1474
The Republic of Venice passes the Venetian Patent Statute, the first patent law of its kind in the world. It declares that “each person who will make in this city any new and ingenious contrivance, not made heretofore in our dominion, as soon as it is reduced to perfection… It being forbidden to any other in any territory and place of ours to make any other contrivance in the form and resemblance thereof, without the consent and licence of the author up to ten years.” The law is intended to stimulate the economy by attracting inventors to Venice.
1800
Alexander von Humoldt and Aimé Bonpland capture the first specimen of Electric eels (Electrophorus electricus) during a five-year expedition through the jungles of South America. Humboldt will later write about his discovery in an article entitled, “Observation on the Electric Eel of the New World” in 1808.
1831
The City Bank of New York becomes the site of the first bank robbery in United States history. Approximately US$245,000 is stolen and only a small portion of the money will ever be recovered.
1915
The planet Pluto is photographed for the first time, though it isn’t recognized as a planet.
1921
The silent film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene, is released to US theaters. The film will strongly influence many future directors, most notably Tim Burton. The film tells the story of the mysterious Dr. Caligari, a hypnotist, his faithful sleepwalking Cesare, and their connection to a string of murders in the German mountain village of Holstenwall. Read more about The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. IMDB listing Running Time: 1 hr 12 min
1949
The first museum devoted exclusively to atomic energy in the US, the American Museum of Atomic Energy, opens to the public in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, the town in which Uranium-235 for the bombs dropped in Japan during World War II.
1958
Britain’s first planetarium, the London Planetarium, opens in the west wing of the Madame Tussauds wax museum. It is one of the world’s largest, built on the former site of a combination Cinema and Restaurant that had been destroyed by a German bomb in 1940.
1972
John Vincent Atanasoff emerges as victor from a protracted US legal battle for the title of the inventor of the electronic digital computer. A judge determines his work had preceded and contributed to development of the ENIAC machine, whose inventors had previously been credited.
1973
Konami Company, Ltd., a leading developer and publisher of many popular anime series, slot machines, tokusatsu, toys, trading cards, and video games, is established. The company will achieve fame in the early eighties with such classics as Frogger, Scramble, and Super Cobra. Visit the official Konami website.
1981
Two workers die of asphyxiation and three others are injured during a nitrogen purge admist preparations for a ground test of the Space Shuttle Columbia.
1985
International Business Machines (IBM) announces that it will discontinue the PCjr, as the computer has failed to meet sales expectations. In the sixteen months that the PCjr has been on the market, only 240,000 units have been sold, largely due to competition from Apple Computer Apple IIc. Read more about the battle between the AppleIIc and the PCjr.
1990
Apple Computer releases the Macintosh IIfx, featuring a 40MHz Motorola 68030, 4MB (expandable to 128MB) RAM, and the System 6.0.5 operating system. Price: US$9,000 – US$12,000
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Sins of the Father” first airs. (No. 317) In it, Worf faces a trial in an attempt to clear his father of charges of treason. Memory Alpha entry
1992
Falcom releases the roleplaying game (RPG) Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II for the NEC PC-8801.
1993
Midway Amusement Games releases Mortal Kombat Version 5.0 to arcades in the US. Visit the official Mortal Kombat website.
1994
Nintendo releases Super Metroid for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in Japan. The game is distributed on a 24MB cartridge, which is a record size for a cartridge game. Visit an archived of the game’s official website.
1996
Del Rey publishes First King of Shannara by Terry Brooks as a hardcover. (ISBN-10: 0345396529) It is a prequel to the original Shannara Trilogy. Visit the author’s official website. Length: 489 pages
Toshiba, a member of the consortium that invented the DVD disc format, releases its model SD-3000 DVD Player, which becomes the first consumer player on the market. The first DVD format movies are released on the same day. All four are IMAX movies, and they include Africa: the Serengeti. Visit the official Toshiba website.
1997
Apple Computer formally unveils the 20th Anniversary Macintosh computer, featuring a flat-panel metal and leather design, FM radio and television tuners, a special sound system with a subwoofer, a 12.1 inch active-matrix display, and a CD-ROM drive. Production will be limited to twelve thousand units, in five countries: France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Visit the official website of Apple Computer. Price: US$7,500
Time Warner files a suit against CompuServe seeking US$3.5 million for removing Time Magazine’s online content in the middle of a two-year contract initiated on March 9, 1996. Visit the official CompuServe website.
The website of Cyberpromotion is hacked by “BOFH”. View an archived version of the defaced website.
1998
Sega president Shoichiro Irimajiri is quoted in a press conference as saying, “We believed that although we were losing money selling hardware, we thought we could recover by selling games. It worked in Japan, but not in the U.S.” Visit the official Sega website.
Video System releases AeroFighters Assault for the Nintendo 64 in Japan.
1999
Bottoms Up releases the sumo wrestling game 64 Ozumo 2 for the Nintendo 64 in Japan.
Takara releases the simulation Jinsei Game 64 for the Nintendo 64 in Japan. The game is based on The Game of Life.
The Tokyo Game Show Spring ’99 is held in Chiba, Japan, over three days. The event is attended by 160,000 visitors. Over three hundred PlayStation games are on display at the event.
iVillage Inc., a popular women’s Internet website, issues its initial public offering (IPO), and its stock value triples to US$80.125 before the end of the day.
SNK releases the NeoGeo Pocket Color handheld video game system in Japan.
2001
Activision releases the real-time tactics game Star Trek: Away Team for Windows in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
BattleBots premieres on BBC2 in the UK. Visit the official Battlebots website.
Intel releases the 750MHz Mobile Celeron, featuring a Level-2 cache and a 100MHz Front Side Bus.
Palm unveils the Palm m500 introduces computer, featuring a 33MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ, a 160×160 resolution monochrome screen, 8MB RAM, the Palm OS 4.0, and a lithium-polymer battery. Price: US$399
Palm introduces the Palm m505 handheld computer, featuring a 33MHz Motorola Dragonball VZ, a 160×160 resolution 16-bit color screen, 8MB RAM, a Secure Digital slot, the Palm OS 4.0, and a lithium-polymer battery. Price: US$449
Take-Two Interactive releases the real-time strategy (RTS) game Outlive for Windows in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
THQ releases the roleplaying game (RPG) Summoner for Windows in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
2002
BAM! Entertainment, Inc. releases Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars for the Game Boy Advance in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
Namco releases Pac-Man World 2 for the GameCube in the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)
Version 6.2.2 of Netscape internet suite is released. Visit the official Netscape 6 website.
2003
Dr. Bryan Raudenbush of the Wheeling Jesuit University releases a study entitled “Effects of Video Game Play on Pain Threshold and Tolerance,” indicating that video games can be an effective method of distracting patients from pain, if not actually relieving it. The study examines the psychological effect of games on pain sufferers. In it, Raudenbush states that, “These gaming distractions may be most helpful in children and young adults undergoing painful procedures or suffering from chronic pain, as these individuals comprise the largest gamer demographics.”
DreamCatcher Interactive releases the puzzle game The Omega Stone for Windows. Visit the game’s official website.
Ubisoft releases the tactical shooter Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six 3: Raven Shield for Windows in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: M (Mature)
Version 0.2 releases the Desktop Light Linux (DeLi Linux) operating system. Visit the official DeLi website.
Yahoo! announces the completion of its acquisition of Inktomi, a leading provider of software for internet service providers. Read the original press release at Yahoo’s archives.
2004
Capcom releases Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge for the Game Boy Advance in Europe. ESRB: E (Everyone)
CDV releases the tactical shooter Breed for Windows in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 16+
Electronic Arts (EA) releases the first-person shooter (FPS) Battlefield Vietnam for personal computers in PAL regions. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 16+
Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda: Collector’s Edition for the GameCube in Australia. OFLC: G8+
Nintendo releases Sword of Mana as Mystic Quest for the Game Boy Advance in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 7+
Version 1.0 of the QiLinux operating system. Visit the official QiLinux website.
Version Beta 4 of the SkyOS operating system is released. Visit the official SkyOS website.
2007
Nintendo releases Custom Robo Arena for the Nintendo DS in North America. It is the fifth game in the Custom Robo series. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E10+ (Everyone)
THQ releases the puzzle game Tetris Evolution for the Xbox 360 in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E (Everyone)
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