2011 Virginia earthquake
The 2011 Virginia earthquake was a magnitude 5.8 earthquake that hit the Piedmont region of the U.S. state of Virginia at 1:51:04 p.m. EDT. The epicenter, in Louisa County, was 38 mi (61 km) northwest of Richmond and 5 mi (8 km) south-southwest of the town of Mineral. It was an intraplate earthquake with a maximum perceived intensity of VIII (Severe) on the Mercalli intensity scale. Several aftershocks, ranging up to 4.5 Mw in magnitude, occurred after the main tremor.
André Waterkeyn was born
Belgian engineer André Waterkeyn is best known for creating the landmark modernist building Atomium in Brussels, Belgium. He was the economic director of Fabrimetal (now Agoria), a federation of metallurgical companies when in 1954 he was asked to design a building for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair (Expo '58) that would symbolise Belgian engineering skills.
Osborne Reynolds was born
Irish-born Osborne Reynolds was an innovator in the understanding of fluid dynamics. Separately, his studies of heat transfer between solids and fluids brought improvements in boiler and condenser design. He most famously studied the conditions in which the flow of fluid in pipes transitioned from laminar flow to turbulent flow.
Charles-Augustin de Coulomb died
Charles-Augustin de Coulomb was a French officer, engineer, and physicist. He is best known as the eponymous discoverer of what is now called Coulomb's law, the description of the electrostatic force of attraction and repulsion. He also did important work on friction. The SI unit of electric charge, the coulomb, was named in his honor in 1880.
William Tierney Clark was born
William Tierney Clark was an English civil engineer particularly associated with the design and construction of bridges. He was among the earliest designers of suspension bridges.
