Archive for 2024
First 1 MB Memory Chip
January 6, 1984
Hitachi announces it has developed the first memory chip capable of holding 1 MB of data. My, how far we’ve come since then!
Morse Demonstrates Telegraph
January 6, 1838
Samuel Morse’s telegraph system is demonstrated for the first time at the Speedwell Iron Works in Morristown, New Jersey. The telegraph revolutionized long-distance communications, reaching the height of popularity in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It was slowly replaced by the telephone, faxing, and e-mail, however, it wasn’t until January 2006 that Western Union, perhaps the most famous “telegram” company, sent its last telegraph.
Nexus is the One
January 5, 2010
The Nexus One phone goes on sale. While not the first Android phone, it was the first phone to be branded and marketed directly by Google. In fact, it was available for purchase directly from Google’s web store for about 7 months after launch.
Richard Stallman Begins Work on GNU
January 5, 1984
Richard Stallman begins work on the GNU operating system, intended to be a free UNIX-like OS. Combined with the Linux kernel, GNU/Linux is the most popular free and open-source operating system today. Believing that people should be able to freely modify the software they use, Stallman would later found the Free Software Foundation and write the GNU GPL, the most popularly used free software license.
Space Shuttle Given Green Light
The First Color Newsreel
January 5, 1948
The first color newsreel seen by movie theater audiences in the United States is presented, showing clips from the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl football game, shot just 4 days earlier. The entire newsreel is available on YouTube, although inexplicably, the date listed on the video states 1940.
Construction Begins on Golden Gate
January 5, 1933
Construction begins on the Golden Gate Bridge, as workers began excavating 3.25 million cubic feet of dirt for the structure’s huge anchorages.
Spirit Lands on Mars
First Handheld Scientific Calculator
January 4, 1972
Hewlett-Packard introduces the first handheld scientific calculator, the HP-35. The precision of the calculator was greater than most mainframe computers of its time. For such a technological achievement, the name of the calculator is simply derived from the fact that it has 35 buttons. I wonder if they had to use the calculator to figure that out.
