Bambi admires both Ms. Simone Veil and Dr. Hubert Reeves for different reasons. In this post, she will share what she knows about them respectively and what they have in common, namely the same birthday. Yes, it is July 13, perhaps also like someone Bambi knows too well [is Katia reading now :)]?
For those who have never heard of her, Ms. Simon Veil was a French magistrate and politician in several governments (Health, Justice, etc). In addition, she acted as the President of the European Parliament (1979-1982). She also happens to be a Holocaust survivor. Imagine she survived both the Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps where she sadly lost her mom. However, her sisters and herself survived the shoa, thankfully. Tragically though, they also lost their dad and brother who were deported to the Baltic states from where they never came back; most likely murdered there (https://rb.gy/oejkg).
“Mistakes are not to be regretted, they are assumed. Fear is not fleeing, it is overcome. Love does not cry out, it proves itself” (Simone Veil)
Bambi admires Veil’s humanity and feminism. Indeed, she was a champion of women’s rights in France. As a health minister, she is known for the 1975 law that legalized abortion. This law is even called “la loi Veil” [or The Veil Act] (https://rb.gy/cgl3u).
In 2010, Ms. Veil became one of the 40 “immortals” of the Académie Française. Of note, she was the 6th woman to have such prestigious distinction of her country (https://rb.gy/cgl3u). In June 2017, at age 89 (well almost 90, to be precise), Simone Veil was buried in the Pantheon (https://rb.gy/eeewu). What an honour!
Now, who is Dr. Hubert Reeves who turns 90 today? Happy Birthday to him, to begin with. Reeves’ birthday song will follow his brief bio and a thoughtful quote from him, which Bambi likes a lot.
Reeves was born in Montreal, Québec, Canada on July 13, 1932. After spending part of his childhood in Léry, a small town on the south shore of Lake Saint-Louis, he returned to Montreal where he graduated from school (Collège Jean-de-Brébeuf), obtained a BSc. degree in Physics (University of Montreal), and an MSc degree (McGill University). Following this, he received a PhD in Physics in the United States (Cornell University). He was awarded highly prestigious national and scientific awards from Québec, Canada, and France (https://shorturl.at/afryA).
After teaching at the University of Montreal, he has worked as an advisor to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and is a director of research at the Centre national de la recherche scientifique [French National Centre for Scientific Research] (CNRS). He often speaks on television where he vulgarizes science and makes it appealing to popular audiences (https://shorturl.at/afryA).
To conclude this post, Bambi would like to thank both Ms. Simone Veil and Dr. Hubert Reeves. May your memory be eternal, Ms. Veil. Happy Birthday wishes to you Dr. Reeves! From now on and until her death, Bambi will think of both of you each July 13 :)!
