July 26

Miguel de Benavides was born in Salamanca, Spain in 1552 into a family of humble means. He entered the Dominican Order and devoted himself to the study of the Chinese language and culture. In 1595, he was appointed Archbishop of Manila and led the church in the Spanish Philippines. Upon his death on July 26, 1605, he bequeathed his fortune and personal library for the creation of a university. This endowment led to the founding of the University of Santo Tomas in 1611, now the oldest university in Asia. His work as a sinologist and missionary bridged European and Asian scholarship for generations to come.

Elena Cornaro Piscopia was born in Venice in 1646 into a noble family. A prodigy, she mastered Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and several modern languages by her teenage years. In 1678, at the University of Padua, she became the first woman to receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree. Her academic interests spanned mathematics, philosophy, and theology, and she lectured before city officials and scholars. She continued scholarly work and patronized other intellectuals, advocating for women’s education. Despite poor health, she remained intellectually active until her death on July 26, 1684. Her achievements opened doors for women in academia across Europe.

James Murray was born in 1837 in Denholm, Scotland. He became a founding editor of the Philological Society and was appointed to lead the Oxford English Dictionary project in 1879. Murray established innovative methods, soliciting word quotations from the public via reading rooms. Under his guidance, the first portion of the OED was published in 1884, a milestone in lexicography. He continued to oversee the dictionary's development until his death in 1915, expanding its scope and accuracy. His work laid the foundation for modern English language scholarship and continues to influence dictionaries today.

Gottlob Frege was born in 1848 in Wismar, Germany. He published "Begriffsschrift" in 1879, introducing a formal system for predicate logic. His 1884 work "The Foundations of Arithmetic" argued that numbers are grounded in logic. Frege's distinction between sense and reference has been highly influential in philosophy of language. His ideas informed subsequent thinkers such as Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein. Although not widely recognized during his lifetime, Frege's work became central to 20th-century analytic philosophy. He died in 1925, leaving a profound legacy in logic and mathematics.

Born in 1849, Pavlos Karolidis was a pioneering Greek historian whose scholarship advanced the study of Greece and the Balkans. He served as a professor and produced influential works examining the social, political, and cultural forces shaping the region. Karolidis was among the first to apply critical methodologies to Ottoman sources and modern Greek archives. His publications provided a comprehensive chronicle of Greece under Ottoman rule and the development of national identity. Through teaching and research, he mentored generations of historians and helped establish modern historiography in Greece.

Born in 1875, Henri Lebesgue made groundbreaking contributions to real analysis and measure theory. His introduction of the Lebesgue integral provided a more powerful framework than the Riemann integral, transforming mathematical integration. Lebesgue’s work on measure theory laid the foundation for modern probability theory and functional analysis. He studied at the École Normale Supérieure and later held academic positions in France, mentoring the next generation of mathematicians. His rigorous approach and innovative methods continue to underpin contemporary research in mathematics and physics. Lebesgue’s legacy endures through countless theorems and applications bearing his name.

George Gallup was born in 1901 in Iowa and earned a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Iowa. Shocked by the failure of straw polls during the 1936 U.S. presidential election, he developed scientifically-based sampling methods to measure public opinion. In 1935, he founded the American Institute of Public Opinion, later known as the Gallup Organization, revolutionizing market research and political polling. Gallup's techniques introduced the gold standard for survey methodology and forecasting in politics, business, and media. Through regular polling and analysis, he shaped how the world understood public attitudes and elections. He died on July 26, 1984, leaving a lasting legacy in social science and journalism.

James Luther Adams (1901–1994) was a prominent American theologian and social ethicist. He taught at the University of Chicago and served as a professor at Harvard Divinity School. Adams was an influential voice in liberal Protestant theology and ecumenical studies. He authored numerous works on Christian ethics, religion and society, and the role of faith in public life. His interdisciplinary approach bridged theology, sociology, and political theory. Adams’s legacy continues in contemporary theological scholarship and social ethics.

John Tukey (1915–2000) was a pioneering American mathematician and statistician. He worked at Princeton University and Bell Laboratories, making foundational contributions to data analysis. Tukey developed the Fast Fourier Transform algorithm independently and popularized exploratory data analysis through innovations like the box plot. He coined the terms 'bit' and 'software', shaping the language of computer science. His work bridged pure and applied statistics, influencing fields from signal processing to computing. Tukey was awarded the National Medal of Science in recognition of his transformative impact on statistical methodology.

William A. Mitchell was a pioneering food chemist whose research at General Foods led to the creation of Pop Rocks, Tang, Cool Whip, and other beloved products. He developed novel freezing and air incorporation techniques that transformed the frozen dessert industry. Throughout his career, he filed over 70 patents in food science and technology. His work earned him recognition as one of the most inventive chemists in the consumer food sector. Mitchell’s innovations continue to influence modern food processing and convenience products.

Jack Hirshleifer was a leading economic theorist whose work illuminated how information and uncertainty affect markets. He earned his PhD at the University of Chicago and served as a professor at UCLA for over forty years. His groundbreaking models on information asymmetry and the rational choice of violence bridged economics and political science. Hirshleifer’s influential writings, including 'The Analytics of Uncertainty and Information,' shaped subsequent research in multiple disciplines. He was celebrated for combining analytical rigor with real-world policy insights, leaving a profound impact on economic theory.

Harley Flanders (1925–2013) was an American mathematician known for his research in algebra and complex analysis. He held academic positions at institutions such as the University of Notre Dame and the University of Wisconsin. Flanders authored influential textbooks on calculus and linear algebra, emphasizing clear pedagogy. His research interests spanned differential geometry, topology, and mathematical education. He served as an editor for prestigious mathematical journals and mentored generations of students. Flanders's dedication to teaching and scholarship helped shape modern mathematical pedagogy.