This Day in Geek History: October 28
1538
The first university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino is established in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
1636
A vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony establishes the first college in what will later become the United States, The President and Fellows of Harvard College, which will later be renamed Harvard University.
1868
Thomas Edison applies for his first patent, an electrical vote recorder.
1914
The first of what will later be known as zippers, a hookless fastener developed by Gideon Sundback, first goes on sale as the “Hookless No. 2.”
George Eastman announces the invention of the color photographic process.
1946
A five-man commission of civilians is appointed by President Harry S. Truman to become The Atomic Energy Commission, which was established by the August 1, 1946 U.S. Atomic Energy Act. The commission’s mission is to develop and utilize atomic energy for the public welfare, increasing the standard of living, strengthening free competition in private enterprise, and promoting world peace. The commission will first convene on November 13, 1946.
1970
Gary Gabelich sets a new land speed record in a natural gas-powered, rocket-driven automobile called the “Blue Flame.”
The International Business Machines (IBM) Data Processing Division (DPD) announces two new products: the IBM System/3 Model 6 and IBM System/7, two low-cost computers for the factory, laboratory, and office.
1971
The first British satellite, Prospero, is launched into low Earth orbit aboard a Black Arrow rocket from Woomera, Australia. Britain is the sixth nation to put a satellite into orbit. The mission of the Prospero, a Black Knight 1 satellite, is to test solar cells and other technologies experiments.
1983
Battered by loses of US$223 million during the first nine months of 1983, Texas Instruments, Inc. (TI) publicly announces its intention to exit the personal home computer market and to discontinue support for the TI-99/4a computer. The Home Computer Division was more than US$500 million in the red by the end of September, largely due to the series of price reductions and rebates passed in the course of the last year as a part of the company’s strategy to bolster sagging sales that finally ended up costing the TI US$50 for every computer sold. Visit the official Texas Instruments website.
1985
Bill Gates decides to proceed with an initial public offering of Microsoft stock.
1991
The Star Trek: The Next Generation episode “The Game” first airs. (No. 506) In it, Wesley pays a visit to the Enterprise, where he discovers that the crew has become addicted to a computer game. Memory Alpha entry
1996
Apple Computer, Inc. unveils the MessagePad 2000, a new handheld computer based on the Apple Newton Operating System (OS).
Microsoft and Intel announce plans to develop the NetPC specification.
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