NATIONAL ALAN DAY

Today is November 28 on the National Day Calendar and we are celebrating the name Alan and the remarkable meaning behind the name. Get ready as we cover some interesting history about the name Alan, discover some new facts, and talk about the possible origin of National Alan Day.

#NATIONALALANDAY

We all know someone by the name of Alan. Whether they spell their name A-L-A-N, A-L-L-A-N or A-L-L-E-N, the name is a common name with a not so common history. Today, as we explore all things Alan, we want to remember this day is all about the Alan in your life.

The name Alan is a masculine name meaning handsome, cheerful, harmony, and noble. The English language says the name Alan was brought to England during the 11th century by the people of Brittany. In fact, Alan is said to date back to the 6th century in Brittany among its people. Today, the people of Brittany are one of six Celtic nations found in the western France, otherwise known as Brittany Bretagne or Celtic Britons. However, this particular ethnic group are not typical French speaking people. Because of their strong Celtic heritage, Celtic Britons speak a Celtic language very similar to Cornish and Welsh. Besides a differing language from the French, they also have different customs.

Our National Alan Day Discovery

It is very possible todays' National Day originates as a memorial for Canadian mathematician Alan Day (1941-1990). Day made significant contributions to algebraic discoveries known as the Lattice Theory. He became widely respected after publishing his thesis in 1968 on A characterization of modularity for congruence lattices of algebras. The publication was the beginning of a career in mathematical research and discoveries.

DID YOU KNOW?
In the 1980s, Day provided a database of papers in universal algebra and lattice theory to Apple containing a combination of algebra, lattice theory, and menus to distribute the information through modular menus that could navigate within a computer.

Alan Day Publications

Injectives in non-distributive equational classes of lattices are trivial, published 1970.
A note on the congruence extension property, published 1971.
Injectivity in equational classes of algebras, published 1972.
Splitting algebras and a weak notion of projectivity, published 1973.
Filter monads, continuous lattices and closure systems, published 1975.
Splitting lattices generate all lattices, published 1975.

5 Famous People Named Alan

Alan Shepard (1923-1998) was the first American in space and the fifth man to walk on the moon. In 1971, Shepard was in command for the Apollo 14 mission. Known as the Mercury Seven, he was one of seven astronauts during this mission. The Apollo 14 mission was the first time images would be taken of space and the moon in color. While on the moon, Shepard hit 2 golf balls into space, never seeing where they would land.
Alan Turing (1912-1954) was a British mathematician and computer scientist. Turning is widely known as a code breaker during WWII for creating and implementing the first encryption program to decipher messages from the Germans. He is also considered to be the founder of modern Artificial Intelligence.
Alan Rickman (1946-2016) was an English actor and director whose distinct voice became a trademark for the characters he played. He spent many years as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company performing a variety of Shakespearean lead roles. In addition, Rickman was a well-respected actor throughout the world with acting credits in Truly, Madly, Deeply, Die Hard, Sense and Sensibility, and the Harry Potter series.
Alan Hodgkin (1914-1998) was an English physiologist and biophysicist who won 1963 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his theory of nerve impulse propagation.
Alan White (1949-2022) is the former drummer for the English rock band YES. White was with the band for almost 50 years, making him the oldest member of the band. He can be heard on over 43 albums by the band.