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Why Friday the 13th Spelled Doom for the Knights Templar The much-feared day was the beginning of the end for the powerful warriors.   Illustration of a group Templars being burned at the stake. Why are Fridays that fall on a month’s 13th day so fearful? Some attribute the origins to the Code of Hammurabi,…

The Universe is simply so vast that it can be difficult to maintain a sense of scale. Many galaxies we see through telescopes such as the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, the source of this beautiful Picture of the Week, look relatively similar: spiralling arms, a glowing centre, and a mixture of bright specks of star…

Majida El Roumi Baradhy (Arabic: ماجدة الرومي برادعي‎; born 13 December 1956) is a Lebanese soprano singer. She is also a UN Goodwill Ambassador. In 1974, she participated in the talent show “Studio El Fan” on Télé Liban and performed songs for Asmahan and Layla Murad at the age of 16. Majida El Roumi Al…

Benjamin M. Tucker (December 13, 1930 – June 4, 2013) was an American jazz bassist who appeared on hundreds of recordings. Tucker played on albums by Art Pepper, Billy Taylor, Quincy Jones, Grant Green, Dexter Gordon, Hank Crawford, Junior Mance, and Herbie Mann. He was born in Tennessee. As bass player in the Dave Bailey…

William Alexander “Sonny” Greer (December 13, c. 1895 – March 23, 1982) was an American jazz drummer and vocalist, best known for his work with Duke Ellington. Greer was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and played with Elmer Snowden‘s band and the Howard Theatre‘s orchestra in Washington, D.C., before joining Duke Ellington, whom he met…

Carlos García Montoya (13 December 1903 – 3 March 1993) in Madrid, Spain, was a prominent flamenco guitarist and a founder of the modern-day popular flamenco style of music. He was the nephew of renowned flamenco guitarist Ramón Montoya. He first learned from his mother, “la Tula”, and then from a neighboring barber, Pepe el Barbero, i.e….

Bright stars, clouds of dust and glowing nebulae decorate this cosmic scene, a skyscape just north of Orion’s belt. Close to the plane of our Milky Way galaxy, the wide field view spans about 5.5 degrees. Striking bluish M78, a reflection nebula, is on the right. M78’s tint is due to dust preferentially reflecting the…

Anthony Tillmon Williams (December 12, 1945 – February 23, 1997) was an American jazz drummer. Williams first gained fame in the band of trumpeter Miles Davis and was a pioneer of jazz fusion. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1986. Williams was born in Chicago and grew up in Boston. He was…