July 13

1527 - Birth of John Dee, English scientist (d. 1608 or 1609)

Dee's most long-lasting practical achievement may be his promotion of mathematics outside the universities. His "Mathematical Preface" to Euclid was meant to promote the study and application of mathematics by those without a university education, and was very popular and influential among the "mecanicians" the new and growing class of technical craftsmen and artisans. Dee's preface included demonstrations of mathematical principles that readers could perform themselves.

During the hearings on the Sonny Bono Copyright Term Extension Act, his grandson stated that:

The copyright law was considered up to now as forbidding pirates to steal an author's property before a maximum of fifty-six years after its registration. After this time every pirate could use it freely, making great profits without letting the real owner "participate" in the profits of his property.

Ironically, Schoenberg himself was one of those pirates, as he made great use of public domain works, creating arrangements of many of the classics, such as those of Bach.