it worked — the ionosphere, which reflects radio waves, was not discovered until 1902. The achievement revolutionized communication. Within a decade, ships could communicate with shore. In 1912, Titanic distress signals saved 700 lives. On December 12, 2000, the Supreme Court decided Bush v. Gore, effectively awarding the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush. The Court ruled 5-4 that the Florida recount could not continue. The decision was unsigned and stated it should not be used as precedent. Bush won Florida by 537 votes out of 6 million cast. The outcome of that election — the Iraq War, the tax cuts, the Supreme Court appointments — flowed from 537 votes. People born on December 12 fall under the zodiac sign of Sagittarius. The birthstone is Tanzanite and the birth flower is Holly. Historical events on December 12 include 1901: Guglielmo Marconi receives first transatlantic radio signal in Newfoundland, 2000: US Supreme Court decides Bush v. Gore, ending Florida recount, 2015: Paris Agreement on climate change adopted at COP21. Famous people born on December 12 include Frank Sinatra (1915), Bob Barker (1923), Dionne Warwick (1940).