May 25

1844: The gasoline engine was patented by Stuart Perry. 1865: Pieter Zeeman who won Nobel Prize in Physics for splitting of spectral lines (the Zeeman effect), was born. 1888: Nobel Prize winner Ascanio Sobrero, who discovered nitroglycerine, died. 1889: Helicopter pioneer Igor Sikorsky was born. 1927: Henry Ford stopped producing Model T car and began producing the Model A. 1940: Penicillin ("mould juice" per its discoverer), was tested and proven effective by Norman Heatley. 1961: President Kennedy announced his goal to initiate a goal of "landing a man on the moon" before the end of the decade. 1973: The U.S. launched the first Skylab crew. 1992: Jay Leno made his debut as permanent host of NBC's "Tonight Show," succeeding Johnny Carson. 1999: Waldo Semon, the inventor of PVC plastic, died.