Mary van Kleeck (1883–1972) was an American social scientist and
social feminist who advocated for scientific management and a planned
economy. She began her career in the settlement movement, investigating
women's labor in New York City. In 1916 she became the director of the
Russell Sage Foundation's Department of Industrial Studies, which she
led for over 30 years. During World War I, she was appointed by U.S.
president Woodrow Wilson to lead the development of workplace standards
for women entering the labor force. After the war, she led the creation
of the Women's Bureau, a federal agency that advocates for women in the
workforce. By the 1930s, van Kleeck had become a socialist, arguing that
central planning of economies was the most effective way to protect
labor rights. During the Great Depression, she became a prominent left-
wing critic of capitalism and the New Deal.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_van_Kleeck>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1783:
Laki, a volcanic fissure in Iceland, began an eight-month
eruption, triggering major famine and causing massive fluoride
poisoning.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laki>
1950:
Thomas Blamey became the only Australian to attain the rank of
field marshal.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Blamey>
1995:
Danish-Canadian programmer Rasmus Lerdorf released the first
version of PHP, the most popular server-side language for websites.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHP>
2007:
A major storm caused the bulk carrier MV Pasha Bulker to run
aground in New South Wales, Australia.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Drake>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
polynya:
(hydrology, oceanography) A naturally formed area of open water
surrounded by sea ice, especially in the Arctic.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/polynya>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
In an extreme view, the world can be seen as only connections,
nothing else. We think of a dictionary as the repository of meaning, but
it defines words only in terms of other words. I liked the idea that a
piece of information is really defined only by what it's related to, and
how it's related. There really is little else to meaning. The structure
is everything. There are billions of neurons in our brains, but what are
neurons? Just cells. The brain has no knowledge until connections are
made between neurons. All that we know, all that we are, comes from the
way our neurons are connected.
--Tim Berners-Lee
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Tim_Berners-Lee>
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