First Liquid-Fueled Rocket Launched
March 16, 1926
Robert Goddard, now considered the father of modern rocketry, successfully launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket in Auburn, Massachusetts. The rocket reached an altitude of 41 feet in 2 seconds at a speed of about 60 miles per hour.
The concept of using liquid as fuel allowed the advancement of rocket technology to the point where space travel was made possible. Goddard died in 1945 before his vision of space travel became a reality, however NASA acknowledged his contributions by naming the Goddard Space Flight Center after him.
First Internet Domain Registered
March 15, 1985
The first Internet domain symbolics.com is registered by Symbolics, a Massachusetts computer company.
First Newsletter of the Homebrew Computer Club
March 15, 1975
Issue number one of the Homebrew Computer Club’s newsletter is published. Only 21 issues are published through December 1977, but the newsletter is considered influential in the early culture of the personal computer industry.
Bell Labs Announces TRADIC
March 14, 1955
AT&T Bell Laboratories announces the completion of the first fully transistorized computer, TRADIC. TRADIC, which stood for TRAnsistor DIgital Computer, contained nearly 800 transistors, which replaced the standard vacuum tube and allowed the machine to operate on fewer than 100 watts which was one-twentieth the power required by a comparable vacuum tube computer.
First Use of Word “Photography”
March 14, 1839
Almost exactly 58 years to the day that his father William discovered the planet Uranus, John Herschel presented to the Royal Society his “Note on the Art of Photography, or the application of the Chemical Rays of Light to the purposes of Pictorial Representation.” This is considered the first recorded use of the word “photography”.
John Herschel was a famous English scientist and polymath, doing work as a mathematician, astronomer, chemist, inventor, and experimental photographer. He was also the inventor of the blueprint among his many accomplishments.
Microsoft Goes Public
March 13, 1986
Ten years after the company’s founding, Microsoft Corporation stock goes public at $21 per share. The stock, which eventually closed at $27.75 a share, peaked at $29.25 a share shortly after the opening. It is said that the rising value of Microsoft stock has made an estimated 4 billionaires and 12,000 millionaires of Microsoft employees.
A Comet? No, that’s Uranus!
March 13, 1781
Using a telescope, English astronomer William Herschel notices a small object that would move slowly across the sky over the next several days. At first thinking he had discovered a comet, continued observation revealed a planet, soon named Uranus after the Greek god of the sky. This event was also notable as it was the first time a planet was discovered by telescope.
The discovery of the planet led to Herschel’s appointment as royal court astronomer by King George III which allowed him to further pursue astronomy. Over 20 years Herschel would observe and catalog 2,500 new nebulae and star clusters as well as two moons around Uranus and two more around Saturn. He also proposed the name “asteroids” for the objects discovered in 1801.
Hulu is Unleashed
March 12, 2008
The video streaming service Hulu is launched to the public. Hulu has since become a focal point for the ongoing development of “streaming TV” along with the agonizing by TV networks and movie studios. It also revealed Alec Baldwin to be an alien, which didn’t surprise anybody.
First Proposal for a World Wide Web
March 12, 1989
Tim Berners-Lee submits a proposal to CERN for developing a new way of linking and sharing information over the Internet. It was the first time Berners-Lee proposed a system that would ultimately become the World Wide Web. However, this proposal was a relatively vague request to research the details and feasibility of such a system. He would later submit a proposal on November 12, 1990 that much more directly detailed the actual implementation of the World Wide Web. So while some people consider today the birthday of the World Wide Web, I would put forth November 12, 1990 as a more accurate date.
NFL Adopts Instant Replay … For The First Time
March 11, 1986
The NFL adopts a limited instant replay system. This system was dropped, however, in 1992 before the current instant replay system was instated in 1999. In effect, you could say the current system is an instant replay itself!