1837
Charles Goodyear obtains his first rubber-processing patent. (US No. 240) India rubber would become sticky in the summer heat. Goodyear resolved this problem by devising a process to treat the rubber with metallic solutions such as copper nitrate and strong acid for a few minutes, before washing it with water. His patent explains the method and the use of a water paste of quicklime to bleach the rubber for various purposes. He obtains additional patents as he continued to revise his process using sulphur and oil of turpentine.
1867
Joseph Lister of Glasgow, Scotland becomes the first surgeon to perform surgery under antiseptic conditions.
1885
The Statue of Liberty is delivered to New York Harbor.
1901
The College Board introduces its first standardized test, which will become the forerunner of the SAT.
1922
The idea of a radio network, conceived of as a public service, is proposed in a letter from David Sarnoff to E.W. Rice Jr., Honorary Chairman of the Board ofGeneral Electric Company. Rather than a public service, the first network will evolve into the National Broadcasting Company (NBC).
1928
Amelia Earhart embarks as a passenger on a trans-Atlantic flight from Newfoundland to Wales, becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. The flight is twenty hours and forty minutes in duration, during which Earhart assists in navigation. In 1932, she will became the first woman to cross the Atlantic ocean alone.
1940
The first public demonstration of Phonovision, a coin-operated “video jukebox” developed by Sam Sax, former head of Warner in the UK and of the Vitaphone studio in Brooklyn, is given in New York. Initially using copies of old Vitaphone short films, the Phonovision Corporation intends to shoot new short-form musical material at the former Edison studio in the Bronx. The company claims to have received orders for forty thousand machines.
1946
The first commercial mobile phone becomes available.
1947
With a flight from New York City, Pan Am Airways launches the first globe-circling passenger airline in history. The fare to circumnavigate the globe is US$1,700. Visit the official Pan Am Historical Foundation website..
1967
China tests its first hydrogen bomb, a U-235 implosion fission device named “596,” 2,960 meters over the Lop Nur Testing Grounds. It is China’s first full-scale implosion weapon test, and its sixth nuclear test within thirty-two months, a record for the shortest development period of any nation’s nuclear weapons program.
1970
Edwin Land patents the Polaroid camera.
1977
Warner Bros. releases the horror film Exorcist II: The Heretic directed John Boorman by and starring Linda Blair, Richard Burton, Louise Fletcher, Max von Sydow, Kitty Winn, and Paul Henreid to 703 US theaters. The film is the sequel to The Exorcist. Produced on a budget of US$17.5 million, the film will gross US$6,735,000 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing (MPAA Rating: R) Running Time: 1 hr 57 mins
1978
Chris-Ann Brennan, the high school sweetheart and former live-in girlfriend of Steve Jobs, gives birth to baby girl named Lisa Nicole. Though the child is Jobs’, Brennan will initially raise her on welfare after Jobs denies paternity, claiming that he is sterile. Jobs will later acknowledge paternity to prevent Brennan’s legal claims continuing past Apple’s initial public offering, which Jobs correctly assumes will make him a millionaire.
1980
Atari’s arcade games Asteroids and Lunar Lander become the first two video games to be registered with the US Copyright Office.
1983
Logical International files a trademark infringement suit against Coleco Industries, claiming prior use of the name “Adam” for a computer.
1985
Morelos 1, the first Mexican satellite, is launched from the Space Shuttle Discovery. (STS-51-G) Morelos 1 is a geostationary communications satellite.
1987
With the death of the last specimen, held at Walt Disney World Resort’s Discovery Island nature reserve, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct. Read more at the Earth Witness Community.
1988
Sunsoft releases Blaster Master as Chô Wakusei Senki Metafight for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in Japan. The game will often be cited as one of the most challenging and original games for the NES. As in the innovative The Legend of Zelda, Blaster Master allows players to revisit previous areas at will. Another notable aspect of the game is the player’s ability to gain powers by defeating each level’s bosses, which seems to be inspired by the game Mega Man.
1991
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Redemption Part 1” first airs. (No. 426) In it, Worf leaves the Enterprise to fight on behalf of Gowron in a Klingon civil war. The episode is the finale of season four. Memory Alpha entry
1996
Compaq Computer announces the Armada line of notebook computers, including the low-end 1100 series and high-end 4100 series. Compaq also announces three new models in the LTE 5300 line.
The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Broken Link” first airs. (No. 426) In it, Odo returns to his people, the Changelings, to face judgment for killing one of his own. Memory Alpha entry
1997
At the PC Expo show, Corel releases WordPerfect Suite 8, which includes WordPerfect 8, QuattroPro 8, Presentations 8, PhotoHouse 1.1, Netscape Navigator 3.0, Envoy 7 viewer, CorelCentral, Bitstream Font Navigator 2. Price: US$395 Upgrade: US$179
An organized group of hackers successfully decipher computer code written in the Data Encryption Standard, the strongest legally exportable encryption software developed in the United States, following five months of collaborative work. The United States has hitherto banned stronger encryption software for fear of it falling into the hands of terrorists. However, the industry consensus has long been that such measure are useless as far stronger encryption schemes are available in other countries.
1998
The Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode “Tears of the Prophets” first airs. (No. 626) In it, Starfleet Command begins an offensive against the Dominion. Sisko is chosen to lead the invasion of Cardassia, but the Cardassian-Dominion Alliance has secretly reinforced their frontline. Memory Alpha entry
1999
Digital Video Express abandons marketing its Divx pay-per-transaction DVD video scheme because it failed “to obtain adequate support from studios and other retailers” despite “strong consumer interest in the Divx feature.”
2002
Lindows.com, Inc., whose slogan is “Bringing Choice to Your Computer,” begins delivering on its promises by partnering with Microtel Computer Systems to ship Lindows.com’s Operating System, LindowsOS, pre-installed on their personal computers. For less than US$300, computer-buyers can purchase a Microtel computer running LindowsOS at Walmart.com.
Microsoft releases version 5.2 of the Internet Explorer web browser for the Mac OS X. Visit the official Internet Explorer website.
2003
Linus Torvalds announces that he will take a leave of absence from Transmeta to work full-time at the Open Source Development Labs (OSDL) on the Linux kernel.
2006
The fantasy film Death Note is released to Japanese theaters. The film is an adaptation of the popular Death Note manga series.
George Lucas is inducted into the Science Fiction Museum Hall of Fame.
2008
The Mozilla Corporation releases version 3.0 of the Mozilla Firefox web browser. This version fixes previous bugs, introduces a redesigned download manager, improves the browser’s standard compliance, and implements a new web API. Over 8 million copies of the browser are download on the first day of its release alone, setting a Guinness World Record. Code-name: Gran Paradiso Visit the official Firefox website.
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