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Website of the Week

In this new feature, the VIU Library will introduce you to a website that we believe will help you in your studies at VIU.

WolframAlpha (http://www.wolframalpha.com/) is a free online computational knowledge engine that generates answers to questions in real time by doing computations on its own vast internal knowledge base. The sites long-term goal is to make all systematic knowledge immediately computable and accessible to everyone.

This Week in History

August 8

On this date in 1963, The Great Train Robbery, one of the most famous robberies of all time, occurred near Mentmore, England. The robbers stole £2,631,784, or $7,369,054 at the 1963 exchange rate, off the Glasgow-to-London mail train. This would be the equivalent of over $50,000,000 today. Less than one-seventh of the money was ever recovered. The best known of the robbers, Ronald Biggs escaped from prison in 1964 and lived mainly in Brazil until his voluntary return to the U.K. and prison in 2001. He was released from prison in 2009. For a detailed account of The Great Train Robbery see http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/gangsters_outlaws/cops_others/biggs/.

August 9

On this date in 1974, Vice President Gerald Ford was sworn in as the 38th US president following President Richard Nixon's resignation the previous evening. Nixon had resigned rather than face impeachment by the U.S. House of Representative. A successful impeachment would have led to Nixon’s trial before the U.S. Senate and his possible removal from office. Nixon faced impeachment because of his involvement in the Watergate Scandal, which began with a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters, located in the Watergate apartment complex in Washington, by Republican Party operatives. Nixon is the only U.S. President to resign from office. For more on the Watergate Scandal from the Washington Post see http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/watergate/index.html.

August 10

On this date in 610, Muhammad began to receive the Qu’ran, the central religious text of Islam. For over 100 translation of the Qu’ran in over 20 different languages go to the Online Quran Project at http://al-quran.info/?x=y#&&sura=1&aya=1&trans=en-yusuf_ali&show=both,quran-uthmani&ver=2.00.

August 11

On this date in 1259, Mongke, fourth Great Khan of the Mongol Empire, died. Under his rule, the Mongol Empire continued its expansion, conquering Iraq and Syria in the Middle East, southwestern China, parts of Tibet and Vietnam, and Korea. He was also noted for his many reforms to improve the administration of the Empire. He was succeeded by Kublai Khan.

August 12

On this date in 1908, the first Model T Ford car rolls off an assembly line in Detroit Michigan. The first car to be mass produced on an assembly line with fully interchangeable parts, the Model T revolutionized the automotive industry by making cars affordable by the middle class. When first introduced, the Model T cost $850 (around $20,500 in today’s dollars) compared to $2,000 (almost $50,000 in today’s dollars) or more for other cars. By 1915, the price of a Model T had dropped to $460.

August 13

Fidel Castro, communist revolutionary and long-time leader of Cuba, was born on this date in 1927. Born into a wealthy family, he began his revolutionary activities against the corrupt government of Fulgencio Batista in the early 1950s. He finally succeeded in overthrowing Batista in early January 1959. Relations between Castro and the United States quickly soured, especially following the nationalization of American owned businesses in 1960, and Cuba began to move closer to the Soviet Union. In 1961, the U.S. backed the Bay of Pigs Invasion of Cuba by a force of Cuban exiles. The invasion was a complete failure. Following the invasion, the Soviet Union installed nuclear missiles in Cuba, only 90 miles from southern Florida. This led to the Cuban Missile Crisis of October 1963, during which the U.S. and the Soviet Union came close to nuclear war. The Soviets finally agreed to remove the missiles. As a result of the repressive nature of Castro’s regime, hundreds of thousands of Cubans have fled to the U.S. over the past 50 years. These exiles and their children are now an economically and politically powerful community in the U.S., particularly in south Florida. After a long illness, Fidel transferred day to day to his brother Raul Castro, the Cuban Defense Minister, in 2006. Fidel, however, remains First Secretary of the Communist Party of Cuba. For a slide show on Castro’s early years see http://www.life.com/image/first/in-gallery/22998/castro-early-years-19531961.

August 14

On this date in 1948, India and Pakistan gained their independence from the British Empire. The Indian independence movement was especially notable for the largely peaceful methods used by independence leaders such as Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. For more information on Gandhi see http://www.mkgandhi.org/. For information on Mohammad Ali Jinnah, founder of modern Pakistan see http://www.biography.com/articles/Muhammad-Ali-Jinnah-9354710?part=0.

Internet Access in VIU

The VIU library has wireless Internet access, so students and faculty can access the Internet from the Library using their own wireless-enabled laptop. Desktop computers with Internet connection are also available for use just outside the Library entrance as well as in the two computer labs in the Pender Drive building. You can contact the Librarian or a member of the IT Department staff for help with technical issues.