1655
Christiaan Huygens discovers Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn using a simple telescope with magnification of fifty, and subsequently determines the period of its revolution. However, the moon won’t be named for nearly two centuries.
1857
Frederick Laggenheim takes the first photograph of a solar eclipse.
Leon Scott de Martinville patents the Phonautograph, the first machine to record sound, twenty years before Thomas Edison invents the first Phonograph. However, unlike the later phonograph, the device is able to record sound but unable to play it back. As such, the phonautograph will become well-known among scientists but will remain a scientific instrument used in the study of sound waves. Read more about the history of phonautograph.
1896
The first film shown in the United Kingdom outside London is given at the Pandora Gallery, in Brighton, using a “cinematographe” to project the film.
1922
George William Goddard achieves the first thrust from a liquid rocket engine. Goddard’s test engine produces four pounds of thrust, but only for only a brief time.
1925
John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of his television system at the Selfridges department store on Oxford Street in London, England. It will be ten years before the introduction of television with higher definition in Britain on November 2, 1936.
1932
MGM releases Tarzan the Ape Man, directed by W.S. Van Dyke and starring Johnny Weissmuller, Neil Hamilton, Maureen O’Sullivan, and C. Aubrey Smith, to US theaters. The film was produced on a budget of US$652,675. IMDB listing Running Time: 1 hr 39 mins
1951
Edward Mills Purcell and H.I. Ewen of the Harvard physics lab first detects 21-cm radiation (1420.4 MHz) in outer space.
1954
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) begins producing the first mass-produced all-electronic color television receiver, the RCA CT100. The receivers’ screens are 12½ inches across with a price of US$1,000. Due to the high price of these initial television sets, it will take more than a decade for color televisions to become popular enough for regular color broadcasts to become a regular part of network programming. Visit the official RCA website.
1961
Sputnik 10 is launched into Earth orbit with a dog named Zvezdochka (Little Star) and a wooden mannequin aboard. The dog will be recovered alive.
1970
The prototype British-built airplane, the Concorde 002 makes its first supersonic flight at a speed of 700mph (1,127kph). On October 1, 1969, the French prototype, the Concorde 001, broke the sound barrier, and it will achieve Mach 2 on November 4, 1970. The Concorde 002 will achieve Mach 2 on on November 12, 1970.
1974
The United States branch of Sega legally changes its name to Sega Enterprises, Inc. Visit the official Sega website.
1977
The International Business Machines (IBM) Data Processing Division (DPD) introduces the IBM 3033 processor, the most powerful computer in the company’s lineup to date. Visit the official IBM website.
1979
The first fully functional space shuttle orbiter, Columbia, is delivered to the John F. Kennedy Space Center from Palmdale, California, where it was built, to be prepared for its first launch on April 12, 1981. Visit the official NASA website for the Shuttle Columbia.
1991
The first Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference (CFP) is held Monday, March 25 through Thursday, March 28 in Burlingame, California. CFP is an annual academic conference held to discuss the intersection of computer technology, freedom, and privacy issues. Visit the official Computers, Freedom and Privacy Conference website.
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “Identity Crisis” first airs. (No. 418) In it, La Forge is transformed into an alien creature by an infection received during an away mission five years ago. Memory Alpha entry
Version 2.1 of the NEXTSTEP operating system is released.
1992
Cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev returns to Earth after a ten month stay aboard the Mir space station. Read a biography Sergei Krikalev.
Microsoft releases version 4.0 of the Excel spreadsheet application. Excel is the latest in a line of business applications that have made computers increasing more appealing to the mainstream public. Excel is based heavily on VisiCalc, the earliest commercial computerized spreadsheet, which was written by Dan Bricklin and Ed Frankston and released for the Apple II in 1979.
1994
Capcom releases Mega Man Soccer for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES).
Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) releases the platform game Skyblazer for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in Europe.
Yonezawa PR21 releases Super Hockey ’94 for the Super Famicom in Japan.
1995
Ward Cunningham launches the first wiki on the internet, the WikiWikiWeb. A wiki is a software application which allows users to collaboratively create, edit, link, and organize reference content online.
1996
Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) claims that more than one million PlayStation video game consoles and seven million PlayStation game titles have been sold since the system’s launch on December 3, 1994. Visit the official PlayStation website.
1997
Beam Software for the real-time strategy (RTS) game KKnD for Windows. Visit the game’s official website.
1998
Electronic Arts (EA) releases the racing game Need for Speed III: Hot Pursuit for the PlayStation in Japan and the US. ESRB: E (Everyone)
The JTS Corporation reports a shockingly low net profit of US$65,000 on revenues of US$20.1 million. Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Tom Mitchell, reveals that the company can no longer meet the criteria to remain listed on the American Stock Exchange.
Thrustmaster, Inc. announces plans to introduce a line of controllers for the Nintendo 64 and the PlayStation.
2000
America Online (AOL) and eBay unveil an agreement to cross-market to each other’s customers. AOL will becomes the officially endorsed internet service provider (ISP) of eBay and eBay listings and message boards will become accessible through AOL.
Eidos Interactive releases the third-person shooter Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation for the Dreamcast in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
2001
DreamCatcher Games releases In Cold Blood for Windows in North America. ESRB: T (Teen)
EA Games releases the real-time strategy game Black & White for personal computers. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
2002
Eidos Interactive releases the cyberpunk game Deus Ex for the PlayStation 2 in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: M (Mature)
2003
Bandai releases Dragon Ball Z: Ultimate Battle 22 for the PlayStation in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
Capcom releases the racing game Auto Modellista for the PlayStation 2 in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E (Everyone) Price: US$49.99
Electronic Arts (EA) releases the simulation game The Sims for the Gamecube and Xbox in the US. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: T (Teen)
Ubi Soft releases Shadowbane, a free fantasy mmorpg for personal computers. Play ShadowBane online for free. ESRB: T (Teen)
2004
The Comcast cable company purchases TechTV channel from Vulcan Programming, Inc. Comcast will merge the channel with its own G4 gaming channel to form G4TechTV, which will premiere on Friday, May 28th. Visit the official Comcast website.
Microsoft Game Studios releases the first-person shooter (FPS) Counter-Strike for the Xbox. ELSPA: 14+ ESRB: T (Teen)
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) releases the versus fighting game War of the Monsters for the PlayStation 2 in Japan.
Yahoo! acquires the European ecommerce search engine Kelkoo. Visit the official Yahoo! website.
2005
Acclaim releases Urban Freestyle Soccer for the GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox in the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
Atari releases the racing game V-Rally 3 for the Xbox. ESRB: E (Everyone)
Blue Gene/L, the world’s fastest supercomputer, reaches a processing speed of 135.5 trillion calculations a second, beating its own previous world record. Read more at BBC News.
Metro 3D releases the racing game Monster Trux Extreme: Offroad Edition for the PlayStation 2 in Europe.
Square Enix releases a remake of the Dragon Quest V: Tenku no Hanayome for the PlayStation 2 in Japan. Visit the game’s official website. CERO: A (All Ages)
Sega releases Iron Phoenix for the Xbox in Australia and the US. ESRB: T (Teen)
U1 Technology releases the massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) Little Fighter Online for personal computers. Visit the game’s official website. PEGI: 10+
2007
Intel releases the 1733MHz Celeron M 530 processor, featuring a 1024KB Level-2 Cache and a 533MHz Front Side Bus. Visit the official Intel website. Price: US$134
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