Leó Spitz was born in 1898 in Budapest to middle-class Jewish parents Lajos Spitz, a civil engineer, and Tekla Vidor. In 1900, the family changed its surname from the German "Spitz" to the Hungarian "Szilárd," so we know him now as Leó Szilárd. Desite his religious background, Szilárd became an agnostic. He attended Föreáliskola (high school) in Budapest's 6th District 1908-1916, showing early interest in physics and mathematics. In 1916 he won the Eötvös Prize, a national prize for mathematics. With World War I raging in Europe, in 1916 Szilard was drafted into the military, but he fell ill with Spanish Influenza and was returned home for hospitalization. His regiment was later nearly annihilated in battle, so the illness probably saved his life. He was discharged honorably in November 1918, after the Armistice. In 1919, Hungary's politics became chaotic with the rise of the Hungarian Soviet Republic. Szilárd was a socialist, but rejected Hungary's close ties with the Soviet Union. He attempted to enroll in Budapest University of Technology, but was rejected by nationalist students as a Jew. He left for Berlin and studied physics at Friedrich Wilhelm University, attending lectures by Albert Einstein and Max Planck. His doctoral dissertation "On The Manifestation of Thermodynamic Fluctuations," praised by Einstein, won top honors in 1922. He became a lecturer and published a second paper, "On the Reduction of Entropy in a Thermodynamic System by the Intervention of Intelligent Beings," in 1929. Decades later, John Von Neumann observed that Szilárd first equated information with entropy. Szilárd invented a linear accelerator and a clyclotron and was the first to conceive of the electron microscope. When Hitler rose to power, Szilárd urged family and friends to flee Europe, and he moved to England. He helped found the Academic Assistance Council, which by the outbreak of World War II in 1939, found places for over 2,500 refugee scholars. On this date in 1933, Szilárd started his regular walk through London to think. He found himself waiting for a stoplight. In the words of Historian Richard Rhodes, "The stoplight changed to green. Szilárd stepped off the curb. As he crossed the street, time cracked open before him and he saw a way to the future, death into the world and all our woe, the shape of things to come." Szilárd had conceived of the idea of nuclear chain reaction using recently discovered neutrons. He filed for a patent, granted in March 1936. He was able to assign the patent to the British Admiralty to ensure its secrecy, so the patent was not published until 1949. Szilárd moved to the U.S. in 1938, conducting research at several universities. In 1939, at Pupin Hall at Columbia University, he conducted an experiment proving that a chain reaction might be possible by bombarding uranium with neutrons. He later said, "We turned the switch and saw the flashes. We watched them for a little while and then we switched everything off and went home. ... That night, there was very little doubt in my mind that the world was headed for grief." Credits: https://w.wiki/UTjL Photo: https://w.wiki/UTjr Public Domain Today I rode up Mount Diablo with the Valley Spokesmen club in Alameda County. Just the club's ride host Ajay and me. He was stronger, but he slowed down to always keep me in sight. Thanks, Ajay! The annual Mount Diablo Challenge is October 4. If I can do a few more of the club's practice ride up the mountain, the Challenge might be easier. I still haven't repeated my best time, back in 2018, when I did a lot of climbing to prepare. Today was my fastest ever decent from the summit of Mount Diablo. That's nothing to be proud of, as it has some tight curves, so caution is called for. But I did my best to stay safe. One reason for that record is that this is only the second time I've descended Diablo outside of the Mount Diablo Challenge, which always puts a pace car in front of each group of descending riders. The pace car stays at the speed limit, 20 mph. Free bikes, not so much. That also explains why this was my fastest time up "the wall," the one-tenth mile, very steep pitch right at the top. (Even though today I had to walk it.) The supported ride sends the riders up the exit road, which is even steeper, for better traffic flow. So this was only my second time up the entrance road. I'm thinking of joining the club ride tomorrow from Livermore, but there's some steep climbing, so I'll see how I feel in the morning!