1860
The first successful Pony Express run from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California begins.
1934
Famous Funnies, the first comic book to go on sale in the United States, hits newsstands.
1938
Television station W2XBS in New York broadcasts the first book review program in the US.
1953
The TV Guide magazine debuts. For year, it will be the most read magazine in the United States.
1955
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) announces that it will defend Allen Ginsberg’s book Howl against obscenity charges.
1968
Dr. Denton Cooley of the Texas Heart Institute performs the first successful heart transplant in the United States on Everett Thomas, whose heart was damaged by rheumatic heart disease. The patient will survive for 204 days with the heart, which was harvested from a fifteen year old girl.
1971
The Japanese tokusatsu television series Kamen Rider premieres, marking the beginning of the long-running Kamen Rider franchise.
1972
Magnavox kicks off a national promotional tour for the Odyssey video game in Phoenix, Arizona.
1973
The first portable cell phone call is made from New York City.
1975
Bobby Fischer refuses to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, forfeiting the title of World Champion to Karpov.
1978
The first unsolicited bulk commercial e-mail is sent by Gary Thuerk, a marketing representative of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) to all 393 users of ARPANET on the west coast of the United States. The e-mail is an invitation to a demonstration of DEC’s new Decsystem-20 computer. The message took several day to prepare, as all of the address had to be typed in manually, and the message was carefully composed. It illicits an immediate and negative reaction. Thuerk will receive a torrent of complaints and an official reprimand from the administrators of the government-run network. Read more about the first spam in the article “Reaction to the DEC Spam of 1978″.
1982
Walt Disney Productions files a suit against Williams Electronics for infringing Disney’s Tron trademark with the arcade video game Robotron: 2084. Visit the official Disney Corporate website.
1983
Mattel files a lawsuit against Atari, accusing it of luring away three employees who helped develop game cartridges compatible with Mattel’s Intellivision game system. Visit the official Mattel website.
1984
Apple Computer announces that seventy thousand Macintosh computers have been shipped in the one hundred days since its announcement. Visit the official website of Apple Computer.
Dell Computer is founded in Austin, Texas. Visit the official Dell website.
1993
The Star Trek: The Generation episode “Frame of Mind” first airs. (No. 621) In the episode, Riker finds himself a prisoner in an alien mental institution. Memory Alpha entry
1996
Columbia Pictures releases dark fantasy film The Craft, directed by Andrew Fleming and starring Robin Tunney, Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell, and Rachel True, is released to 1,757 US theaters. In it, a girl who moves to Los Angeles from San Francisco meets three friends who begin to explore the world of witchcraft. As she becomes increasingly distanced from the other three girls, she discovers that her best friends have become her worst enemies. Produced on a budget of US$15 million, the film will gross US$24,819,936. Although the film won’t make much of an impact at the box office, its characters will re-invigorate interest in Gothic fashion and Wiccan culture among the MTV Generation. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 1 hr 45 mins
Suspected “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin. Kaczynski is held up by the media as a prime example of a “loner.” Journalist Anneli Rufus will later use this as an example of the media’s consistent, erroneous use of the term “loner” in her (excellent) book, Party of One: The Loner’s Manifesto.
1997
Garry Kasparov beats IBM’s Deep Blue in the first of six matches in what many consider the ultimate test of artificial intelligence. Kasparov will eventually loose the match along with the US$1.1 million purse to the IBM supercomputer, which he had previously claimed could never surpass a human’s ability to play chess. After losing the sixth and final game of the match, Kasparov will accuse IBM of building a machine specifically to beat him. Observers will later state that he was frustrated by Deep Blue’s quickness although they expected him to win with unconventional moves. The RS/6000 SP parallel processing computer can analyze 200 million chess positions per second.
1998
New Line Cinema releases the science fiction film Lost in Space, directed by Stephen Hopkins and starring William Hurt, Mimi Rogers, Lacey Chabert, Heather Graham, and Matt LeBlanc, is released to 3,306 US theaters. The film is a remake of the classic CBS television series Lost in Space. Produced on a budget of US$80 million, it will gross US$20,154,919 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 hrs 10 mins
Universal Studios releases the action film Mercury Rising, directed by Harold Becker and starring Bruce Willis, Alec Baldwin, and Miko Hughes is released to 2,386 US theaters. The film is based on Ryne Douglas Pearson’s 1996 novel, Simple Simon. In it, an undercover FBI agent, played by Willis, protects a nine year old autistic boy who becomes the target of government assassination attempts after he cracks a top secret NSA encryption code. It will gross US$10,104,715 domestically in its opening weekend. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: R Running Time: 1 hr 52 mins
NetChannel, a web-enhanced television company, is discontinued, leaving nearly ten thousand subscribers without service. On Thursday, May 7, America Online (AOL) will reveal plans to acquire NetChannel.
1999
The International Business Machines (IBM) unveils a new generation of mainframe computers touting them to be the world’s highest-capacity business machines available. The G6 machines are IBM’s sixth distinct generation of mainframes since 1994. Officially called the S/390 Parallel Enterprise Server – Sixth Generation, these new systems can process 1,600 Million Instructions Per Second (MIPS). The benchmark clocks in at fifty percent additional data-handling capacity over IBM’s previous G5 line. Shipments are set to begin Friday, May 28, a full month ahead of original plans.
Putnam Adult publishes the fantasy novel The Tower and the Hive by Anne McCaffrey as a hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-0399145018) it is the fifth and final book in The Tower and Hive series series. Visit the author’s official website. Length: 302 pages
2000
In the case of United States v. Microsoft, Microsoft is ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.
Datapoint, the company that commissioned the Intel 8008 microprocessor, declares Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
The Love Letter computer virus infects personal computers around the world within six hours. The virus spreads through e-mail, enticing victims to open the message with the subject line, “I love you”. A total of fifty-five million computers encounter the virus, and about 2.5 to 3 million will become infected. The final estimated cost of system downtime is a later estimated at US$8.7 billion. It is thought to be the fastest-moving and most widespread virus ever seen. Read more at the BBC.
Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and the band’s attorney produce a list of more than 335,000 Internet users who have allegedly shared the band’s songs on Napster. Visit the official Metallica website.
A new company, SuperLetter.com Inc. announces that, beginning in May, internet users will be able to send mail to any physical address in the world from a PC – for less than the cost of express mail service. The company’s motto is “You Send E-Mail – We Deliver Real-Mail – Around the Globe!” Visit the official SuperLetter.com website.
The Star Trek: Voyager episode “Fury” first airs. (No. 241) In the episode, a much older and more powerful Kes returns to Voyager in an attempt to change the course of her own history. Memory Alpha entry
2001
Acclaim Entertainment releases the racing game XG3: Extreme G Racing for the Gamecube and Playstation 2 in the US.
The sport of Geocaching begins when the GPS coordinates of the first geocache are posted to Usenet. Geocaching is an outdoor treasure-hunting game in which the participants use a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver or other navigational techniques to find containers referred to as “geocaches” or simply “caches” before other participants. Read more about the history of Geocaching at GPS Games.
2002
Acclaim releases Burnout for the GameCube in Europe. ELSPA: 11+ PEGI: 3+
Barry Erickson, of the piracy group DrinkOrDie, pleads guilty to one felony count of conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement as a result of Operation Buccaneer. DrinkOrDie has long been one of the best known sources for pirated software on the internet, particularly in IRC channels. He will be sentenced to thirty-three months in prison followed by two years of supervised release and a US$5,000 fine. Read more at the Department of Justice website.
Columbia Pictures releases the film Spider-Man, directed by Sam Raimi and starring Tobey Maguire, Willem Dafoe, and Kirsten Dunst is released to 3,615 theaters in the US. Produced with a budget of US$139 million, the film will gross a box office record of US$114,844,116 domestically in its opening weekend and go on to gross a total of US$821,708,551 in the course of its theatrical run. It will also set a record for reaching the US$100 million mark faster than any past film. IMDB listing MPAA Rating: PG-13 Running Time: 2 hrs. 1 min
The final episode of the cyberpunk sci-fi series Dark Angel, “Freak Nation“, first airs on Fox. (No. 43) In it, the gang at Jam Pony find out Max and Alec are transgenics after a young X6 and a pregnant X5 take cover inside the building and an angry mob gathers outside. The series ran for two seasons and forty-three episodes. It’s cancellation doesn’t come as a surprise, as Fox has long history of canceling it’s science fiction series, irregardless of their followings, after a few seasons. TV.com entry
Hewlett-Packard and Compaq complete their merger.
Nintendo launches the GameCube in Europe. Visit the official GameCube website.
Sega releases Sonic Adventure 2 for the GameCube in Europe. ELSPA: 3+
Sega releases Super Monkey Ball for the GameCube in Europe. ELSPA: 3+
2003
Nintendo releases The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker for the GameCube in Europe. Visit the game’s official website. ELSPA: 3+ PEGI: 7+
The second annual Free Comic Book Day is held.
2004
Big Fish Games releases the simulation game Fish Tycoon for person computer in North America. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: E (Everyone)
Rockstar Games releases Red Dead Revolver for the PlayStation 2 and Xbox in the US. ESRB: M (Mature)
2005
DAW Hardcover releases the fantasy novel Sanctuary by Mercedes Lackey as a hardcover. (ISBN-13: 978-0756402464) It is the third book in The Dragon Jousters series. Visit the author’s official website. Length: 432 pages
Groove Games releases the first-person shooter (FPS) Pariah for the PC and Xbox. Visit the game’s official website. ESRB: M (Mature)
Paramount Home Video releases the first season of the science fiction series Enterprise on DVD, ten days before the television broadcast of the final episode. The release is the first Star Trek release to ever include a blooper reel or deleted scenes.
Roc releases the urban fantasy novel Dead Beat by Jim Butcher as a hardcover. (ISBN 0-4514-6027-8) It is the seventh book in the Dresden Files series. Visit the author’s official website.
Sony Computer Entertainment of America (SCEA) releases Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee for the PlayStation Portable in the US. ESRB: E10+ (Everyone)
2006
In a press release, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) labels the cities of Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia, Providence, San Diego, and San Francisco, “Piracy Cities”. It declares them “hot spots” of copyright infringement, with large numbers of individuals engaged in piracy, from the manufacturer level all the way down to the point of retail sale. Read the press release. Visit the official RIAA website.
The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion is re-rated from T for Teen to M for Mature by the ESRB. The ESRB chose to re-rate the game after the discovery of nude textures included deep within the game’s files, accessible only through a third-party modification for the Windows version, and due to the presence of more blood and gore than was initially revealed to the ESRB. The new rating causes some stores to require a valid government ID to prove that the consumer is seventeen or older. Even after the game’s developer Bethesda later removes the nude textures from the game, both versions of the game will remain rated M. Visit the game’s official website.
Skypecasts are launched. Skypecasts are live, moderated conversations allowing groups of up to one hundred people to converse, moderated by the “host” who is able to mute, eject or pass the virtual microphone to participants when they wish to speak. Skypecasts do not support chat windows to share text information (such as URLs) with participants.
2007
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) releases God of War II for the PlayStation 2 in Australia. Visit the game’s official website.
Sony Pictures, through Columbia Pictures, releases the film Spider-Man 3 in China a day before its domestic release in the US in an attempt to circumvent market growth of pirated copies of the film. This is the first time a film has been preemptively released in a foreign market to curb piracy. Visit the official Spider-Man 3 website. IMDB listing
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