1908
Thomas Edison is issued a patent for an improvement to the “Alkaline Storage Battery.” (US No. 879,612) Its purpose is to reduce foaming of the electrolytes in alkaline batteries, an effect which Edison attributes to the presence of microscopic quantities of organic matter. To correct the problem, the alkaline solution is filtered through bone black that has been purified in a hot potash solution.
1913
English Chemist Frederick Soddy introduces the term “isotope” to describe atoms of the same element that have different atomic masses. He suggests that different elements produced in different radioactive transformations can occupy the same position in the Periodic Table, and dubs such forms of an element “isotopes” from the Greek word for “same place.”
1929
The first Academy Awards are announced. Nominees for outstanding picture are the films 7th Heaven, The Racket, and Wings.
1930
Clyde Tombaugh discovers the planet Pluto, becoming the only American astronomer to find a planet inside the solar system. The discovery is the culmination of three decades of work at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, which involved taking millions of photographs of the night sky one tiny sections at a time in search of the one moving point.
1946
Television signals are first successfully transmitted from Washington D.C. to New York City over a AT&T coaxial cable.
1953
The first 3D feature film, Bwana Devil, directed by Arch Oboler and starring Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, and Nigel Bruce, premieres at Loew’s State Theatre in New York City. The film’s tagline is, “The Miracle of the Age!!! A LION in your lap! A LOVER in your arms!” The film was produced on a budget of US$400,000. IMDB listing Running time: 1 hr 19 mins
1963
The first National Medal of Science is awarded by U.S. President John F. Kennedy to Theodore von Kármán for his work at the Caltech Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
1977
The first Computer Shack franchise opens in Morristown, New Jersey. It is visited by one hundred twelve people on its opening day.
The first Space Shuttle orbiter, the Enterprise, embarks on its maiden flight in “captive mode,” attached to the top of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. The flight is the first of five captive flights before the orbiter is finally released to land on its own. The nine month test program is conducted through November 1977 at the Dryden Flight Research Facility to demonstrate that the orbiter can fly and land like an airplane. The orbiter was originally to be named Constitution, in honor of the bicentennial anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, but fans of the popular television series Star Trek staged a write-in campaign urging the White House to rename the vehicle.
1979
Snow falls in Sahara Desert, in Southern Algeria during a storm which lasts about half an hour. It is the first and last time in recorded history.
1983
According to Twin Galaxies, Jeff Weaver scores a record-setting 191,040 points playing Nintendo’s Poeye arcade game at the Hoppin Food in Roanoke, Virginia. Visit the official Twin Galaxies website.
Paul Allen resigns as executive Vice President of Microsoft, but he remains a member of the company’s Board of Directors. Visit the official Microsoft website.
1991
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “First Contact” first airs. (No. 415) In it, Riker is seriously injured during an away mission to establish first contact with an alien race. When he is discovered, a xenophobic faction of the race sees him as a threat to their way of life. Memory Alpha entry
1997
A Buddist temple in Hiroshima, Japan announces plans to open a “virtual graveyard” on the Internet, on which the deceased can be represented by government records, photos, and virtual gravestones. Families of the deceased can establish memorials for their deceased at no charge, choosing from a range of tombstones and flowers which can be customized with text and photos. Registrants can also create their own memorials and informal wills in advance of their own death.
Corel begins shipping the WordPerfect Suite for DOS. The office suite includes WordPerfect 6.2, Quattro Pro 5.6, and Presentations 2.1. Visit the official Corel website. Price: US$495 or US$149 (Upgrade)
Sun Microsystems releases version 1.1 of the Java Development Kit (JDK). Visit Sun’s official Java website.
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