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This Day in Technology History

This is a widget for This Day in Technology History, with a link to a Wikipedia article for each day.

Date-Based Version

Here are the contents of the script:

January 1, 1772 - The first traveller's cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale.
January 2, 1959 - The first artificial satellite to orbit the moon, Luna 1, is launched by the U.S.S.R.
January 3, 1899 - The first known use of the word automobile, in an editorial in The New York Times.
January 4, 1958 - Sputnik 1 falls to Earth from its orbit.
January 5, 1972 - President Richard Nixon orders the development of a space shuttle program.
January 6, 1974 - In response to the energy crisis, daylight saving time commences nearly four months early.
January 7, 1610 - Galileo Galilei observes the four largest moons of Jupiter for the first time.
January 8, 1838 - Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes, forerunner of Morse Code.
January 9, 1863 - The first section of the London Underground opens, between Paddington and Farringdon.
January 10, 1870 - John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
January 11, 1902 - Popular Mechanics magazine was published for the first time.
January 12, 1866 - Royal Aeronautical Society is formed in London.
January 13, 1957 - Wham-O Company produces the first Frisbee.
January 14, 1943 - FDRbecomes the first US President to travel via airplane while in office (to Morocco).
January 15, 2001 - Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, goes online.
January 16, 1909 - Ernest Shackleton's expedition finds the magnetic South Pole.
January 17, 2007 - Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to N. Korea nuclear testing.
January 18, 1896 - The X-ray machine is exhibited for the first time.
January 19, 1915 - George Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
January 20, 1885 - L.A. Thompson patents the roller coaster.
January 21, 1954 - The first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, is launched.
January 22, 1984 - Apple Macintosh is introduced during the Super Bowl with the "1984" commercial.
January 23, 1849 - Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D., becoming the first woman doctor in the US.
January 24, 1848 - California Gold Rush - James W. Marshall finds gold near Sacramento.
January 25, 1890 - Nellie Bly completes her round-the-world journey in 72 days.
January 26, 2006 - Western Union discontinues use of its telegram service.
January 27, 1967 - Apollo 1 astronauts are killed in a fire at the Kennedy Space Center.
January 28, 1986 - Space Shuttle Challenger breaks up, killing all seven astronauts onboard.
January 29, 1886 - Karl Benz patents the first successful gasoline-driven automobile.
January 30, 1862 - The first American ironclad warship, the USS Monitor, is launched.
January 31, 1961 - Project Mercury - Ham the Chimp travels into outer space.
February 1, 2003 - Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates during reentry, killing all astronauts aboard.
February 2, 1925 - Dog sleds reach Nome, Alaska with diphtheria serum, inspiring the Iditarod race.
February 3, 1690 - The colony of Massachusetts issues the first paper money in America.
February 4, 1936 - Radium E. becomes the first radioactive element to be made synthetically.
February 5, 1971 - Apollo 14 astronauts Shepard and Mitchell land on the moon.
February 6, 1815 - New Jersey grants the first American railroad charter to a John Stevens.
February 7, 1969 - The original Hetch Hetchy Moccasin Powerhouse is removed from service.
February 8, 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
February 9, 1942 - Daylight saving time goes into effect in the United States.
February 10, 1996 - The IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov for the first time.
February 11, 1939 - Lockheed P-38 flies from California to New York in 7 hours 2 minutes.
February 12, 2001 - NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft is the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
February 13, 1880 - Thomas Edison observes the Edison effect.
February 14, 1989 - The first of 24 satellites of the Global Positioning System is placed into orbit.
February 15, 1971 - Decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
February 16, 2005 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.
February 17, 1958 - Saint Clare of Assisi declared the patron saint of television.
February 18, 1953 - The first 3D film, Bwana Devil, opens.
February 19, 1878 - The phonograph is patented by Thomas Edison.
February 20, 1962 - Mercury astronaut John Glenn becomes the first American to orbit the earth.
February 21, 1953 - Francis Crick and James D. Watson discover the structure of the DNA molecule.
February 22, 1997 - Announcement that a sheep named Dolly had been successfully cloned.
February 23, 1455 - Publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
February 24, 1970 - National Public Radio is founded in the United States.
February 25, 1836 - Samuel Colt receives an American patent for the Colt revolver.
February 26, 1935 - Daventry Experiment which led to development of RADAR in the United Kingdom.
February 27, 1812 - Lord Byron addresses the House of Lords, in defense of Luddites.
February 28, 1939 - The word "dord" is discovered in the Webster's New International Dictionary.
February 29, 1504 - Christopher Columbus uses lunar eclipse to convince Native Americans to give him supplies.
March 1, 2006 - English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
March 2, 1791 - A semaphore machine is unveiled in Paris.
March 3, 2005 - Steve Fossett flies an airplane around the world solo without any stops without refueling.
March 4, 1977 - The first Cray-1 supercomputer is shipped to the Los Alamos National Laboratory.
March 5, 1970 - The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty goes into effect.
March 6, 1869 - Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.
March 7, 2006 - Apple Inc. is granted the patent to the iPod.
March 8, 1618 - Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion.
March 9, 2006 - Liquid water is discovered on Enceladus, the sixth largest moon of Saturn.
March 10, 1876 - Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call.
March 11, 1918 - First confirmed cases of the Spanish Flu.
March 12, 1894 - Coca-Cola is sold in bottles for the first time.
March 13, 1986 - Microsoft has its initial public offering.
March 14, 1794 - Eli Whitney is granted a patent for the cotton gin.
March 15, 1985 - The first Internet domain name is registered (symbolics.com).
March 16, 1942 - First V-2 rocket test launch (exploded at liftoff).
March 17, 1845 - The rubber band is patented.
March 18, 2003 - British Sign Language is recognised as an official British language.
March 19, 1918 - The U.S. Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.
March 20, 1916 - Albert Einstein publishes his general theory of relativity.
March 21, 1970 - The first Earth Day proclamation is issued by San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto.
March 22, 1960 - Schawlow and Townes receive the first patent for a laser.
March 23, 1989 - Pons and Fleischmann make cold fusion claim at the University of Utah.
March 24, 1989 - Exxon Valdez oil spill.
March 25, 1995 - Ward Cunningham opens the first wiki, the WikiWikiWeb.
March 26, 1953 - Jonas Salk announces his polio vaccine.
March 27, 1970 - The Concorde makes its first supersonic flight.
March 28, 1979 - Three Mile Island nuclear power plant accident.
March 29, 1886 - Dr. John Pemberton brews the first batch of Coca-Cola in a backyard in Atlanta, Georgia.
March 30, 1951 - First UNIVAC I computer delivered to the United States Census Bureau.
March 31, 1966 - Soviet Union launches Luna 10, the first spaceprobe to enter orbit around the Moon.
April 1, 1826 - Samuel Morey patents the internal combustion engine.
April 2, 1792 - The Coinage Act is passed establishing the United States Mint.
April 3, 1996 - Suspected Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski is arrested at his Montana cabin.
April 4, 1581 - Francis Drake completes a circumnavigation of the world.
April 5, 1923 - Firestone Tire and Rubber Company starts production of balloon-tires.
April 6, 1965 - Launch of Early Bird, the first communications satellite in synchronous orbit.
April 7, 1978 - Development of the neutron bomb is canceled by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.
April 8, 1867 - The first World's Fair is inaugurated in Paris.
April 9, 1967 - The first Boeing 737 takes its maiden flight.
April 10, 1866 - Founding of the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA).
April 11, 1970 - Apollo 13 is launched.
April 12, 1961 - Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into space.
April 13, 1974 - Launch of first US commercial geosynchronous communications satellite.
April 14, 2003 - Human Genome Project successfully completed.
April 15, 1892 - The General Electric Company forms.
April 16, 1912 - Harriet Quimby becomes the first woman to fly an airplane across the English Channel.
April 17, 1973 - Federal Express delivers its first package.
April 18, 1775 - Two lanterns were hung in the steeple of the Old North Church in Boston.
April 19, 1928 - The 125th and final fascicle of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
April 20, 1862 - The first pasteurization test completed by Pasteur and Bernard.
April 21, 1994 - The first extrasolar planets are announced by Alexander Wolszczan.
April 22, 1915 - Chlorine gas used as chemical weapon in Second Battle of Ypres, World War I.
April 23, 1968 - United Kingdom produces first decimalised coins, 5p and 10p.
April 24, 1990 - The Hubble Space telescope is launched.
April 25, 1792 - Nicolas J. Pelletier becomes the first person executed by guillotine.
April 26, 1986 - Nuclear reactor accident occurs at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant.
April 27, 1981 - Xerox PARC introduces the computer mouse.
April 28, 1947 - Thor Heyerdahl set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki.
April 29, 2004 - Oldsmobile builds its final car ending 107 years of production.
April 30, 1939 - During the 1939 World's Fair, FDR becomes the first US President to appear on television.
May 1, 1978 - The first unsolicited bulk commercial email, i.e. spam, sent using ARPANET.
May 2, 2000 - President Clinton announces non-military access to accurate GPS.
May 3, 1715 - Total solar eclipse visible in London.
May 4, 1904 - Construction begins by the United States on the Panama Canal.
May 5, 1925 - John T. Scopes is served an arrest warrant for teaching evolution.
May 6, 1937 - The German zeppelin Hindenberg catches fire and is destroyed.
May 7, 1895 - Alexander Stepanovich Popov demonstrates the world's first radio receiver.
May 8, 1794 - French chemist Antoine Lavoisier is guillotined in Paris.
May 9, 1941 - German submarine U-110 is captured, with its Enigma machine, captured by the Royal Navy.
May 10, 1960 - USS Triton completes first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.
May 11, 1960 - The first contraceptive pill is made available on the market.
May 12, 1941 - The Z3 computer, first working programmable, fully automatic computing device is revealed.
May 13, 1913 - Igor Sikorsky becomes the first man to pilot a four-engine aircraft.
May 14, 1973 - Skylab, the United States' first space station, is launched. .
May 15, 1718 - James Puckle, a London lawyer, patents the world's first machine gun.
May 16, 1969 - Venera 5, a Soviet spaceprobe, lands on Venus.
May 17, 1902 - Greek archaeologist Valerios Stais discovers the Antikythera mechanism.
May 18, 1998 - United States v. Microsoft antitrust case is filed.
May 19, 1535 - Explorer Jacques Cartier sets sail on second voyage to North America.
May 20, 1940 - The first prisoners arrive at a new concentration camp at Auschwitz.
May 21, 1932 - Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
May 22, 1990 - The Windows 3.0 operating system is released by Microsoft.
May 23, 1929 - The first talking cartoon of Mickey Mouse, The Karnival Kid, was released.
May 24, 1970 - The drilling of the Kola Superdeep Borehole begins in the USSR.
May 25, 1977 - The first film in the Star Wars film series.
May 26, 1908 - The first major commercial oil strike in the Middle East is made.
May 27, 1930 - Chrysler Building opens in New York, tallest man-made structure at the time.
May 28, 585 BC - A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by Greek philosopher and scientist Thales.
May 29, 1953 - Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay reach the summit of Mount Everest.
May 30, 1967 - Evel Knievel jumps his motorcycle over 16 cars lined-up in a row.
May 31, 1927 - The last Ford Model T rolls off the assembly line.
June 1, 1831 - James Clark Ross discovers the North Magnetic Pole.
June 2, 1896 - Guglielmo Marconi receives a patent the radio.
June 3, 1965 - Launch of Gemini 4, the first multi-day space mission by a NASA crew.
June 4, 1876 - Transcontinental Express train travels from New York City to San Francisco in just under 84 hours.
June 5, 1977 - The Apple II is released for sale.
June 6, 1833 - Andrew Jackson becomes the first President to ride a train.
June 7, 1965 - The US Supreme Court legalizes the use of contraception by married couples.
June 8, 1887 - Herman Hollerith patents a punch card calculator.
June 9, 1534 - Jacques Cartier is the first European to discover the St. Lawrence River.
June 10, 1692 - Salem witch trials - Bridget Bishop is hanged for "Witchcraft & Sorceries."
June 11, 1935 - Edwin Armstrong gives first public demonstration of FM broadcasting.
June 12, 1967 - The space probe Venera 4 is launched on a successful mission to Venus.
June 13, 1983 - Pioneer 10 becomes the first man-made object to leave the solar system.
June 14, 1822 - Charles Babbage presents his difference engine (computer).
June 15, 763 BCE - Assyrians record the "solar eclipse of Bur Sagale."
June 16, 1963 - Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova becomes the first woman in space.
June 17, 1867 - Birthday of John Robert Gregg, inventor of Gregg's shorthand.
June 18, 1983 - Astronaut Sally Ride becomes the first American woman in space.
June 19, 1934 - Establishment of the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
June 20, 1963 - The "red telephone" is established between Soviet Union and the U.S. after the Cuban Missile Crisis.
June 21, 1948 - Columbia Records introduces the long-playing record album.
June 22, 1633 -Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his heliocentric thesis.
June 23, 1868 - Christopher Latham Sholes receives a patent for a Type-Writer.
June 24, 1981 - Humber Bridge in England becomes the world's longest single-span suspension bridge.
June 25, 1905 - Discovery of the Cullinan Diamond, the largest rough gem-quality diamond.
June 26, 1974 - The Universal Product Code is scanned for the first time.
June 27, 1954 - The world's first nuclear power station opens in Obninsk, near Moscow.
June 28, 1994 - Members of the Aum Shinrikyo cult release sarin gas attack in Japan.
June 29, 1956 - The Federal Aid Highway Act creates the United States Interstate Highway System.
June 30, 1972 - One leap second was added to the UTC time system.
July 1, 1963 - ZIP Codes are introduced for United States mail.
July 2, 1698 - Thomas Savery patented the first steam engine.
July 3, 1886 - Karl Benz officially unveils the Benz Patent Motorwagen.
July 4, 1934 - Leo Szilard patents the chain-reaction design for the atomic bomb.
July 5, 1687 - Isaac Newton publishes Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica.
July 6, 1885 - Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies.
July 7, 1930 - Henry J. Kaiser begins construction of the Hoover Dam.
July 8, 1497 - Vasco da Gama sets sail on first direct European voyage to India.
July 9, 1955 - The Russell-Einstein Manifesto is published.
July 10, 1925 - The Scopes "Monkey Trial" begins in Dayton, Tennessee.
July 11, 1979 - The space station Skylab returns to Earth.
July 12, 1864 - Birthday of George Washington Carver, American botanist.
July 13, 1973 - Alexander Butterfield reveals the existence of the Nixon tapes.
July 14, 1791 - The Priestley Riots drive Joseph Priestley out of England.
July 15, 1799 - Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta.
July 16, 1945 - United States detonates a plutonium-based nuclear weapon at the Trinity site.
July 17, 1944 - Napalm bombs dropped for the first time by American P-38 pilots.
July 18, 1942 - The Germans test fly the Messerschmitt, the first turbojet fighter aircraft.
July 19, 1545 - The Tudor warship Mary Rose sinks off Portsmouth.
July 20, 1969 - Apollo 11 successfully lands the first man on the Moon.
July 21, 1969 - Neil A. Armstrong becomes the first man to walk on the Moon.
July 22, 1933 - Wiley Post becomes first person to fly solo around the world.
July 23, 1972 - Launch of Landsat 1, first Earth-resources satellite.
July 24, 1832 - Benjamin Bonneville leads the first wagon train across the Rocky Mountains.
July 25, 1837 - The first commercial use of an electric telegraph.
July 26, 1803 - The Surrey Iron Railway opens in south London.
July 27, 1866 - The Atlantic Cable is successfully completed.
July 28, 1586 - First potato arrives in Britain.
July 29, 1958 - Creation of the National Aeronautics and Space Act (NASA).
July 30, 2003 - The last 'old style' Volkswagen Beetle rolls off the assembly line.
July 31, 1971 - Apollo 15 astronauts become the first to ride in a lunar rover.
August 1, 1941 - The first Jeep is produced.
August 2, 1790 - The first US Census is conducted.
August 3, 1958 - USS Nautilus travels beneath the Arctic ice cap.
August 4, 1693 - Dom Perignon invents of Champagne.
August 5, 1882 - Standard Oil of New Jersey is established.
August 6, 1964 - Prometheus, the world's oldest tree, is cut down.
August 7, 1944 - IBM dedicates the first program-controlled calculator.
August 8, 1876 - Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
August 9, 1173 - Construction of the Tower of Pisa begins, and it takes two centuries to complete.
August 10, 1675 - The foundation stone of the Royal Greenwich Observatory in London was laid.
August 11, 1950 - Birthday of Steve Wozniak, American computer pioneer.
August 12, 1851 - Isaac Singer granted a patent for his sewing machine.
August 13, 1902 - Birthday of Felix Wankel, inventor of the Wankel engine.
August 14, 2003 - A widescale power blackout in the northeast United States and Canada.
August 15, 1877 - Inventor Thomas Edison makes the first-ever recording - "Mary Had a Little Lamb."
August 16, 1858 - President Buchanan inaugurates transatlantic telegraph cable by exchanging greetings with Queen Victoria.
August 17, 1807 - Robert Fulton's first American steamboat leaves New York City for Albany, New York on the Hudson River.
August 18, 1868 - French astronomer Pierre Jules César Janssen discovers helium.
August 19, 1839 - Presentation of Daguerre's new photographic process to the French Academy of Sciences.
August 20, 1920 - The first commercial radio station, 8MK (WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.
August 21, 1888 - The first adding machine in the United States is patented by William Seward Burroughs.
August 22, 1902 - Theodore Roosevelt is the first President of the United States to ride in an automobile.
August 23, 1966 - The Lunar Orbiter 1 takes the first photograph of Earth from orbit around the Moon.
August 24, 1932 - Pilot Amelia Earhart is the first woman to fly across the United States non-stop.
August 25, 1609 - Astronomer Galileo Galilei demonstrates his first telescope to Venetian lawmakers.
August 26, 2003 - The Columbia Investigation Board releases report on Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
August 27, 1859 - Petroleum discovered in Titusville, Pennsylvania, the world's first successful oil well.
August 28, 1845 - First issue of Scientific American magazine is published.
August 29, 1885 - Gottlieb Daimler patents the world's first motorcycle.
August 30, 1984 - The Space Shuttle Discovery takes off on its maiden voyage.
August 31, 1869 - Death of Mary Ward, Irish scientist, first automobile accident victim.
September 1, 1897 - The Boston subway opens, becoming the first underground metro in North America.
September 2, 1969 - First automatic teller machine in the US is installed in Rockville Center, New York.
September 3, 1995 - Founding of eBay.
September 4, 1888 - George Eastman registers the trademark Kodak and receives patent for roll film.
September 5, 1977 - The Voyager 1 probe is launched, reaching Jupiter in 1979.
September 6, 1522 - Magellan's ship "Victoria" sails back to Spain, the first ship to circumnavigate the world.
September 7, 1998 - The date on which Google was incorporated.
September 8, 1966 - The first episode of the science fiction television series Star Trek airs.
September 9, 1926 - The U.S. National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is formed.
September 10, 1977 - Last execution by Guillotine in France.
September 11, 1970 - The Ford Pinto is introduced.
September 12, 1940 - Prehistoric cave paintings discovered in Lascaux, France.
September 13, 1985 - Nintendo releases Super Mario Bros.
September 14, 1886 - The typewriter ribbon is patented.
September 15, 1916 - During World War I, tanks are used for the first time, at the Battle of the Somme.
September 16, 1908 - Car manufactuer General Motors is founded.
September 17, 1976 - The first Space Shuttle, Enterprise, unveiled by NASA.
September 18, 1830 - A horse beats the first U.S.-made locomotive in a race near Baltimore.
September 19, 1957 - First U.S. underground nuclear bomb test.
September 20, 1891 - The first gasoline-powered car debuts in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
September 21, 1942 - The B-29 Superfortress makes its maiden flight.
September 22, 2003 - Adventurer David Hempleman-Adams crosses the Atlantic Ocean in a hot air balloon.
September 23, 1889 - The Nintendo company is founded to produce the playing card game Hanafuda.
September 24, 1789 - The United States Post Office is established.
September 25, 1929 - Jimmy Doolittle performs first blind flight to prove full Instrument Flying is possible.
September 26, 1973 - The Concorde makes its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic in record-breaking time.
September 27, 1822 - Jean-François Champollion announces that he has deciphered the Rosetta stone.
September 28, 1889 - The first General Conference on Weights and Measures defines the length of a meter.
September 29, 1954 - The convention establishing CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research) is signed.
September 30, 1954 - The USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel.
October 1, 1811 - First steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orléans, Louisiana.
October 2, 1996 - The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by President Clinton.
October 3, 1942 - Launch of a V-2 rocket in Germany, the first man-made object to reach space.
October 4, 1957 - Launch of Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth.
October 5, 1905 - Wilbur Wright pilots Wright Flyer III in a flight of 24 miles in 39 minutes, a world record.
October 6, 1927 - Opening of The Jazz Singer, the first major talking movie.
October 7, 1806 - Patent issued for carbon paper.
October 8, 1978 - Ken Warby sets the world water speed record of 317 mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.
October 9, 1446 - The Hangul alphabet is published in Korea.
October 10, 1967 - Outer Space Treaty, signed on January 27 by more than sixty nations, enters into force.
October 11, 1939 - Franklin D. Roosevelt receives letter from Einstein about atom bomb.
October 12, 1928 - An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital, Boston.
October 13, 1983 - In Chicago, Ameritech Mobile Communications launches first US cellular network.
October 14, 1947 - Pilot Chuck Yeager flies a Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound.
October 15, 1878 - The Edison Electric Light Company begins operation.
October 16, 1882 - The Nickel Plate Railroad opens for business.
October 17, 2003 - The roof of Taipei 101 is finished, making it the world's tallest highrise.
October 18, 1954 - Texas Instruments announces the first Transistor radio.
October 19, 1985 - The first Blockbuster Video store opens in Dallas, Texas.
October 20, 2004 - The first Ubuntu Linux distribution is released.
October 21, 1959 - Wernher von Braun is re-assigned from the United States Army to NASA.
October 22, 4004 BC - In Archbishop Ussher's Bible chronology, the universe was created this evening.
October 23, 1906 - Aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont flies the first heavier-than-air plane in Europe.
October 24, 1861 - The First Transcontinental Telegraph line across the United States is completed.
October 25, 1929 - Fleischer Studios releases its first Talkartoon animation.
October 26, 1936 - The first electric generator at Hoover Dam went into full operation.
October 27, 1977 - The disease of smallpox is declared eradicated.
October 28, 1943 - The alleged Philadelphia Experiment supposedly occurred.
October 29, 1969 - The first computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, precursor to the Internet.
October 30, 1938 - Orson Welles broadcasts radio play of War of the Worlds, causing a nationwide panic.
October 31, 1999 - Yachtsman Jesse Martin completes 11 months circumnavigating the world, solo and non-stop.
November 1, 1859 - The Cape Lookout, North Carolina, lighthouse was lit with a Fresnel lens.
November 2, 1965 - In front of Pentagon, Norman Morrison sets himself on fire to protest use of napalm.
November 3, 1957 - The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 with the dog named Laika on board.
November 4, 1825 - Completion of the Erie Canal.
November 5, 1895 - The first U.S. patent for an automobile is issued to George B. Selden.
November 6, 1944 - Plutonium is first produced, subsequently used in the atomic bomb.
November 7, 1932 - The radio drama Buck Rogers in the 25th Century airs for the first time.
November 8, 1895 - While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovers x-rays.
November 9, 2004 - The Mozilla Firefox 1.0 web browser is released.
November 10, 1951 - Coast-to-coast direct-dial telephone service begins in the United States.
November 11, 1926 - U.S. Route 66 is established.
November 12, 1990 - Tim Berners-Lee publishes a formal proposal for the World Wide Web.
November 13, 1841 - James Braid sees demonstration of animal magnetism, later called hypnosis.
November 14, 889 - Nellie Bly begins a successful attempt to travel around the world in less than 80 days.
November 15, 1971 - Intel releases world's first commercial single-chip microprocessor, the Intel 4004.
November 16, 1904 - John Ambrose Fleming invents the vacuum tube.
November 17, 1858 - Modified Julian Day zero.
November 18, 1477 - Publisher William Caxton produces the first book printed on a printing press in England.
November 19, 1969 - The Apollo 12 astronauts are the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon.
November 20, 1985 - Microsoft Windows 1.0 is released.
November 21, 1877 - Thomas Edison announces his invention of the phonograph.
November 22, 1935 - China Clipper takes off from California to deliver first airmail cargo across Pacific.
November 23, 1889 - The first jukebox goes into operation at the Palais Royale Saloon in San Francisco.
November 24, 1932 - In Washington, D.C., the FBI Scientific Crime Detection Laboratory officially opens.
November 25, 1986 - The King Fahd Causeway was officially opened in the Persian Gulf.
November 26, 1805 - Official opening of the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct in Wales.
November 27, 1703 - The first Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed in the Great Storm of 1703.
November 28, 1895 - America's first automobile race is won by Frank Duryea.
November 29, 1961 - Mercury-Atlas 5 Mission launches a chimpanzee into space.
November 30, 1936 - In London, the Crystal Palace destroyed by fire.
December 1, 1913 - Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line.
December 2, 1942 - Enrico Fermi initiates nuclear chain reaction for the Manhattan Project.
December 3, 1973 - The Pioneer 10 probe sends back the first close-up images of Jupiter.
December 4, 1998 - The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched.
December 5, 1952 - The "Great Smog" descends on London, eventually killing thousands.
December 6, 1897 - London becomes the world's first city to host motorised taxicabs.
December 7, 1972 - Apollo 17 crew take the photograph known as "The Blue Marble."
December 8, 1987 - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed.
December 9, 1793 - New York City's first daily newspaper, American Minerva, established by Noah Webster.
December 10, 1868 - The first traffic lights are installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
December 11, 1997 - The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change opens for signature.
December 12, 1862 - The USS Cairo is the first armored ship to be sunk by an electrically detonated mine.
December 13, 1577 - Sir Francis Drake sets out from Plymouth, England, on his round-the-world voyage.
December 14, 1287 - The Zuider Zee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people.
December 15, 1994 - The web browser Netscape Navigator 1.0 is released.
December 16, 1997 - Pokémon episode triggers attacks of photosensitive epilepsy, "Pokemon Shock."
December 17, 1969 - The Strategic Arms Limitations Talks (SALT-I) begin.
December 18, 1997 - HTML 4.0 is published by the World Wide Web Consortium.
December 19, 1974 - The Altair 8800 microcomputer kit goes on sale.
December 20, 1951 - Nuclear power first harvested when EBR-1 powers four light bulbs.
December 21, 1968 - The first manned mission to the moon, Apollo 8, is launched.
December 22, 1937 - The Lincoln Tunnel opens to traffic in New York City.
December 23, 1970 - World Trade Center reaches 1,368 feet, the tallest building in the world at that time.
December 24, 1906 - Radio pioneer Reginald Fessenden transmitted the first radio broadcast.
December 25, 2004 - Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which will land on Saturn's moon Titan.
December 26, 1982 - TIME magazine's Man of the Year is given to a non-human - the personal computer.
December 27, 1968 - The first manned mission to the moon, Apollo 8, successfully splashes down in the Pacific.
December 28, 1981 - The first American test-tube baby is born in Norfolk, Virginia.
December 29, 1949 - Experimental station KC2XAK is the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station.
December 30, 1924 - Astronomer Edwin Hubble announces the existence of other galaxies.
December 31, 1695 - "Window Tax" is imposed in England; shopkeepers brick up windows to avoid the tax.

Questions or comments? Contact laura-gibbs@ou.edu or leave a comment at the SchoolhouseWidgets.com blog. This site was created on May 2, 2007 and was last updated on June 16, 2008.