Today in History (November 5)

Today in History

November 5

1219: The port of Damietta falls to the Crusaders after a siege.

1556: The Emperor Akbar defeats the Hindus at Panipat and secures control of the Mogul Empire.

1605: Guy Fawkes is betrayed and arrested in an attempt to blow up the British Parliament in the "Gunpowder Plot." Ever since, England has celebrated Guy Fawkes Day.

1653: The Iroquois League signs a peace treaty with the French, vowing not to wage war with other tribes under French protection.

1757: Frederick II of Prussia defeats the French at Rosbach in the Seven Years War.

1768: William Johnson, the northern Indian Commissioner, signs a treaty with the Iroquois Indians to acquire much of the land between the Tennessee and Ohio rivers for future settlement.

1814: Having decided to abandon the Niagara frontier, the American army blows up Fort Erie.

1840: Afghanistan surrenders to the British army.

1854: British and French defeat the Russians at Inkerman, Crimea.

1862: President Abraham Lincoln relieves General George McClellan of command of the Union armies and names Maj. Gen. Ambrose Burnside commander of the Army of the Potomac.

1872: Susan B. Anthony is arrested for trying to vote.

1911: Calbraith P. Rodgers ends first transcontinental flight–49 days from New York to Pasadena, Calif.

1912: Woodrow Wilson is elected 28th president of the United States.

1914: France and Great Britain declare war on Turkey.

1917: General John Pershing leads U.S. troops into the first American action against German forces.

1930: Sinclair Lewis becomes the first American to win a Nobel Prize in Literature for his novel Babbit.

1935: Parker Brothers company launches "Monopoly," a game of real estate and capitalism.

1940: President Franklin D. Roosevelt is re-elected for third term.

1968: Richard Nixon is elected 37th president of the United States.

1968: Shirley Chisholm of Brooklyn, New York, becomes the first elected African American woman to serve in the House of Representatives.

1995: Andre Dallaire’s attempt to assassinate Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien is foiled when the minister’s wife locks the door.

2003: Gary Ridgway, known as the Green River Killer, pleads guilty to 48 counts of murder.

2006: Former president of Iraq Saddam Hussein, along with Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, is sentenced to death for the massacre of 148 Shi’a Muslims in 1982.

2007: Chang’e 1, China’s first lunar satellite, begins its orbit of the moon.

2009: The deadliest mass shooting at a US military installation occurs at Fort Hood, Texas, when US Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan kills 13 and wounds 29.

Born on November 5

1855: Eugene V. Debs, American Socialist leader and first president of the American Railway Union.

1885: Will Durant, historian and author.

1913: Vivien Leigh, British actress famous for her role as Scarlett O’Hara in Gone With the Wind.

1918: George Sheehan, cardiologist well known for his book Running and Being.

1942: Art Garfunkel, American singer, one half of "Simon and Garfunkel."

1943: Sam Shepard, American playwright and actor.

1945: Peter Pace, first USMC general appointed to serve as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

1946: Gram Parsons, influential singer, songwriter,
guitarist; member of The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and International Submarine Band.

1947: Peter Noone, singer, songwriter, musician, best known as Herman of Herman’s Hermits.

1948: William Daniel Phillips, shared 1997 Nobel Prize in Physics for his contributions to laser cooling, including his invention of the Zeeman slower technique for slowing the movement of gaseous atoms.

1963: Tatum O’Neal, actress; youngest person ever to win a competitive Academy award, for her performance at age 10 in Paper Moon (1973).

1973: Peter Emmerich, illustrator; in 2001 created the iconic "Mickey Salutes America" image featuring Walt Disney’s Mickey Mouse.

1987: Kevin Jonas II, musician, actor; oldest member of the pop rock group Jonas Brothers.

Today in History (November 3)

Today in History

November 3

1493: Christopher Columbus arrives at the Caribbee Isles (Dominica) during his second expedition.

1507: Leonardo da Vinci is commissioned to paint Lisa Gherardini ("Mona Lisa").

1529: The first parliament for five years opens in England and the Commons put forward bills against abuses amongst the clergy and in the church courts.

1794: Thomas Paine is released from a Parisian jail with help from the American ambassador James Monroe. He was arrested for having offended the Robespierre faction.

1813: American troops destroy the Indian village of Tallushatchee in the Mississippi Valley.

1868: Ulysses S. Grant elected the 18th president of the United States.

1883: A poorly trained Egyptian army, led by British General William Hicks, marches toward El Obeid in the Sudan–straight into a Mahdist ambush and massacre.

1883: The U.S. Supreme Court declares American Indians to be "dependent aliens."

1892: First automatic telephone exchange goes into operation in La Porte, Indiana.

1896: William McKinley is elected 25th president of the United States.

1912: The first all-metal plane flies near Issy, France, piloted by Ponche and Prinard.

1918: The German fleet at Kiel mutinies. This is the first act leading to Germany’s capitulation in World War I.

1921: Milk drivers on strike dump thousands of gallons of milk onto New York City’s streets.

1935: Left-wing groups in France form the Socialist and Republican Union.

1957: The Soviet Union launches Sputnik II with the dog Laika, the first animal in space, aboard.

1964: For the first time residents of Washington, D.C., are allowed to vote in a presidential election.

1964: Lyndon B. Johnson is elected the 36th president of the United States.

1964: Robert Kennedy, brother of the slain president, is elected as a senator from New York.

1967: The Battle of Dak To begins in Vietnam’s Central Highlands; actually a series of engagements, the battle would continue through Nov. 22.

1969: US President Richard Nixon, speaking on TV and radio, asks the "silent majority" of the American people to support his policies and the continuing war effort in Vietnam.

1973: NASA launches Mariner 10, which will become the first probe to reach Mercury.

1979: Ku Klux Klansmen and neo-Nazis kill 5 and wound 7 members of the Communist Workers Party during a "Death to the Klan" rally in Greensboro, NC; the incident becomes known as the Greensboro Massacre.

1983: Jesse Jackson announces his candidacy for the office of president of the United States.

1986: The Lebanese magazine Ash-Shiraa reports the US has secretly been selling weapons to Iran in order to secure the release of 7 American hostages being held by pro-Iranian groups in Lebanon.

1992: Arkansas Governor Bill (William Jefferson) Clinton is elected 42nd president of the United States.

1997: US imposes economic sanctions against Sudan in response to human rights abuses and support of Islamic extremist groups.

Born on November 3

1718: John Montague, fourth Earl of Sandwich and inventor of the sandwich.

1794: William Cullen Bryant, poet and journalist.

1801: Karl Baedeker, German publisher, well known for travel guides.

1831: Ignatius Donnelly, American social reformer best known for his book Atlantis: The Antediluvian World.

1901: Andre Malraux, French novelist (Man’s Fate).

1903: Walker Evans, photographer.

1909: James "Scotty" Reston, New York Times reporter, editor and columnist.

1918: Russell Long, U.S. senator from Louisiana from 1951 to 1968 and son of Huey P. Long.

1920: Oodgeroo Noonuccal [Kath Walker], Australian Aboriginal poet.

1933: Jeremy Brett, actor; best known for his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the Granada TV productions of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s stories about the detective.

1933: Michael Dukakis, politician; the longest-serving governor in the history of the State of Massachusetts (1975-79, 1983-91); unsuccessful Democratic candidate for US presidency (1988).

1933: Amartya Sen, Indian economist, winner of Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (1998) for his work on economic theories of famines and social justice and indexes for measuring the well-being of citizens in developing countries.

1942: Martin Cruz Smith, novelist (Gorky Park).

1949: Larry Holmes, professional boxer known as The Easton Assassin; his 20 successful defenses of his heavyweight title is second only to Joe Louis’ record 25.

1952: Roseanne Barr, comedian, actress, producer; best known for her starring role in the TV series Roseanne, for which she won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe.

1952: David Ho, virologist, AIDS researcher.

1956: Gary Ross, film director, screenwriter (The Hunger Games, Seabiscuit).

Today in History (November 2)

Today in History

November 2

1570: A tidal wave in the North Sea destroys the sea walls from Holland to Jutland. More than 1,000 people are killed.

1772: The first Committees of Correspondence are formed in Massachusetts under Samuel Adams.

1789: The property of the church in France is taken away by the state.

1841: The second Afghan War begins.

1869: Sheriff Wild Bill Hickok loses his re-election bid in Ellis County, Kan.

1880: James A. Garfield is elected the 20th president of the United States.

1882: Newly elected John Poe replaces Pat Garrett as sheriff of Lincoln County, New Mexico Territory.

1889: North Dakota is made the 39th state.

1889: South Dakota is made the 40th state.

1892: Lawmen surround outlaws Ned Christie and Arch Wolf near Tahlequah, Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma). It will take dynamite and a cannon to dislodge the two from their cabin.

1903: London’s Daily Mirror newspaper is first published.

1914: Russia declares war with Turkey.

1920: The first radio broadcast in the United States is made from Pittsburgh.

1920: Charlotte Woodward, who signed the 1848 Seneca Falls Declaration calling for female voting rights, casts her ballot in a presidential election.

1921: Margaret Sanger and Mary Ware Dennett form the American Birth Control League.

1923: U.S. Navy aviator H.J. Brown sets new world speed record of 259 mph in a Curtiss racer.

1926: Air Commerce Act is passed, providing federal aid for airlines and airports.

1936: The first high-definition public television transmissions begin from Alexandra Palace in north London by the BBC.

1942: Lieutenant General Dwight D. Eisenhower arrives
in Gibraltar to set up an American command post for the invasion of North Africa.

1943: The Battle of Empress Augusta Bay in Bougainville ends in U.S. Navy victory over Japan.

1947: Howard Hughes’ Spruce Goose flies for the first and last time.

1948: Harry S Truman is elected the 33rd president of the United States.

1959: Charles Van Doren confesses that the TV quiz
show 21 is fixed and that he had been given the answers to the questions asked him.

1960: A British jury determines that Lady Chatterly’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence is not obscene.

1963: South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem is assassinated.

1976: Jimmy (James Earl) Carter elected the 39th president of the United States.

1983: President Ronald Reagan signs a bill establishing Martin Luther King, Jr., Day.

1984: Serial killer Velma Barfield becomes the first woman executed in the US since 1962.

2000: First resident crew arrives at the International Space Station.

Born on November 2

1734: Daniel Boone, American frontiersman and explorer.

1755: Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, executed during the French Revolution.

1795: James Polk, 11th president of the United States (1845-49).

1865: Warren G. Harding, 29th president of the United States (1921-23).

1885: Harlow Shapley, astronomer who discovered the Sun is not at the center of the galaxy.
1906: Luchino Visconti, film director (Obsession, Death in Venice).

1913: Burt Lancaster, American film actor.

1929: Richard Taylor, Nobel Prize-winning physicist who proved the existence of quarks.

1932: Melvin Schwartz, physicist who won the Nobel Prize for work on neutrinos.

1936: Rose Bird, first female Chief Justice of California (1977-87); also the first Chief Justice in California history to be removed from office by voters.

1938: Jay Black, lead singer of the group Jay and the Americans ("Come a Little Bit Closer," "This Magic Moment").

1938: Pat Buchanan, American conservative political commentator, syndicated columnist, author; a senior advisor to presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan.

1938: Queen Sofia of Spain (1975–20-- ).

1949: Lois McMaster Bujold, science fiction and fantasy author (The Mountains of Morning; Paladin of Souls); her many awards include four Hugos for best novel, which ties Robert A. Heinlein’s record.

1952: Maxine Nightingale, British R&B and soul singer ("Right Back Where We Started From").

1961: k.d. lang, Grammy-winning Canadian pop and country singer-songwriter, actress, social activist ("Constant Craving").

1972: Samantha Womack, English actress, singer, director (TV and stage); best known for her roles as Mandy Wilkins in Game On and Ronnie Mitchell in EastEnders.

Today's History

Today in History

November 1

79: The city of Pompeii is buried by eruption of Mt. Vesuvius.

1512: Michelangelo’s painting on the Sistine Chapel ceiling is exhibited for the first time.

1582: Maurice of Nassau, the son of William of Orange, becomes the governor of Holland, Zeeland and Utrecht.

1755: A great earthquake at Lisbon, Portugal, kills over 50,000 people.

1765: The Stamp Act goes into effect in the British
colonies.

1861: Lieutenant General Winfield Scott, 50 year-veteran and leader of the U.S. Army at the onset of the Civil War, retires. General George McClellan is appointed general-in-chief of the Union armies.

1866: Wild woman of the west Myra Maybelle Shirley (Belle Starr) marries James C. Reed in Collins County, Texas.

1869: Louis Riel seizes Fort Garry, Winnipeg, during the Red River Rebellion.

1911: Italian planes perform the first aerial bombing on Tanguira oasis in Libya.

1923: Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company buys the rights to manufacture Zeppelin dirigibles.

1924: Legendary Oklahoma marshal Bill Tilghman, 71, is gunned down by a drunk in Cromwell, Oklahoma.

1936: Italian Fascist leader Benito Mussolini announces the Rome-Berlin axis after Count Ciano’s visit to Germany.

1936: The Rodeo Cowboy’s Association is founded.

1943: American troops invade Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.

1945: John H. Johnson publishes the first issue of Ebony magazine.

1950: Two members of a Puerto Rican nationalist movement attempt to assassinate President Harry S Truman.

1951: Algerian National Liberation Front begins guerrilla warfare against the French.

1967: The first issue of Rolling Stone hits the streets.

1968: President Lyndon B. Johnson calls a halt to bombing in Vietnam, hoping this will lead to progress at the Paris peace talks.

1968: The Motion Picture Association of America officially introduces its rating system to indicate age-appropriateness of film content.

1973: Leon Jaworski appointed as new Watergate Special  Prosecutor.

1981: Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.

1982: Honda opens a plant in Marysville, Ohio, becoming the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the US.

2000: Serbia joins the United Nations.

Born on November 1

1500: Benvunuto Cellini, Italian goldsmith and sculptor.

1636: Nicholas Boileaus, French poet and historian.

1762: Spencer Perceval, the only British prime minister to be assassinated.

1798: Benjamin Lee Guinness, Irish brewer.

1818: Jems Renwick, architect.

1828: Balfour Steward, Scottish physicist and meteorologist.

1871: Stephen Crane, poet and novelist (The Red Badge of Courage).

1880: Sholem Asch, Polish-born American novelist and playwright (The Nazarene, The Mother).

1880: Grantland Rice, American sportswriter.

1902: Nordahl Brun Greig, Norwegian writer and wartime hero during WWII.

1923: Victoria de Los Angeles, Spanish opera soprano.

1930: A.R. Gurney, American playwright (Love Letters, The Dining Room).

1935: Gary Player, professional golfer from South Africa; the only non-American to win the Grand Slam; inducted into World Golf Hall of Fame 1974.

1937: Bill Anderson, country singer, songwriter; known as Whisperin’ Bill, he ranked among the top country songwriters of the 1960s and ’70s and has continued to pen No. 1 hits into the 21st century.

1942: Ralph Klein, Canadian politician; Premier of Alberta (1992–2006) and leader of the Progressive Conservative Association of Alberta (1992–2006); known as "King Ralph" for his political longevity.

1944: Richard "Kinky" Friedman, singer, songwriter, humorist, author; known for his satirical lyrics and commentary ("Sold American"); ran as an independent for Governor of Texas (2006).

1946: Lynne Russell, journalist; first woman to anchor a
nationally televised prime time news program in US (CNN Headline News, 1983–2001).

1950: Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Software and Electronic Frontier Foundation.

1958: Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter, director, producer (Being John Malkovich; Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind).
1960: Tim Cook, business executive; CEO of Apple, inc. (2011–20__ ).

1964: Karen Marie Moning, bestselling author; her Highlander and Fever series blend urban fantasy with Celtic mythology.

1967: Tina Arena (Filippina Lydia Arena), singer, songwriter, actress, record producer; first Australian to receive the Order of State; awarded Knighthood of the Order of National Merit, by the President of the French Republic (2009).

1981: LaTavia Roberson, singer, songwriter; original member of Destiny’s Child group.

Motorcycle Technology

Gyro Technology

This wild new motorcycle, invented by 19-year-old Ben J. Poss Gulak, is among the latest inventions to capture attention.

Debuting at the National Motorcycle Show in Toronto, the "Uno" uses gyro technology for balance and acceleration.

It's a battery charged machine that accelerates by leaning forward and slowing down by leaning backwards.

The Uno weighs approximately 129 pounds (58 kg.) and has a top speed of 25 mph (40 klms).

Update: Since featuring Ben's invention, he has continued to develop and progress with his innovative product.

He won second place in the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and first prize in Popular Science's Invention Awards. Ben also appeared on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno and on the popular invention television show "Dragon's Den" where he received 1.25 million dollars from investors.

Gulak continues to develop and commercialize his invention while studying engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The latest prototype, known as the Uno 3, can automatically transform itself from a uno-dicycle into a conventional looking motorcycle, which allows for greater acceleration, speed and stability.

Ben shares this advice for inventors, "When you have an idea, it's easy to get discouraged. There are so many people who will tell you that you're wasting your time. The biggest thing is to not let people get you down. If you really believe in something - keep going after it because there is always a way and you can make your dreams come true.

Swiss Air Force fighter pilot

Jet Man

Inventor and former Swiss Air Force fighter pilot, Yves Rossy, jumped from a plane over Calais, France and flew 200 mph crossing the English Channel in 13 minutes before landing in Dover, England.

Earlier this year he unfolded the wings on his back and flew 186 mph (300 kilometers) above the Swiss Alps.

Using four small jet engines attached to his carbon wings, he climbed at 200 ft per minute before executing a series of stunts for a crowd of reporters watching from a mountain top.

The spectacular demonstration was the first public revelation of his latest invention, which he spent five years developing.

"It is absolute freedom" says Rossy.

The inventor says his 120 lb Jetman suit will eventually be available to the public but it's still a few years away.

The flight over the English Channel was his second public demonstration. He is planning his next flight through the Grand Canyon.

Update: Yves Rossy has completed his flight over the Grand Canyon. He jumped out of a helicopter at 2,440 metres (8,000 feet) and soared over the Canyon at 330 km (205 mph) for eight minutes before deploying his parachute.

"My first flight in the US is sure to be one of the most memorable experiences in my life, not only for the sheer beauty of the Grand Canyon but the honor to fly in sacred Native American lands," said Rossy.

Latest Inventions

Amazon is the largest online retailer in the world. It has over 200 million customers. Annual revenues exceed $61 billion and it's growth rate is 31.5% per year.

On a peak day, Amazon will sell 306 products per second and ship 15.6 million of those products worldwide.

According to founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Amazon's success is based upon meeting core customer expectations such as low prices and fast delivery. "I know that people will want low prices 10 years from now. I know that they will want fast delivery, he said.

But fast delivery is dependent on a number of third-party delivery services, which are struggling to meet Amazon's expectations.

So how does one of the world's leading technology innovators approach this problem? Well, he creates an off-the-wall project to develop a seemingly impossible technological solution.

Such projects are typically referred to in Silicon Valley as "moon shot ideas". Ideas so technologically ambitious that most people would consider them impossible.

Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin have their self-driving car project and PayPal founder Elon Musk's has his SpaceX project to colonize Mars.

Bezo's Amazon Prime Air project plans to use unmanned aerial drones to deliver parcels. Flying robots that will come to your home with your order.

It's an ambitious undertaking and the challenges are so extensive and overwhelming that it just looks like a dumb idea unless you believe this quote, "The ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do." ~ Steve Jobs.