Today in History: 14 May
1607 – English colonists establish the 1st permanent English settlement in America at Jamestown. Unknown to them they have landed amidst the worst drought in 800 years.
1643 – Louis XIV becomes King of France aged 4
1787 – Delegates gather in Philadelphia to draw up the Constitution of the United States
1796 – English country doctor Edward Jenner administers his revolutionary cowpox-based vaccine for smallpox, in Berkeley, Gloucestershire
1804 – Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s expedition sets out from St. Louis for the Pacific Coast, commissioned by Thomas Jefferson
1853 – Land surveyor, newspaper publisher, and inventor Gail Borden patents his process for condensed milk
1938 – “The Adventures of Robin Hood”, directed by Michael Curtiz and William Keighley, and starring Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland premieres
1949 – US President Harry Truman signs bill establishing a rocket test range at Cape Canaveral
1960 – USSR launch 1st (unmanned) space capsule
1981 – NASA launches space vehicle S-192
2012 – Stanford University scientists develop prototype bionic eye
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1832 – Rudolf Lipschitz, German mathematician
1928 – Frederik H. Kreuger, Dutch scientist and inventor
1944 – George Lucas, American film director, screenwriter, and producer
1967 – Sebastian Thrun, German-American computer scientist
1989 – Rob Gronkowski, American football tight end
Unrecoverable Error –
1643 – Louis XIII, King of France
1919 – Henry John Heinz, German-American entrepreneur
1969 – Walter Pitts, American logician
1987 – Rita Hayworth, American actress
1998 – Frank Sinatra, American singer and actor, known as the “Chairman of the Board” and “Ol’ Blue Eyes”
2015 – B.B. King, American blues guitarist and singer
In-n-Out (but not the burger)
1868-1935 – Magnus Hirschfeld, German physician and gay rights advocate
The Funnies:
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Mouseover: This PSA brought to you by several would-be assassins who tried to wave me in front of speeding cars in the last month and who will have to try harder next time.
Explain XKCD 2932: Driving PSA - explain xkcd
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In case you missed it, you can read yesterday’s down under Spark by @steve6343 over here….
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