Star Flag-Waver
I can speak for the whole family in saying thank you for the fine article, "The Signs Still Point to Ross" [August 14-21]. The Charles H. Weisgerber family sent documents and photographs to John B. Harker for his book Betsy Ross's Five Pointed Star. As the grandson of artist C. H. Weisgerber, who painted the Birth of Our Nation's Flag in 1893, I would like to say that much has been done to upgrade the Betsy Ross House in Philadelphia. A visit to Philadelphia's many historic sites is very worthwhile.
CHARLES H. WEISGERBER II
Treasure Island, Fla.
Computer Geek Peeks
Your excellent and concise computer history article, "After Lots of Small Steps, It Adds Up" [August 14-21], left out two names of those who made important contributions. John von Neumann, the physicist and mathematician who made major contributions to the atomic bomb, designed a computer at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., that first introduced a random access memory, RAM. The real contribution to implementation of von Neumann's computer was made by Julian Bigelow, whose engineering genius made the speed (at that time) of the computer possible. The machine has been in the Smithsonian for decades.
SY WONG
Tarzana, Calif.
"No, it was not Al Gore" who invented the Internet, but you didn't even mention him in your piece. While he didn't invent the technology behind the Internet, Gore championed the Internet in Congress and sponsored legislation that encouraged the development of the Internet for commercial (as opposed to academic and military) use. He continued to vigorously champion the Internet as vice president.
BEN JONES
Bowie, Md.
A River Runs Through It
I found "The Mystery Of 4,000 Miles" [August 14-21] on the source of the Nile to be interesting, but the Nile is not the only major river that flows north. Along the U.S.-Canadian border, the St. Lawrence River runs north from Lake Ontario for almost 2,000 miles before it reaches the Gulf of St. Lawrence. While only about half the length of the Nile, the St. Lawrence discharges about four times as much water every year.
PAUL FINKELMAN
Albany, N.Y.
Superhero Salutes
"When Famous Beats First" [August 14-21] had a picture of the first automobile and credits Ransom Eli Olds as the inventor of the assembly line and the Oldsmobile pioneer. My father owned an "REO," a predecessor to the Olds, when I was born and liked the car so much he named me Millard Reo Christenson. In grade school, a boy teased me by calling me Mildred. It annoyed me so much that by high school I signed my name Reo Christenson, what friends still call me.
REO M. CHRISTENSON
Miamisburg, Ohio
As to "The First Superman," it is certainly possible that Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche to create their iconic comic-book character in 1938. It is, however, more likely that Hugo Danner, the superhero created by Philip Wylie in his book Gladiator (1930), served as a prototype for the Man of Steel.
RICHARD KELLOGG
Alfred, N.Y.
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