Day in Engineering History Archive - August 5
August 5
Today is
Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead Day. 1729:
Thomas Newcomen, inventor of the atmospheric steam engine, died.
1858:
Cyrus Field completed the Atlantic cable, establishing telegraphic
communication between the U.S. and England. 1884: The cornerstone
for the Statue
of Liberty was laid on
Bedloe's Island in NY Harbor. 1861: The U.S. federal government
imposed its first
income tax of 3% for all incomes over $800. 1864,
Giovanni Donati made the first spectroscopic observations
of a comet (Tempel,
1864 II). 1914: The first traffic light was installed in
Cleveland, OH. 1930:
Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon, was
born. 1940: The first American paratrooper unit is formed at
Fort Benning, GA. 1962:
Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a suicide. 1971: A British
sailor sailed around the world "in the wrong direction" (E to W).
1981: Firings began of air traffic controllers on illegal strike.
1986: The U.S. Senate voted for President Reagan's
SDI project (Strategic Defense Initiative, aka Star Wars). 1991:
Soichiro Honda, who founded the Honda Motor Company, died. 1999:
Mark McGwire became the 16th member of the 500-home run club.
Today is
Damn the Torpedoes, Full Speed Ahead Day. 1729:
Thomas Newcomen, inventor of the atmospheric steam engine, died.
1858:
Cyrus Field completed the Atlantic cable, establishing telegraphic
communication between the U.S. and England. 1884: The cornerstone
for the Statue
of Liberty was laid on
Bedloe's Island in NY Harbor. 1861: The U.S. federal government
imposed its first
income tax of 3% for all incomes over $800. 1864,
Giovanni Donati made the first spectroscopic observations
of a comet (Tempel,
1864 II). 1914: The first traffic light was installed in
Cleveland, OH. 1930:
Neil Armstrong, the first man to step foot on the moon, was
born. 1940: The first American paratrooper unit is formed at
Fort Benning, GA. 1962:
Marilyn Monroe was found dead of a suicide. 1971: A British
sailor sailed around the world "in the wrong direction" (E to W).
1981: Firings began of air traffic controllers on illegal strike.
1986: The U.S. Senate voted for President Reagan's
SDI project (Strategic Defense Initiative, aka Star Wars). 1991:
Soichiro Honda, who founded the Honda Motor Company, died. 1999:
Mark McGwire became the 16th member of the 500-home run club.| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
Note: These historical tidbits have been collected from various sources, mostly on the Internet. As detailed in
this article,
there is a lot of wrong information that is repeated hundreds of times because most websites do not validate with authoritative
sources. On RF Cafe, events with hyperlinks have been verified.
Please submit significant historical events and
dates for inclusion in these lists. I will be glad to include your name and birthday. Please do not submit your death
date ;-) A couple years ago, I began commemorating the birthdays of notable people and events with
special RF Cafe logos. Where available, I like to use images
from postage stamps from the country where the person or event occurred.