Станислав Евграфович Петров (Stanislav Yevgrafovich Petrov) was born in 1939 to a Russian family near Vladivostok. His father, Yevgraf, flew fighter aircraft during World War II. His mother was a nurse. Petrov enrolled at the Kiev Military Aviation Engineering Academy of the Soviet Air Forces. After graduating in 1972, he joined the Soviet Air Defence Forces. He was assigned to the new early warning system intended to detect ballistic missile attacks from NATO countries. On this date in 1983, during the Cold War, the early warning system reported the launch of several ICBMs from the United States. Suspecting a false alarm, Petrov decided to wait for a confirmation that never came. Had Petrov reported incoming missiles, his superiors might have launched an assault against the United States, precipitating a nuclear response from the United States. After leaving the military in 1984, Petrov worked at the research institute that developed the early warning system. He retired to care for his wife when she was diagnosed with cancer. Petrov died in 2017. He was 77. Encyclopedia Britannica noted his death with the words, "He is survived by his two children, two grandchildren, and the entire human race." Credits: https://w.wiki/7Zjf Photo: https://w.wiki/VT2i Self Portrait, 2016, Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike Today I joined the club C ride. The C rides are fun, because I can keep up, even with the e-bikes! And this ride started in town, which is always better. The weather was perfect. Sunny and cool. We went up some familiar hills I haven't been up for years. The wind came up as we were finishing the planned route. I continued up the coast on the rail trail about 5.7 miles, riding into a 20-knot headwind. As always, it was nice to turn around and enjoy the tailwind on the way back!