Geek Facts

In 1889, Edwin Powell Hubble was born. A pioneer in extragalactic research, he died on September 28th, 1953. Learn more at http://www.biography.com/people/edwin-hubble-9345936.

In 1981, 
Radio Corporation of America (RCA) launched the SATCOM 3-R satellite. This satellite was a replacement for SATCOM 3, which vanished upon firing of the apogee motor. SATCOM 3-R was the first of two RCA satellites to be exclusively dedicated for use by the

In 1962, Danish physicist Niels Bohr died at the age of 77. Neils Bohr is best known for his model of the atom. With his model, Bohr explained how electrons could jump from one orbit to another only by emitting or absorbing energy in fixed

In 1970, Douglas Engelbart received a patent for the first computer mouse. The patent, titled “X-Y Position Indicator for a Display System,” is for a simple hollowed-out wooden block with a single push button on top. Learn more at http://inventors.about.com/library/weekly/aa081898.htm.

In 1963, the touch-tone telephone was introduced. The Western Electric 1500 model featured 10 push buttons that replaced the standard rotary dial. The first commercial service was available in Carnegie and Greensburg, Pennsylvania, for an extra charge. Learn more about the history of the telephone

The Soviet moon rover, Lunokhod 1, became the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another celestial body, namely the Moon. At the time, Time magazine described the robot’s historic landing: Three hours after reaching the Moon aboard the latest unmanned Russian Moon probe, Luna

In 1908
, Albert Einstein presented his quantum theory of light. Einstein developed a theory that light carries energy in quanta, known as photons, and showed that light consists of particles. Learn more at http://www.ehow.com/facts_5731774_albert-einstein_s-quantum-theory-light.html.

In 1980, U.S. spacecraft Voyager I sent back the first close-up pictures of Saturn. Voyager 1 found that about seven percent of the volume of Saturn’s upper atmosphere is helium while almost all the rest is hydrogen. Learn more at http://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/science/saturn.html.

In 1981, for the first time, a spacecraft was launched twice. The second Space Shuttle mission was STS-2. Its mission objectives included safe re-launch and return of the crew as well as verification of the performance of the Space Shuttle vehicle. Learn more at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/archives/sts-2.html.

In 1851, the telescope was patented by Alvan Clark of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Alvan Clark and his two sons had almost no formal training but learned how to build the finest refracting telescopes in the world at that time. Learn more at http://www.oneminuteastronomer.com/66/alvan-clark-master-telescope-maker/.

In 1951, the first long distance telephone call without operator assistance was made. The mayor of Englewood, New Jersey, M. Leslie Downing dialed 10 digits and, eighteen seconds later, reached the mayor of Alameda, California, Frank Osborne. Learn more at http://www.corp.att.com/attlabs/reputation/timeline/51trans.html.

In 1934, astronomer Carl Sagan was born. Carl Sagan was a consultant and adviser to NASA since the 1950s. He briefed the Apollo astronauts before their flights to the Moon, and was an experimenter on the numerous expeditions to the planets.   He hosted the

In 1895, Wilhelm Röntgen discovered x-rays. A week after his discovery, Rontgen took an X-ray photograph of his wife’s hand which clearly revealed her wedding ring and her bones. Learn more at http://inventors.about.com/od/xyzstartinventions/a/x-ray.htm. Photo credit: NASA

In 1994, radio station WXYC launched the world’s first internet radio broadcast. WXYC 89.3 FM is the non-commercial student-run radio station of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Learn more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WXYC.