Earth's Wobble
1747 Astronomer James Bradley presents his discovery of the wobbling motion of the Earth on its axis to the Royal Society, London
- 1794 First US textile machinery patent is granted to James Davenport in Philadelphia
Discovery of Lake Tahoe
1844 John C. Frémont and his party become the first Europeans to discover Lake Tahoe during his second expedition through the American West
1849 In New York City, James Knox Polk becomes the first serving US President to have his photograph taken by Mathew Brady
- 1870 Seraph Young becomes the first woman to legally vote in the modern United States, two days after the Utah legislature passed a law allowing women the vote
Importance of Being Earnest
1895 Oscar Wilde's play "Importance of Being Earnest" premieres at St James's Theatre in London
- 1921 Little Review faces obscenity charges for publishing "Ulysses," in New York
International Business Machines
1924 Thomas J. Watson Sr. renames the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) as International Business Machines (IBM)
Dracula
1931 The original "Dracula" film starring Bela Lugosi as the titular vampire is released
Respect
1967 Aretha Franklin records her single "Respect" at Atlantic Studio in NYC; her rendition of Otis Redding's tune becomes Billboard Song of the Year (1967)
Nixon Taping System
1971 President Richard Nixon installs a secret recording system in the White House
- 1972 Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey's musical "Grease" starring Barry Bostwick, Carole Demas, and Adrienne Barbeau, opens at the Eden Theatre (later transferring to the Broadhurst, the Royale, and the Majestic), NYC; runs for 3,388 performances
- 1978 First "micro on a chip" or microchip is patented by Texas Instruments
Whitney Houston
1985 "Whitney Houston" debut album by Whitney Houston is released (Grammy Award Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female 1986, Billboard Album of Year 1986)
- 1989 World's 1st satellite Skyphone opens
- 1990 Space probe Voyager 1 takes a photograph of the entire solar system, the images transmitted in real-time with earth a 'pale blue dot'
The Silence of the Lambs
1991 "The Silence of the Lambs" film based on the book by Thomas Harris, directed by Jonathan Demme and starring Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins, is released (Best Picture 1992)
- 2000 Spacecraft NEAR Shoemaker enters orbit around asteroid 433 Eros, the first spacecraft to orbit an asteroid
- 2005 Online video-sharing site YouTube is founded in San Mateo, California, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim
- 2024 Korean scientists say they have created "meaty rice" with beef grown inside rice grains in a lab, adding 8% more protein [1]
- 2025 American jazz saxophonist Marshall Allen of the Sun Ra Arkestra releases "New Dawn," his debut album as a solo artist, recorded shortly after his 100th birthday
