In Good Company - Carl Sagan

Carl Sagan was born on November 9th 1934 to Sam Sagan, a garment worker, and Rachael Molly Gruber, a housewife. He attended the University of Chicago where he obtained his masters in physics and his doctorate in astrophysics and astronomy. Carl Sagan taught at Harvard until 1968 when he moved to Cornell university and eventually earned his full professorship.

Carl Sagan was a pioneer in the Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence. And devised a theory which basically said that given the number of stars intelligent life outside our solar system must exist, however since there has been no contact that intelligent life tends to destroy themselves rather quickly. But these are only the fringe scientific achievements he is accredited with, including but not limited to, hypothesizing, correctly, as to the surface temporature of Venus, that Saturn’s moon Titan, and Jupiter’s Europa my have oceans.

On top of his scientific achievements Sagan was an activist, during the Regan years he was constantly in the forefront advocating nuclear disarmament.

Carl Sagan is probably best known as the author of the book Contact which was made into a major motion picture staring Jodie Foster.

In 1999 a biography of Sagan was published, this biography named Carl Sagan as Mr. X author of an essay on cannabis smoking in the book Marihuana Reconsidered in which Sagan claims that marijuana encouraged his works.