1633 First bananas go on sale in London in the shop window of Thomas Johnson's apothecary
- 1710 The first law regulating copyright is issued in Great Britain
- 1790 US patent system is formed
Safety Pin
1849 Safety pin is patented by Walter Hunt in NYC; he sells the rights for $400
Titanic Sets Sail
1912 RMS Titanic sets sail from Southampton for her maiden (and final) voyage
- 1930 Thiokol Corporation begins producing the first synthetic rubber in Yardley, New Jersey; product is based on the earlier accidental discovery by chemists, Joseph C. Patrick and Nathan Mnookin
Jackie Robinson's MLB Contract
1947 Jackie Robinson becomes first black player of the 20th century to sign a MLB contract; Brooklyn GM, Branch Rickey announces Dodgers had bought Robinson’s contract from Montreal Royals
- 1953 "House of Wax," the first color 3-D movie, premieres in New York
Music History
1970 Paul McCartney officially announces the breakup of The Beatles in a press release promoting his solo album
- 1996 Fastest wind speed ever recorded (not a tornado) is 408 km/h (220 kn; 253 mph; 113 m/s) during Tropical Cyclone Olivia on Barrow Island, Australia
- 1998 The Good Friday Agreement (Belfast Agreement) for Northern Ireland is signed by the British and Irish governments
- 2017 "British Vogue" magazine announces Edward Enninful as new editor; first male and Black person to hold position
- 2019 First home delivery service by drone begins in Canberra, Australia by Wing, part of Google's Alphabet company
2019 First-ever photo of a black hole announced, taken by The Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration in 2017 in galaxy M87, 6.5 billion times the mass of earth, 55 million light-years away
- 2019 New species of human announced named Homo luzonensis, 3ft tall, remains dated 50-60,000 years old found in cave on island of Luzon, Philippines
