1582: Nobody does anything, anything at all. In fact, nobody does anything whatsoever between Oct. 4 and Oct. 15, 1582, because the 10 intervening days have simply been declared out of existence by the pope. (This offer may not apply outside Italy, Spain and Portugal.)
Where did those days go?
By the mid-1570s, the Julian Calendar established [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Soviet Union’
Oct. 8, 1582: Nothing Happens … in Catholic Lands
October 8th, 2010 |
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Sept. 24, 1960: First Nuclear Carrier, USS Enterprise, Launched
September 24th, 2010 |
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1960: USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, is launched in Newport News, Virginia. CVN-65, nicknamed Big E, was the first carrier of its kind, powered solely by its eight nuclear reactors.
With nuclear power to propel it, the Enterprise does not need to carry its own fuel oil and has more room for aircraft and [...]
Aug. 20, 1960: Back From Space, With Tails Wagging
August 20th, 2010 |
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1960: Belka and Strelka, a couple of stray mutts impressed into the Soviet space program, become the first living creatures to return alive from an orbital flight.
The Soviets had been using dogs for experimental high-altitude flights long before Belka (Russian for “squirrel”) and Strelka (“Little Arrow”) lifted off from Baikonur on what would be a [...]
Aug. 6, 1945: ‘I Am Become Death, Destroyer of Worlds’
August 6th, 2010 |
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1945: The United States becomes the first (and remains the only) country ever to use an atomic weapon in warfare, obliterating the Japanese city of Hiroshima and instantly killing 70,000 people. (Many thousands more would die later from the effects of radiation poisoning.) Three days later, the port city of Nagasaki is destroyed by a [...]
July 29, 1958: Ike Inks Space Law, NASA Born in Wake of Russ Moon
July 29th, 2010 |
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1958: President Eisenhower signs the National Aeronautics and Space Act, creating the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. The plot had thickened months before.
Beep … beep … beep …
They were steady, almost metronomic, signals coming from a tiny radio beacon orbiting the Earth every 96 minutes aboard an aluminum sphere measuring a mere 22 inches across. [...]
May 21, 1956: Bikini Is Da Bomb
May 21st, 2010 |
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1956: The United States proves it can deliver a hydrogen bomb from the air — by dropping one on the small island group known as the Bikini Atoll. The B-52 bomber crew misses its target by a mile (well, 4 miles, actually) but the point is made: Nobody is safe from the most fearsome [...]
April 26, 1986: Chernobyl Nuclear Plant Suffers Cataclysmic Meltdown
April 26th, 2010 |
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1986: Design flaws, compounded by human errors, cause Soviet engineers to lose control of a reaction at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. A partial meltdown occurs. Many die. Many more suffer. The final count of victims may not be over yet.
When someone says “nuclear disaster” you don’t think Three Mile Island. You probably don’t think [...]
March 1, 1966: Probe Makes First Contact With Another Planet
March 1st, 2010 |
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1966: The Soviet probe Venera 3 successfully lands on the surface of Venus. It’s the first time anything man-made makes contact with an extraterrestrial surface beyond the Moon.
The Soviet Union originally designed the vehicle to explore Mars, but repurposed three of them as Venera probes to visit Venus. In February 1966, Venera 2 managed [...]
Nov. 3, 1993: Theremin Fades Out
November 3rd, 2009 |
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1993: Leon Theremin dies in Moscow. The Russian-born inventor leaves behind a legacy that touches several technical and creative disciplines.
During his 97 years, Theremin left his indelible mark on the fields of science, radio and television broadcasting, espionage, electromagnetic circuitry design and, most famously, music.
The electronic instrument of his design which also bears his name [...]
Sept. 29, 1898: Stalin’s Scientist Sees First Light
September 29th, 2009 |
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1898: Trofim Denisovich Lysenko is born in Karlovka, Ukraine. As dictator Joseph Stalin’s lapdog and top scientist, his influence will almost single-handedly retard the course of Soviet science, especially the fields of genetics and agronomy.
Early Soviet propagandists often relied on “miracles of science” to boost the status of their fledgling state. The young plant breeder [...]
July 6, 1947: The AK-47, an All-Purpose Killer
July 6th, 2009 |
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1947: The AK-47, one of the world’s first operational assault rifles and probably the most durable and enduring small-arms weapons ever made, goes into production in the Soviet Union. More than 60 years later, it remains the standard infantry weapon in numerous armies, and a mainstay in the arsenals of rebels, drug traffickers and terrorists [...]