December 6

1830: U.S. Naval Observatory opened (VP's residence located there). 1877: The Washington Post newspaper was first published. 1877: The first sound recording was made by Thomas Edison. 1892: Werner von Siemens, German electrical engineer who helped develop telegraph industry (and for whom the unit of conductance is named after), died. 1893: Astronomer Rudolf Wolf, who discovered the 11-year sunspot cycle, died. 1923: A presidential address was broadcast on radio for the first time as President Coolidge spoke to a joint session of Congress. 1955: The Federal government standardized the size of license plates throughout the U.S. 1957: French aircraft designer Robert Esnault-Pelterie, who developed the concept of ailerons, died. 1957: America's first attempt at putting a satellite (the TV-3) into orbit failed when the Vanguard launch vehicle malfunctioned on the launch pad at Cape Canaveral, FL. 1993: German physicist Wolfgang Paul, who developed the Paul trap for holding electrons long enough to study them, died.