astronomy

Granville Semmes

Granville Semmes is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Granville Semmes rather than just read about it. In short: Granville Martin Semmes II (April 3, 1927 – March 30, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and gemcutter. Semmes was the founder of 1-800-Flowers, a floral retailer, gift and distribution company in the United States.

Key takeaways

Granville Semmes belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Granville Semmes to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Granville Semmes from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Granville Martin Semmes II (April 3, 1927 – March 30, 2012) was an American businessman, entrepreneur and gemcutter. Semmes was the founder of 1-800-Flowers, a floral retailer, gift and distribution company in the United States.

Biography He was born on April 3, 1927, in Memphis, Tennessee, to Benedict Joseph Semmes and Amy Elizabeth Lardner. He earned a bachelor's degree from Duke University. Semmes served in the United States Navy before moving to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1949. Semmes first worked at Whitney National Bank. He then joined the staff of WWL-TV as an advertising account executive, where he worked for thirty years. Semmes is best known as the founder of 1-800-Flowers, a telephone business which allowed consumers to order flowers using a credit card without having to visit a florist. Semmes came up with the idea for the business while taking a shower. He was friends with both a florist and an executive for a telephone company. Unfortunately for Semmes, the telephone number for his proposed 1-800-Flowers was owned by a truck driver who lived in Wisconsin at the time. Semmes flew to Wisconsin, where he purchased the phone number. In addition to 1-800-Flowers, which Semmes launched in the 1980s, the company has expanded to the Internet with 1-800-Flowers.com. Semmes' personal interests included historic preservation, gemstones, woodworking and tennis. Semmes and his son purchased five historic homes, built before the Civil War, in the Irish Channel neighborhood of New Orleans during the 1970s. The five homes, located on First Street, included three of the last five remaining brick double homes in New Orleans. Semmes restored all five homes, and later purchased the remainder of the buildings on the same city block. Semmes also had interests in gemstones and gemology. He owned two jewelry stores, called Chatelaine Fine Gems, with branches in the Royal Orleans and the Royal Sonesta hotels in New Orleans. Additionally, Semmes worked as a gem appraiser and a master gemcutter, achieving the title of fellow from the Gemological Institute of Great Britain. Semmes died at the Touro Infirmary in New Orleans on March 30, 2012, aged 84. He was survived by his wife, Jane (née Pfister) Semmes; two daughters and six sons, and a large extended family.

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Granville Semmes

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Granville Semmes claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Granville Semmes before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Granville Semmes ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Granville Semmes

In research: Granville Semmes appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Granville Semmes in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Granville Semmes is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1927 births, 2012 deaths, 20th-century American businesspeople, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Granville Semmes outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Granville Semmes in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Granville Semmes means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Granville Semmes out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Granville Semmes in simple terms?

Why does Granville Semmes matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Granville Semmes?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Granville Semmes.