The Treaty on European Union, commonly known as the Maastricht Treaty, is the foundation treaty of the European Union.

Concluded in 1992 between the then-twelve member states of the European Communities, it announced “a new stage in the process of European integration” chiefly in provisions for a shared European citizenship, for the eventual introduction of a single currency.

It took effect on this day in 1993.

On this day on 2011, the global population of humans reached seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as the Day of Seven Billion.

The 15 November 2022 was designated by the United Nations as the approximate day when the world population reached eight billion people.

Terry Ann Garr
(December 11, 1944 – October 29, 2024)

Her father was Eddie Garr, a well-known vaudeville comedian; her mother was Phyllis Lind, one of the original high-kicking Rockettes at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Her self-described “big break” as an actress was landing a role in the 1968 Star Trek episode “Assignment: Earth” after which she said, “I finally started to get real acting work.

Garr gained prominence for her roles in Francis Ford Coppola‘s thriller The Conversation (1974), Mel Brooks‘s comedy Young Frankenstein (1974), and in 1977 both Steven Spielberg‘s science fiction film Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Carl Reiner‘s Oh, God!.

She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the Sydney Pollack comedy Tootsie (1982). She reunited with Coppola in a role in his musical One from the Heart (1982), starred opposite Michael Keaton in the family film Mr. Mom (1983), and acted in Martin Scorsese‘s black comedy After Hours (1985).

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
(1 July 1646 – 14 November 1716)

German mathematician, philosopher, scientist and diplomat who is credited, alongside Sir Isaac Newton, with the invention of calculus in addition to many other branches of mathematics, such as binary arithmetic, and statistics.

In this day in 1675, Leibniz makes the first use of the longs (∫) as a symbol of the integral in calculus.

Fleur Adcock CNZM OBE
(10 February 1934 – 10 October 2024)

New Zealand poet and editor. Of English and Northern Irish ancestry, Adcock lived much of her life in England.

She is well-represented in New Zealand poetry anthologies, was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature from Victoria University of Wellington, and was awarded an OBE in 1996 for her contribution to New Zealand literature.

In 2008 she was made a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to literature.

In February 1962, she married Barry Crump, divorcing in 1963.

On this day in 1824, Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement.

Portland cement is the most common type of cement in general use around the world.

It is a fine powder, produced by heating limestone and clay minerals in a kiln to form clinker, and then grinding the clinker with the addition of several percent (often around 5%) gypsum.

Several types of portland cement are available. The most common, historically called ordinary portland cement (OPC), is grey, but white portland cement is also available.

Its name is derived from its resemblance to Portland stone which is quarried on the Isle of Portland in Dorset, England.

Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond
(31 December 1954 – 12 October 2024)

Scottish politician, economist and television host who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014.

A prominent figure in the Scottish nationalist movement, he was the Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) on two occasions, from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014. He then served as leader of the Alba Party from 2021 until his death in 2024.

On this day in 1814, eight people die in the London Beer Flood.

The London Beer Flood was an accident at Meux & Co’s Horse Shoe Brewery, London, on 17 October 1814.

It took place when one of the 6.7 m wooden vats of fermenting porter burst. The escaping liquid dislodged the valve of another vessel and destroyed several large barrels: between

580,000 and 1,470,000 litres of beer were released in total.

On this day in 1869, The Cardiff Giant, one of the most famous American hoaxes, is “discovered”.

It was a 3.0 m roughly 13,600 kg purported “petrified man”, uncovered on October 16, 1869 by workers digging a well behind the barn of William C. “Stub” Newell, in Cardiff, New York.

He covered the giant with a tent and it soon became an attraction site. Both it and an unauthorized copy made by P. T. Barnum are still being displayed.

P. T. Barnum’s is on display at Marvin’s Marvelous Mechanical Museum in Farmington Hills, Michigan.