Candela unit, the "candela". In 1967 the 13th CGPM removed the term "new candle" and gave an amended version of the candela definition, specifying the atmospheric pressure applied to the freezing platinum: The candela is the luminous intensity, in the perpendicular direction, of a surface of square metre of a black body at the temperature of freezing platinum under a pressure of newtons per square metre. In 1979, because of the difficulties in realizing a Planck radiator at high temperatures and the new possibilities offered by radiometry, the 16th CGPM adopted the modern definition of the candela. The arbitrary (1/683) term
Rosario Candela as well as social cynosure." Born in Montelepre, Sicily in 1890, Candela immigrated to New York in 1906. He returned to Sicily after his arrival to study there and returned to the US in 1909. His father was Michele Candela, a plasterer, and his mother was Josephine Pizzurro. He gained admission to the Columbia University School of Architecture and graduated in 1915. Keenly aware of his talent, he went so far as to erect a velvet rope around his drafting table to prevent other students from copying his designs. After graduation, Candela worked briefly as a draftsman for the Palermo-born