1 00:00:00,120 --> 00:00:01,960 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:07,640 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello everyone, I'm Eves and welcome to This 3 00:00:07,720 --> 00:00:10,399 Speaker 1: Day and History Class, a podcast that rips out a 4 00:00:10,440 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: page from the book of History every day. Today is 5 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:24,360 Speaker 1: May seventeen. The day was May seventeenth. Nineteen fifty four, 6 00:00:25,600 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 1: groundwork began on the CERN site at Maehran in Geneva, Switzerland. CERN, 7 00:00:31,440 --> 00:00:35,040 Speaker 1: whose full name is the European Organization for Nuclear Research, 8 00:00:35,479 --> 00:00:39,320 Speaker 1: operates the largest particle physics lab in the world. In 9 00:00:39,400 --> 00:00:43,479 Speaker 1: ninety nine, at the European Cultural Conference in Los Ange, Switzerland, 10 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,240 Speaker 1: physicist Louis de Brua proposed setting up a new European 11 00:00:47,320 --> 00:00:50,680 Speaker 1: lab to keep physicists from leaving Europe for North America. 12 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: The next year, at the UNESCO General Conference in Florence, 13 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,639 Speaker 1: American physicist Is A Door Robbie called for a UNESCO 14 00:00:59,040 --> 00:01:02,800 Speaker 1: to create an organization of regional research centers and labs 15 00:01:03,160 --> 00:01:07,600 Speaker 1: to increase the international collaboration of scientists. He said the following. 16 00:01:08,720 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 1: The purpose we have in mind is to get the 17 00:01:10,480 --> 00:01:13,880 Speaker 1: most vigorous competition of our fellow scientists in Europe and 18 00:01:13,959 --> 00:01:16,959 Speaker 1: elsewhere in the world, and creative work on behalf of peace. 19 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:20,440 Speaker 1: After all, science had his birth in Europe, and there 20 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: are many men of the greatest ability in Europe who 21 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 1: were being prevented from fulfilling their parts in the great 22 00:01:26,160 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: European scientific tradition only because of lack of the instruments 23 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: so necessary in modern research. We want to preserve the 24 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 1: international Fellowship of Science to keep the light of science 25 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,360 Speaker 1: burning brightly in Western Europe. He went on to say 26 00:01:41,440 --> 00:01:43,720 Speaker 1: that setting up the centers would be one of the 27 00:01:43,720 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: best ways to save Western civilization. Notwithstanding Robby's exaggerated claims, 28 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,240 Speaker 1: the resolution on the creation of a European Council for 29 00:01:53,320 --> 00:01:57,280 Speaker 1: Nuclear Research was adopted at an intergovernmental meeting of UNESCO 30 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,080 Speaker 1: in Paris in ninete. Eleven countries soon signed an agreement 31 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: establishing the Provisional Council CERN, which was an acronym for 32 00:02:05,960 --> 00:02:10,280 Speaker 1: the European Council for Nuclear Research in French. The first 33 00:02:10,360 --> 00:02:12,560 Speaker 1: meeting of the CERN Council took place in May of 34 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,520 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty two. At its third session, the Council selected 35 00:02:16,560 --> 00:02:20,520 Speaker 1: Geneva as a site for the CERN Lab. On May seventeenth, 36 00:02:20,680 --> 00:02:23,960 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty four, work began on a certain site at 37 00:02:24,000 --> 00:02:28,080 Speaker 1: Maehran in Geneva, and on September twenty nine, after France 38 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: and Germany became the last of the founding member states 39 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:34,720 Speaker 1: to ratify the CERN Convention, the Provisional Council was dissolved 40 00:02:35,000 --> 00:02:38,760 Speaker 1: and the European Organization for Nuclear Research was born, but 41 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:43,079 Speaker 1: it still kept the acronym CERN. The twelve member states 42 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:49,080 Speaker 1: that signed the CERN Convention Rebelgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, 43 00:02:49,280 --> 00:02:55,400 Speaker 1: the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the UK and Yugoslavia. Since then, 44 00:02:55,600 --> 00:02:59,720 Speaker 1: Yugoslavia has left in. Other countries have joined. The convention 45 00:02:59,760 --> 00:03:02,120 Speaker 1: out line the way that member states would contribute to 46 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:05,839 Speaker 1: CERN's budget and laid out some details of its early organization. 47 00:03:06,880 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: The first session of the permanent CERN Council took place 48 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:13,639 Speaker 1: in October of nineteen fifty four in Geneva. By November, 49 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,400 Speaker 1: CERN already had one and eighty employees. In June of 50 00:03:18,480 --> 00:03:21,800 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty five, Felix Block, the Director General of CERN, 51 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 1: laid the first foundation stone on the lab site. In 52 00:03:25,919 --> 00:03:31,200 Speaker 1: nineteen fifty seven, cerns first accelerator, the synchro Cyclotron, began operation. 53 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:35,040 Speaker 1: It provided beams for CERNS first experiments and particle and 54 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:39,040 Speaker 1: nuclear physics an accelerator is a machine that propels charged 55 00:03:39,120 --> 00:03:44,760 Speaker 1: particles like protos or electrons at extremely high speeds. CERN 56 00:03:44,800 --> 00:03:48,160 Speaker 1: has been home to many important experiments and discoveries, like 57 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 1: those of the w m z bosons. CERN also played 58 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:55,160 Speaker 1: a role in the introduction of the Worldwide Web, and 59 00:03:55,280 --> 00:03:58,400 Speaker 1: his home to the large had drawn Collider the largest 60 00:03:58,440 --> 00:04:02,680 Speaker 1: and most powerful particle. Exceller writer in the world. I'm 61 00:04:02,680 --> 00:04:05,360 Speaker 1: Eve chef Cote and hopefully you know a little more 62 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,680 Speaker 1: about history today than you did yesterday. And if you 63 00:04:08,720 --> 00:04:11,800 Speaker 1: have any comments or suggestions for future shows, you can 64 00:04:11,840 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: send them to us at this day at i heart 65 00:04:14,040 --> 00:04:16,240 Speaker 1: media dot com and if you want to hit us 66 00:04:16,320 --> 00:04:19,640 Speaker 1: up on social media, we're at t D I h 67 00:04:19,720 --> 00:04:23,120 Speaker 1: C podcast. Thanks again for listening to the show and 68 00:04:23,120 --> 00:04:33,119 Speaker 1: we'll see you tomorrow. For more podcasts from I heart Radio, 69 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:35,880 Speaker 1: visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 70 00:04:35,920 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: listen to your favorite shows.