The hard-riding cowboys of the Wild West have left a deep and lasting impression on American folklore. Burned by the sun, driven by train and snow, surviving attacks by hostile Indians, the cowboy presents an ideal of physical courage, and fair play.

Creating and transporting the mirror was but the first step in the realization of a dream for George Ellery Hale, one of the greatest astronomers in the United States. Hale had already masterminded the construction of what was at the time the world’s largest reflecting telescope, atop Mount Wilson in California. Completed in 1918, that telescope has a mirror 100 inches across. Hale then began planning a telescope with a mirror with twice that diameter; it would be able to explore farther into space than any other telescope in the world.obstructions, and other hazards along the lengthy route.

Octavian, the count of Tusculum, was barely 18 when he was consecrated pope on December 16, 955. His reign as Pope John XII was one of the worst in history.

In October 1986 a beach in Reykjavik, Iceland, was the scene of an apparent massacre: 148 pilot whales lay dead on the shore. They died because in following their leader, or pilot, they swam onto the beach could or would not escape back into the sea.