25 September 2018 - Interesting Tidbits

25 September 2018 - Interesting Tidbits

On This Day:

1066 – The Battle of Stamford Bridge marked the end of the Viking invasions of England.

1820 - French Physicist Francois Arago announceed electromagnetism in his discovery that a copper wire between the poles of a voltaic cell could laterally attract iron filings to itself.

1868 – The Imperial Russian steam frigate Alexander Nevsky was shipwrecked off Jutland while carrying Grand Duke Alexei of Russia.

1890 - Congress established Yosemite National Park.

1906 – In the presence of the king and before a great crowd, Leonardo Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrated the invention of the Telekino in the port of Bilbao, guiding a boat from the shore, in what is considered the birth of the remote control.

1926 - Henry Ford announced 8 hour, 5-day work week.

1929 – Jimmy Doolittle performed the first blind flight from Mitchel Field proving that full instrument flying from take off to landing was possible.

1939 - Versailles Peace Treaty forgot to include Andorra, so Andorra & Germany finally signed an official treaty ending WW I.

1956 – TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system, was inaugurated. It was laid between Gallanach Bay, near Oban, Scotland and Clarenville, Newfoundland between 1955 and 1956. It was inaugurated on September 25, 1956, initially carrying 36 telephone channels.

1992 – NASA launched the Mars Observer in the first U.S. mission to the planet in 17 years.

2002 – The Vitim event, a possible bolide impact in Siberia, Russia.

Today's birthday crew:

1897 – William Faulkner, American author, Nobel Prize laureate.

1930 – Shel Silverstein, American author, poet, illustrator, and songwriter.

1933 – Ian Tyson, Canadian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Ian & Sylvia and Great Speckled Bird).

1946 – Felicity Kendal, English actress (Good Neighbor/Good Life).

1951 – Mark Hamill, American actor, voice actor, producer, director, and writer best known for his performance as Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars trilogy.

1952 – Christopher Reeve, American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author, and activist who achieved stardom for his portrayal of Superman.

1956 – W. Daniel Hillis, American scientist, engineer, and author, founded the Thinking Machines Corporation.

1956 - James Franklin "Jamie" Hyneman, American special effects expert and co-host of the MythBusters.

Happy birthday guys!