Miscellaneous Technology

January 21, 1981

Production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car begins in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. While not truly a technological achievement, the DeLorean became known as a symbol of the high-tech 1980’s.

January 20, 1970

“The Super Fight“, a computerized, fictional boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Rocky Marciano “took place” today. The fictional fight was created by filming Ali and Marciano acting out every possible scenario in a fight and the result was then determined using probability formulas entered into a computer. The final fight was only shown once in 1500 cinemas around the world and later released as a DVD.

January 19, 1915

The neon-lighting tube was patented by Frenchman Georges Claude. In 1923, Georges Claude and his French company Claude Neon, introduced neon gas signs to the United States, by selling two to a Packard car dealership in Los Angeles for $1,250 apiece. Neon lighting quickly became a popular fixture in outdoor advertising.

January 17, 1984

The US Supreme Court rules 5-4 that private use of home VCRs to tape TV programs for later viewing does not violate federal copyright laws. This ruling opens the floodgate for VCR sales, changing the landscape of TV watching forever.

January 14, 1914

The first car to be built on an assembly line was completed today, a Model-T Ford.

January 13, 1910

The first public radio broadcast takes place; a live performance of the opera Cavalleria rusticana is sent out over the airwaves from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City.

January 13, 1874

The U.S. Patent Office issues a patent for the Spalding Adding Machine. The precursor of calculators and computers, mechanical adding machines could do simple arithmetic and were popular in businesses until supplanted by computers in the 1960s.

January 10, 1863

The world’s first underground railway service opened in London, the Metropolitan line between Paddington and Farringdon. Approximately 40,000 Londoners ride the trains the first day.

January 9, 1894

W.K. Dickson, an employee of Thomas Edison’s movie studio, receives a copyright for a motion picture film. The 5 second demonstration was a 47-frame film showing a man sneezing. This man, Fred Ott, is now most famously known for having this sneeze recorded in film. “Fred Ott’s Sneeze” is the earliest surviving film to receive a copyright in the United States. While technically a copyright for a film had been granted to Edison’s studio in the previous year, the records for what film it was have been lost.

January 8, 1889

Herman Hollerith is issued a US patent for his punched card calculator. 7 years later he starts a company called the Tabulating Machine Company. In 1911, this is one of 4 companies that merge to form the company that will one day be called IBM.