Gday...

1449  -             Two gigantic reptiles, described as monsters or dragons, are seen fighting on the banks of the River Stour in England.

Whether dragons were real or only a myth has been the subject of many a debate over the years. However, according to a medieval chronicle, on 26 September 1449 two fire-breathing monsters were seen battling each other near the village of Little Cornard, on the banks of the River Stour along the English county borders of Suffolk and Essex. One dragon was from Killingdown Hill near Suffolk, and the other from Ballingdon Hill in Essex. There were many witnesses as the two beasts met in what later came to be known as Sharpfight Meadow, for an hour-long battle. One of the creatures was black, and its opponent reddish and spotted. The black one yielded first, returning to its lair.

Also in Suffolk at the time was a lake known as Bures Lake. Witnesses described a huge monster with a crested head and enormous tail, which was seen to devour a shepherd and numerous sheep. Similar creatures (or the same creature) have been described in Suffolk folklore.

1824  -             The tomato, previously regarded with suspicion, is proven to be harmless when Colonel Robert Johnson eats a basketful of tomatoes in public and without ill effect.

The tomato was not always the popular vegetable (or fruit) that it is today. During the 17th century, it was known as the stinking golden apple or wolf peach in northern Europe and the United States, due to the belief that it was poisonous. Its Latin genus name 'Lycopersicon' means wolf peach; 'peach' for its tempting, luscious appearance, and 'wolf' for its supposedly poisonous qualities. It was believed that eating a raw tomato would cause immediate death.

Colonel Robert Johnson brought the humble tomato to the United States, but the food was initially regarded with much suspicion. On 26 September 1820, Johnson announced he would eat a bushel of tomatoes in public. A crowd of 2000 people gathered to watch what they believed would be a public suicide. However, the reputation of the tomato was changed when Johnson ate the whole basketful without ill effect.

1855  -             The first railway line in New South Wales is opened.

Up until the mid-1800s, the horse and carriage remained the major means of transporting goods and people long distances overland. Victoria was the first colony to build a railway line, which ran from Melbourne's Flinders Street Station and Port Melbourne, then called Sandridge. The line was opened on 12 September 1854.

In 1849, the Sydney Railway Company started building the first railway track in New South Wales. It ran between Sydney and Parramatta, for a distance of 22 km. The construction suffered some setbacks, in particular financial difficulty, and was put on hold until taken over by the New South Wales colonial government. The line finally opened on 26 September 1855.

1973  -             Supersonic aircraft, the Concorde, makes its first trans-Atlantic crossing in record time.

The concept of supersonic aircraft was conceived in the 1950s. During the 1960s, Britain's Bristol Aeroplane Company and France's Sud Aviation were simultaneously working on designs, but the anticipated costs of the project were too great to be developed by an individual company: hence, France and Britain decided to work cooperatively. An international treaty between Britain and France was negotiated for the development of the project. The first test flight took place from Toulouse, France, on 2 March 1969, and the first supersonic flight occurred on October 1 of that year.

Concorde had a cruise speed of Mach 2.04, twice the speed of sound, and a cruise altitude of 17,700 metres (60,000 feet). Initially, it ran regular services between Britain and France, but on 26 September 1973 the Concorde made its first non-stop crossing of the Atlantic. The flight between Washington DC to Orly airport in Paris was made in three hours 32 minutes, halving the previous flight time of any trans-Atlantic aircraft crossing.

1983  -             A potential nuclear war is averted when a Russian army colonel refuses to believe his computerised early warning systems.

Lieutenant Colonel Stanislav Petrov, born in 1939, is a relatively unknown hero who averted nuclear war on 26 September 1983 (local time). The computerised early warning systems he was monitoring indicated that the United States had launched a missile against the USSR. Petrov, however, refused to believe the systems, reasoning that if the USA really wished to attack the USSR, it would launch many missiles rather than the single one indicated. Further, the reliability of the warning system had been proven to be doubtful in previous instances. Shortly after the first alarm, the system warned that another four missiles had been launched. Still Petrov believed a computer error had occurred. Knowing that he could be condemning his own countrymen to death, but also knowing that a false report could result in an unprecedented Soviet attack on the US, he chose to declare the situation as a false alarm.

Due to the Cold War, Petrov's actions were not made public until 1998. He was reprimanded by his own country for defying military protocol, reassigned, and ultimately retired from his military career. Whilst he was never awarded recognition within his own country for averting a major catastrophe, on 21 May 2004 the Association of World Citizens, based in the USA, awarded Colonel Petrov its World Citizen trophy and $1,000 US dollars in recognition of his actions.

1991  -             Eight people commence a two-year stay inside Biosphere 2, a sealed, manmade experimental environment in Arizona, USA.

Biosphere 2 is an artificial, sealed ecological system in Oracle, Arizona. It was built in the late 1980s, to test whether people could live and study in a closed, isolated environment, whilst carrying out scientific experiments. Biosphere 2 was designed as an airtight replica of Earth's environment, and included a 3,406,000 litre ocean, rainforest, a desert, agricultural areas and a human habitat. It was called Biosphere 2, because Earth itself is considered the first biosphere. The experiment was intended to explore the possible use of closed biospheres in space colonisation.

The first mission involved four men and four women living in the Biosphere for two years. It commenced on 26 September 1991, and the eight people emerged on 26 September 1993. The experiment lost some credibility when oxygen and other necessities were required to be provided. The second mission, which extended for six months in 1994, was fraught with problems and the project met with considerable disdain among the scientific community. Biosphere 2 is now open as a hands-on, interactive science centre.

2008  -             Actor and humanitarian Paul Newman dies.

Paul Newman was a humble actor who became a Hollywood legend, yet never lost his integrity and generous spirit. Born in the Cleveland suburb of Shaker Heights, Ohio on 26 January 1925, Paul Leonard Newman was the son of a Jewish father and a Slovak Catholic mother. He made his acting debut at 7 years old, as a court jester in a school production of Robin Hood. He graduated from Shaker Heights High School in 1943 and attended Ohio University in Athens for a short time.

Newman served in the Navy in World War II in the Pacific and returned to university, hoping to train to be a pilot. The discovery that he was colour blind prevented him from pursuing that career, but he remained in the military field, undergoing training as a radioman and gunner. He served on the USS Bunker Hill during the battle for Okinawa in 1945, and narrowly averted death when his pilot developed an infection shortly before the main attack and could not fly: all others in his troop who flew that day died.

Newman's theatre career began on Broadway, and he successfully transitioned to films. In all, he appeared in around 60 films, including classics such as The Long, Hot Summer (1958), Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Hustler (1961),  Cool Hand Luke (1967), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and The Sting (1973).

Newman was a generous humanitarian: when he founded Newman's Own, a line of food products, in 1982, he established a policy that all proceeds from the sale of Newman's Own products, after taxes, would be donated to charity. By 2006, this had resulted in over $200 million in donations. In June 1999 Newman donated $250,000 to the relief of Kosovo refugees. He founded the "Hole in the Wall" camps which provide camps for children suffering chronic or fatal illnesses. Many other groups representing the socially disadvantaged have benefited from Newman's philanthropy through the years.

Paul Newman died on 26 September 2008, at the age of 83, after a long battle with lung cancer. His daughters led the tributes to him, citing his "selfless humility and generosity" as a legacy that would continue, thanks to his humanitarian work.

Cheers - John

Interesting about the tomato isn't it - they are so popular now with all the different varieties, can't imagine people thinking they would kill them.

You know something, since this "Today in History" has become a "sticky" I read it every day, before I would only read occasionally - odd person that I am!!!!

Gday...

1631  -             Puritans are outraged as Shakespeare's 'A Midummer Night's Dream' is performed on a Sunday.

The romantic comedy "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was written by William Shakespeare between 1594 and 1596. Drawing on mythology, magic and fairies for much of its content, the play was a far cry from some of the tragedies for which Shakespeare was well known.

Puritans, an extremist religious group, raised an outcry when 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' was performed on a Sunday, on 27 September 1631. The private performance took place in the Bishop of Lincoln's house in London. Seeking punishment for those who participated, the Puritans required that the cast member who played "Bottom", a donkey, was required to spend twelve hours in the stocks wearing a donkey's head and a sign proclaiming:

'Good people, I have played the beast,

And brought ill things to pass;

I was a man, but thus have made,

Myself a silly ass.'

Due largely to the influence of the Puritans, drama was banned and theatres remained closed from 1642 to 1660.

1660  -             Vincent de Paul, founder of many charitable organisations, dies.

Saint Vincent de Paul was born on 24 April 1580 at Pouy, Landes, Gascony, France. He was ordained as a priest in 1600, but captured and sold into slavery by Turkish pirates before he could take up his first parish position. Vincent de Paul converted his owner to Christianity, and was freed from slavery in 1607. After returning to France and taking up a position as parish priest near Paris, he founded many charitable organisations such as Congregation of the Daughters of Charity, and the Congregation of Priests of the Mission, also known as Lazarists. Vincent de Paul died on 27 September 1660.

Today, the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul is an international organisation, the primary mission of which is to assist the poor. The Society, which was founded in 1833, took Saint Vincent de Paul as its patron saint: thus, his name has come to be synonymous with charity.

1722  -             An Irish woman is killed by a dobhar-chu, an Irish cryptid.

The field of 'cryptozoology' is the study of 'cryptids' such as Yowies and the Sasquatch, the existence of which has not been proven. Such creatures are elusive, and belief in them is based on anecdotal sightings rather than scientific evidence.

The Dobhar-chu, roughly translated as "water-hound" or "water-dog", is a cryptid of Irish folklore. It is an amphibious creature, reported to be a cross between a dog and an otter, with fish-like qualities. On 27 September 1722, an Irish woman known only by the name "Grace" was apparently killed by a dobhar-chu while she was washing her clothes in Glenade Lake. Screaming for help, she was heard by her husband who, with a friend, arrived too late to save her. Finding the dobhar-chu sitting atop her mutilated body, he stabbed it. The whistling noise it made as it died alerted another dobhar-chu, which arose from the lake and chased the man and his friend. However, they were able to kill it before it hurt either man.

1851  -             Australian explorer Sir Thomas Mitchell wins the last official duel in New South Wales.

Sir Thomas Mitchell was Surveyor-General of New South Wales and the explorer who discovered "Australia Felix", or "Happy Australia", which was the rich land of western Victoria. As well as being well-known for his immense contribution to exploration, Mitchell is less-known for fighting the last known duel in Australia. It was fought between Mitchell and one of New England's well-known early settlers, Sir Stuart Alexander Donaldson.

The duel occurred on 27 September 1851 in Centennial Park, Sydney, and it is believed to have been over land - Tenterfield Station - which was a crown grant to Donaldson. As Surveyor-General, Mitchell had gazetted a town to be built on part of Donaldsons Tenterfield Station. The enraged Donaldson challenged Mitchell to a duel. Three shots were fired, and the last one of Mitchell's found its mark, blowing Donaldson's hat off. Donaldson was not injured, and later went on to become the first Premier of New South Wales.

1854  -             The first major disaster involving an ocean liner occurs when the 'Arctic' sinks, killing over 300.

The "Arctic" was one of four side-wheel steamships built for the New York and Liverpool United States Mail Steamship Company, also known as the Collins Line. The Arctic was 87 metres long, with 10 metre paddle wheels on either side. It could traverse the distance from New York to Liverpool in a record-breaking nine days.

On the morning of 20 September 1854 the Arctic sailed from Liverpool with 150 crew and between 322 and 389 passengers. On 27 September 1854 it was 85km off the Newfoundland coast when it collided with the French steamship, "Vesta", a propeller-driven steamer much smaller than the Arctic. Concerned by the water pouring in through a gaping hole in the hull, Captain James Luce attempted to make for the coast, but the ship sank an hour later. Many of the crew took the lifeboats which were already inadequate in number, and in the end not a single woman or child who was aboard the vessel survived. Captain Luce gallantly tried to save many, but dehydration and exhaustion caused them to drop off the paddle-wheel box to which Luce and others clung. Luce gave a true account of his crew's cowardice. Of the 87 survivors overall, only 22 had been passengers. Around 350 people were killed that day.

1990  -             The hero of the 1852 Gundagai floods, Aboriginal Yarri, is honoured with a headstone placed on his grave.

The town of Gundagai is located on the Murrumbidgee River 390 km south-west of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Australian explorer Hamilton Hume, together with immigrant William Hovell, were the first Europeans to visit when they passed through the area in 1824, and their expedition subsequently opened up the area for farming land. Explorer Charles Sturt identified a spot near Gundagai as the best crossing point of the river for coaches and drovers. A settlement gradually grew up along the Murrumbidgee River at the river crossing, and by 1852, there were around 300 people living along the river flats.

The flats had already shown they were prone to flooding, but people ignored the warnings and stayed in close proximity to the water. Torrential rain had been falling in the Snowy Mountains for most of the month of June 1852. Despite the rising river, many people chose to wait out the floods in the lofts of their houses rather than evacuate, as they were familiar with floods. However, in the early hours of 25 June 1852, a torrent swept down the Murrumbidgee valley. Houses collapsed and people were swept away. A punt sent out to rescue people capsized, its occupants thrown into the raging waters. Two Aborigines, Yarri and Jackey Jackey, showed great courage and heroism as they took their canoes out into the torrent to rescue people stranded in trees and the water. Although they rescued 49, another 89 were killed in the Gundagai flood.

After another, higher flood in 1853, the town was relocated at its current site on the hill, Mount Parnassus, above the river. Yarri, who led the rescue, has been honoured through the years with various small monuments around the town. On 27 September 1990, NSW Premier Nick Greiner formally unveiled a headstone for Yarri's grave, which had lain unmarked for a century.

Cheers - John

Gday...

1861  -             The cache buried beneath the 'Dig' Tree, revealing the notes and journals of Burke and Wills, is dug up by Howitt's rescue party.

Burke and Wills, with a huge party of men and supplies, departed Melbourne in August 1860 to cross Australia to the north coast and back. Burke, being impatient and anxious to complete the crossing as quickly as possible, split the expedition at Menindee. He moved on ahead to establish a depot at Cooper Creek, leaving William Wright in command of the Menindee depot. Splitting his party yet again at Cooper Creek, Burke chose to make a dash to the Gulf in the heat of Summer with Wills, Gray and King. He left stockman William Brahe in charge with instructions that if the party did not return in three months, Brahe was to return to Menindee. The trek to the Gulf and back took over four months, and during that time Gray died. A full day was spent in burying his body. When Burke returned to Cooper Creek, he discovered lettering freshly blazed on the coolibah tree at the depot, giving instructions to dig for the supplies Brahe had left. Thus the name 'Dig' Tree was spawned.

When Burke left the Dig tree to try to reach the police station at Mt Hopeless, 240km away, he failed to leave further messages emblazoned on the Dig tree. Thus, when Brahe and Wright returned to check the depot, they found no evidence of Burke's return, and saw no need to dig up the cache beneath the tree. Believing Burke and Wills were lost, a rescue expedition was organised in Melbourne. Headed up by Alfred Howitt, the rescue party reached the Dig tree in September 1861. Finding no sign of Burke and Wills, the men moved downstream. It was there that they found King, the only survivor, who was able to tell how Burke and Wills had died six weeks earlier.

On 28 September 1861, Howitt dug up the cache beneath the Dig tree, and found the evidence which could have saved Burke and Wills. Had the cache been dug up earlier, Burke and Wills' movements could have been tracked and the tragedy avoided. A Royal Commission into the failed expedition laid the blame on Burke for splitting the expedition party, on Wright for not moving from Menindee more quickly and opening the cache, and on the exploration committee for not acting sooner to rescue Burke and Wills.

1973  -             The first performance takes place in the new Sydney opera House.

The Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia, sits on Bennelong Point in Sydney Harbour. Designed by Danish architect Joern Utzon in 1955, it has become one of the most famous performing arts venues in the world. Utzon arrived in Sydney to oversee the project in 1957 and work commenced on the opera House in 1959. The building was completed in 1973, at a cost of $102 million, and formally opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20 October 1973.

The opening was celebrated with fireworks and a performance of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9. Prior to this, however, Sergei Prokofiev's 'War and Peace' was played at the Opera Theatre on 28 September 1973. The following day, the first public performance was held, with a programme performed by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Mackerras and with accompanying singer Birgit Nilsson.

Cheers - John

Gday...

1791  -             George Vancouver formally claims south-western Australia for Great Britain.

The area of Western Australia where Albany now stands was first discovered by George Vancouver in 1791. After being sent to explore the southern coastline of Australia, Vancouver first made landfall at Cape Leeuwin, then travelled southeast. On 28 September 1791, he discovered an excellent harbour which he named "King George the Third's Sound", later shortened to King George's Sound or, as it is now, King George Sound. Standing at Possession Point, Vancouver formally claimed this land as British territory on 29 September 1791.

British occupation of King George's Sound, the first settlement in Western Australia, did not begin until 1826. At that time, the western third of Australia was unclaimed by any country, and there were fears that France would stake its claim. To prevent this, Governor Darling of New South Wales sent Major Edmund Lockyer, with troops and 23 convicts, to establish a settlement at King George Sound. They arrived in the brig 'Amity' on Christmas Day in 1826. Lockyer initially named the site Frederickstown after His Royal Highness, Duke of York & Albany, Frederick Augustus second son of King George III.

1829  -             London's Metropolitan Police Service is established.

The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is the main police force in Greater London, England. It does not include the square mile of the commercial and financial centre of London, which has its own police force, the City of London Police.

Prior to the mid 18th century, London did not have a police force. Law and order was maintained by magistrates, volunteer constables, watchmen and sometimes even the armed forces. The Metropolitan Police Service began operations on 29 September 1829. British Home Secretary, Sir Robert Peel, succeeded in reforming the criminal laws and established the London police force, which then became known as Scotland Yard. Having been established by Peel, members of the force were given the nicknames of 'Peelers' or "Bobbies'.

1903  -             Prussia becomes the first locality in the world to make drivers licences for automobiles compulsory.

In 1886, Karl Benz demonstrated the first gasoline car powered by an internal-combustion engine in Mannheim, Germany. The development of the automobile progressed quickly from this point, with more and more people opting for the new mode of transportation.

With the increased number of automobiles came the need for more rules and controls. One of the first innovations was the drivers licence. The very first such licence was issued to the inventor of the modern automobile, Karl Benz, in 1888, who sought permission from the Grand Ducal authorities to drive his vehicle on public roads following a number of complaints by his fellow citizens in Mannheim. Following the introduction of the licence, other European countries issued drivers licences only according to need.

The first European state, however, to legislate for drivers licences was Prussia, doing so on 29 September 1903. Testing was conducted by the Dampfkesselüberwachungsverein, or Steam Boiler Supervision Association, and concentrated less on how well a driver controlled his car than on his ability to maintain the mechanics of his vehicle.

1916  -             The New York Times reports that John D Rockefeller has become America's first billionaire.

John D Rockefeller was born John Davison Rockefeller on 8 July 1839 in Richford, New York. Starting his career as a humble assistant bookkeeper for a small firm of commission merchants and produce shippers, he then went into the produce commission business in 1858. His firm Clark & Rockefeller invested in an oil refinery in 1862, and in 1865 Rockefeller sold out his share to his partner Clark. He then paid $72,500 for a larger share in another refinery, and formed the partnership of Rockefeller & Andrews. In 1867 he and his brother merged their refineries, and were joined by another partner, Henry M Flagler. In 1870 the two Rockefellers, Flagler, Andrews and a refiner named Stephen V Harkness formed the Standard Oil Company, with John D Rockefeller as president. This was Rockefeller's start to his incredible wealth.

On 29 September 1916 the New York Times reported in a front-page story that John D Rockefeller was America's first billionaire. His oil holdings alone were worth $500 million, and by the end of the day, they had increased in value by $8 million.

1939  -             During WWII, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union agree to divide up Poland.

On the last day of August 1939, Germany staged an attack by Poland, dressing Nazi S.S. troops in Polish uniforms and leaving behind dead German prisoners in Polish uniforms as evidence of the 'Polish attack'. Using this as propaganda served to pave the way for Germany to invade Poland the next day. On 17 September 1939 the Soviet Red Army invaded eastern Poland. This was in co-operation with Nazi Germany, as a means of carrying out their part of the secret appendix of the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which involved the division of Europe into Nazi and Soviet spheres of influence.

The German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty of 29 September 1939 involved dividing control of occupied Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union. Germany was given the land west of the Bug River, which included heavily populated and industrialised areas. Stalin himself drew up the line which then gave the Soviets control of the region of Lvov and its rich oil wells, and Lithuania, as well as the strategic advantage of a western buffer zone.

1941  -             The Babi Yar massacre, considered to be the largest single massacre in the history of the Holocaust, begins.

The Holocaust of World War II involved the mass slaughter of European Jews and others by the German-led Nazis. The killings were not restricted to Germany and its immediate neighbours.

Babi Yar is a ravine near Kiev, capital of the Ukraine. At the time of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in mid-September of 1941, the city of Kiev held around 175,000 Jews. Within two weeks of capturing Kiev, beginning on 29 September 1941, the Nazis rounded up 33,771 Jewish civilians - men, women and children - and took them to Babi Yar, near the Jewish cemetery. Firstly they were stripped of their clothes and beaten. Then they were marched down into the ravine and ordered to lie on the ground. There, the innocent Jews were machine-gunned in what is believed to have been the largest single slaughter of Jews in the history of the Holocaust. Each time, a thin layer of dirt was placed over the bodies, and the next group was ordered down into the ravine, to repeat the process. The massacre of nearly 34,000 people took two days.

Babi Yar was later converted into an extermination camp for more Jewish victims from throughout the Ukraine. In the months following the massacre, and during the course of WWII, over 100,000 more were captured and taken to Babi Yar where they were executed.

2004  -             The 4179 Toutatis/1989 AC asteroid passes within 4 lunar distances of Earth.

The 4179 Toutatis/1989 AC is an asteroid with an irregular orbit. Its very low orbital inclination (0.47°) and its orbital period of just under 4 years causes Toutatis to make regular close approaches to Earth. One such approach occurred on 29 September 2004, when it came within 4 lunar distances of Earth, or 0.0104 AU (astronomical units). There was no danger of Toutatis impacting the Earth, but its proximity provided excellent opportunities for observation of the asteroid.

Toutatis was first observed on 10 February 1934, but only named when it was rediscovered by astronomer Christian Pollas on 4 January 1989. It is a very irregularly shaped object consisting of two lobes, one measuring approximately 4.6 km wide and the other 2.4 km wide.

Cheers - John

Gday...

1813  -             The strange coins "holey dollar" and "dump" are circulated in NSW to combat currency shortages.

The coins "holey dollar" and "dump" were created by punching the centre out of Spanish dollars. The external circle was the "holey dollar" and the punched-out inner circle was the "dump". They were only ever used in New South Wales, Australia, and on Prince Edward Island, Canada.

In 1813, Governor Lachlan Macquarie faced the problem of currency shortages in the young colony of New South Wales. When the British Government sent £10,000 worth of Spanish dollars (40,000 Spanish dollars) to New South Wales, Macquarie took the initiative to create "holey dollars" and "dumps". The dumps were assigned a value of 15 pence and were restruck with a crown on the obverse side and the denomination on the reverse. The dollars were worth 5 shillings, and were stamped with "New South Wales 1813" around the hole. The coins were released on 30 September 1813. The holey dollar became the first official currency produced specifically for circulation in Australia.

There are estimated to be around 350 Holey dollars and 1500 dumps still in circulation today. The coins were replaced by sterling coinage from 1822.

1882  -             The world's first hydro-electric power plant is opened in Wisconsin, USA.

Hydroelectric power makes use of energy released by water falling, flowing downhill, moving tidally, or moving in some other way, to generate electricity. The world's first commercial hydro-electric power plant was opened on the Fox River in Appleton, Wisconsin, USA, on 30 September 1882. It supplied power for lighting to two paper mills and a house. A few weeks later, another hydro-electric power plant was installed for commercial service at Minneapolis.

100 years later, in 1980, hydro-electric power accounted for about 25% of global electricity and 5% of total world energy use.

1902  -             The synthetic fabric, rayon, is patented.

Rayon is a cellulose-based substance, originally known as "artificial silk", or "art silk". Unlike other man-made fibres such as nylon, it is not entirely synthetic, being made from wood pulp, a naturally-occurring, cellulose-based raw material. It was patented on 30 September 1902 by William H Walker, Arthur D Little and Harry S Mork of Massachusetts, the patent covering the process of the "making of cellulose esters". Rayon can also be produced in a transparent sheet form known as "cellophane".

1939  -             The Munich Agreement is signed, giving Germany strategic sections of Czechoslovakia.

Following on from the German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty of 29 September 1939, which involved dividing control of occupied Poland between Germany and the Soviet Union, another country was also carved up and handed to Germany. In the early hours of 30 September 1939, the "Munich Agreement" was signed. This agreement allowed Germany to annex the strategically significant Sudetenland area of Czechosolvakia, where ethnic Germans made up most of the population.

Germany, France, Britain, and Italy all signed the agreement. It was believed that, by acceding to Hitler's growing demands for territory, war could be averted. Czechoslovakia itself was not invited to the conference to discuss its future, and because of this, the Munich Agreement has sometimes been referred to as the Munich Dictate.

1951  -             Barry Marshall, Australian physician who proved ulcers are caused by bacteria, not stress, is born.

Barry James Marshall is an Australian physician and Nobel Prize laureate in Physiology or Medicine, credited with disproving the myth that stress is the main cause of stomach ulcers.

Born on 30 September 1951 in the outback gold town of Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Marshall lived in Kalgoorlie and Carnarvon until his family moved to Perth when he was seven. He earned his Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery from the University of Western Australia in 1975. Together with Robin Warren, a pathologist interested in gastritis, he studied the presence of spiral bacteria in association with gastritis. In 1982, Marshall and Warren performed the initial culture of Helicobacter pylori, developing their theory related to the bacterial cause of peptic ulcer and gastric cancer. Initially, Marshall's hypothesis met with scepticism from colleagues, but continued cultures and even tests upon himself eventually indicated strong links between H. pylori, and peptic ulcers and gastritis.

To date, Marshall is continuing his research into the H. pylori, and oversees the H.pylori Research Laboratory at the University of Western Australia. In 2005, Marshall and Warren were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine by the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm "for their discovery of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori and its role in gastritis and peptic ulcer disease".

1955  -             Actor James Dean is killed in a road accident.

James "Jimmy" Dean was born James Byron Dean on 8 February 1931 on a farm in Indiana. Once he left school, he enrolled in Santa Monica College, California, and initially studied law, later changing his major to drama. After an unremarkable start to his acting career, he moved to New York to pursue a career in stage acting, where he was accepted to study under Lee Strasberg in the Actors Studio. This opened doors for more acting opportunities, culminating in starring roles in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and the 1956 release 'Giant', for which Dean was nominated for an Academy Award.

Dean's roles in 'Rebel Without a Cause' and 'Blackboard Jungle' symbolised the growing rebellion of American youth against the values of their parents, especially as seen in the emergence of rock 'n' roll. Many young people began to model themselves on Dean, and he gained iconic status, particularly when he died so young and in such a violent manner. Dean was killed on 30 September 1955, while driving his Porsche 550 Spyder near Cholame, California when another car crossed in front of his.

Cheers - John

On September 29 you missed a very important event. In 1941 Big Gorilla entered the world as a baby Gorilla !!! 

no sorry don't go back that far.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU OLD FART   i don't drink white.    have a good one mate.

Glenelg wrote:

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no sorry don't go back that far.

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOU OLD FART   i don't drink white.    have a good one mate.

---

 White !!! Well I have been known to drink it thru an Afghan Camel Driver's jockstrap !!

But Dave,

Gday...

1844  -             German explorer Ludwig Leichhardt sets out from the Darling Downs to travel northwest to Port Essington.

Friedrich Wilhelm Ludwig Leichhardt was born on 23 October 1813, in Trebatsch, Prussia, which is now Brandenburg, Germany. Passionate about the natural sciences, he came to Australia in 1842, where he promptly undertook to explore the continent and gather botanical and geological specimens.

On 1 October 1844, Leichhardt commenced his first expedition, leaving from Jimbour Station on the Darling Downs to find a new route to the tiny military outpost of Port Essington in the north, not far from where Darwin now stands. Leichhardt was not a good bushman, lacked skills of organising his party, and often became lost. One man was killed by aborigines on the marathon expedition, and numerous horses and supplies were lost. Leichhardt reluctantly discarded his extensive collection of botanical specimens, as there were too many to carry. His journey of nearly 5,000km took so much longer than expected that a friend of Leichhardt's composed a funeral dirge for him, expecting to never see him again. However, Leichhardt reached Port Essington in December 1845.

1908  -             The first Model T Ford is introduced to the American public.

The Model T Ford, also known as the Tin Lizzie, was an automobile produced by Henry Ford's Motor Company from 1908 through to 1928. Ford had first attempted to develop a reliable, inexpensive car for the average American market in 1903. His success with this venture came with the introduction of the Model T Ford to American consumers on 1 October 1908. Ford managed to retain the car as affordable for everyone by employing new and revolutionary mass production methods, with completely interchangeable parts. When first introduced, the Model T cost only $850, and was available only in black.

Although only 11 cars were produced in the first month, by 1914, the assembly process had become so streamlined that it took only 93 minutes to assemble a car. Improved assembly line technique and volume brought the price of the Model T down to about $300 by the 1920s. Model T cars ceased being produced by May 1927, but motors continued to be produced until August 1941.

1935  -             Heinz & Company in Australia begins producing tinned baked beans.

The process of canning food was developed by Frenchman Nicolas Appert in the 1790s, and patented by Englishman Peter Durand in 1810. Initially, an average worker could expect to produce four cans every day, but technology has progressed significantly since then.

From 1814, canned foods began to be sent from Britain to its outlying colonies, and the first tinned goods reached Australia in 1815. Australia's first canning operation commenced in 1846, when Sizar Elliot opened a small canning factory in Sydney's Charlotte Place, now Grosvenor Street. Australia's early explorers relied considerably on canned foods during their journeys.

Canning operations in Australia quickly spread, and by 1869, Queensland manufacturers were exporting over one million kilograms of tinned meat annually, while SPC in Shepparton, Victoria, produced almost half a million cans of fruit in 1917. Ardmona began producing tinned fruit in 1925, while the Edgell & Sons factory at Bathurst first started canning asparagus in 1926. Baked Beans in Tomato Sauce, still a favourite of many Australians today, was first produced by Heinz & Company on 1 October 1935.

1942  -             Little Golden Books publishes its first set of children's books.

The concept of Little Golden Books was conceived in the early 1940s by George Duplaix, head of the Artists and Writers Guild and his assistant, Lucille Ogle. They wanted to develop a line of full-colour children's books, able to be easily handled by children, which were cheap enough for the average consumer. Publishing firm Simon & Schuster helped them develop their product.

The uniform format was to include a spine of plain blue cloth, and inside were to be 44 pages, with 14 pages illustrated in colour and 30 pages in black and white. The first twelve titles were issued simultaneously on 1 October 1942 at a cost of 25c each. These original titles included 'Three Little Kittens', 'The Poky Little Puppy' and 'The Little Red Hen'. To date, over two billion Little Golden Books have been printed.

1962  -             Two people are killed during riots as America's first black college student is admitted to the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford.

Civil rights for African-Americans became a prominent issue in the 1950s. In 1954, the United States Supreme Court granted African-Americans the right to an equal education. When black students attempted to enter a white school in Arkansas, rioting broke out, and was only quelled by the presence of armed forces.

A similar situation occurred when the first black student, James Meredith, was admitted to the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford on his fourth attempt, on 1 October 1962. Federal forces were stationed in Oxford, and hundreds of extra troops were deployed as violence spilled into the streets. President John F Kennedy was forced to federalise the Mississippi National Guard to maintain law and order, and to mobilise other infantrymen and military police across the state line in Tennessee. Mississippi governor, Ross Barnett, like his Arkansas counterpart in 1957, had previously defied court orders requiring desegregation. Eventually the riots ended, and troops were able to be withdrawn from the town, but not before two people were killed, and 75 injured in the resultant violence.

1969  -             The Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time.

The Concorde was a form of specially designed supersonic air transport. The concept of supersonic aircraft was conceived in the 1950s. During the 1960s, Britain's Bristol Aeroplane Company and France's Sud Aviation were simultaneously working on designs, but the anticipated costs of the project were too great to be developed by an individual company: hence, France and Britain decided to work cooperatively. An international treaty between Britain and France was negotiated for the development of the project. The first test flight took place from Toulouse, France, on 2 March 1969.

The sound barrier is the point at which an aircraft moves from transonic to supersonic speed. Air Force Captain Charles "Chuck" Yeager was the first to break the sound barrier, on 14 October 1947. On 1 October 1969, the Concorde broke the sound barrier for the first time. It was the first commercial aircraft to break the sound barrier, but it was not the first passenger-carrying airliner to do so. In August 1961, a Douglas DC-8 broke the sound barrier at Mach 1.012 during a controlled dive while collecting data on a new leading-edge design for the wing.

2009  -             Australia's population passes 22 million.

By world standards, Australia is a very young country. It is the second-youngest country to have been settled by Europeans, with the youngest being New Zealand. On 1 October 2009, Australia's population reached a new milestone, exceeding 22 million. Australian Demographic Statistics indicated that this figure was reached at 1:58pm. The country's national birth rate had increased from 1.7 to 1.9 in the previous four years. Immigration had also contributed 63% of the previous year's population growth of 2.1 per cent.

By comparison, at the same time, the world's largest city of Tokyo had a population in excess of 33 million.

Cheers - John

GaryKelly wrote:

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Is it true that Australians f*arted less before Heinz started canning baked beans?

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 Now there is an interesting theory for research !! 

Gday...

1608  -             Hans Lippershey demonstrates the first telescope.

Hans Lippershey, also known as Jan or Hans Lippersheim, was born around 1570 (exact date unknown) in Wesel, western Germany. After settling in the Netherlands, he became a maker of spectacles. Lippershey is credited with creating the design for the first practical telescope, after experimenting with different sized lenses. He demonstrated his invention before the Dutch Parliament on 2 October 1608, calling it a "kijker", meaning "looker" in Dutch. The astronomer Galileo Galilei created a working design of the telescope in 1609 after receiving a description of Lippershey's invention.

1869  -             Political leader and humanitarian, Mahatma Gandhi, is born.

Mahatma Gandhi was born Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi on 2 October 1869 in Porbandar, India. Gandhi was a peace-loving man who initially trained as a barrister in England, but was unsuccessful in pursuing a career in law once he returned to India. After accepting a post to Natal, South Africa, Gandhi experienced frequent humiliation and oppression commonly directed at Indians in South Africa. This caused him to then spend two decades fighting for the rights of immigrants in South Africa.

After WWI broke out, Gandhi returned to India. Here, he turned his back on western influences to embrace a life of abstinence and spirituality. Inspired by the American writer Henry David Thoreau's famous essay on "Civil Disobedience", Gandhi implemented his own campaign of non-violent civil disobedience to bring about change in Britain's oppression of Indians within their own country. Although frequently jailed by the British authorities, pressure from his followers usually secured his release before he fasted himself to death. Following WWII, he participated in negotiations which eventually led to India's gaining independence from Britain.

Gandhi advocated that all people were equal under one God. On 30 January 1948 he was assassinated by a Hindu fanatic who could not accept Gandhi's assertion that Muslims had equal value to Hindus and no creed or religion was better than any other.

1902  -             William Gocher defies the Australian law that prohibits daylight bathing in the ocean, and sets a new precedent in surf-swimming.

In the 1800s, a Manly Council by-law (Sydney) prohibited swimming in the ocean during daylight hours, specifically between 6am and 8pm. William Henry Gocher was the proprietor of a local newspaper, who disagreed with the law enough to openly defy it. In his newspaper, the 'Manly and North Sydney News', he announced his intention to go bathing in the ocean during the daylight hours on 2 October 1902.

Gocher flouted the law three times before he was actually arrested. However, he maintained his campaign against the bathing laws, and a year later, on November 3rd, the Manly Council rescinded the by-law that prohibited bathing during daylight hours. A new by-law was issued permitting bathing in daylight hours, but emphasising the need for neck-to-knee swimwear for anyone over 8 years old. Men and women were also required to swim at separate times.

1942  -             Ocean Liner 'The Queen Mary' accidentally slices through an escort ship, killing 338.

The ocean liner 'Queen Mary' sailed the North Atlantic Ocean as a passenger ship from 1936 to 1967, except during the years of World War II. In 1940, the Queen Mary was commissioned for use as a troop ship. In Sydney, the Queen Mary, together with several other liners, was converted into a troopship to carry Australian and New Zealand soldiers to the UK.

These ships earned a reputation for being the largest and fastest troopships, carrying up to 15,000 men in a single voyage. The Queen Mary and the Queen Elizabeth, also converted, were both nicknamed 'The Grey Ghost'. Their speed, and the fact that they often travelled out of convoy and without an escort, enabled them to elude the German U-boats, their greatest threat.

On 2 October 1942, the Queen Mary was travelling with an escort. Whilst travelling near the Irish coast, the liner accidentally sliced through its escort ship, light cruiser HMS Curacoa. The Captain was forced to continue, being under strict orders not to stop for any reason, due to the threat posed by the U-boats. Royal Navy destroyers which accompanied the ship were ordered to reverse course and rescue any survivors. 338 people were killed in the accident.

1950  -             The comic strip 'Peanuts', by Charles M Schulz, makes its debut in seven newspapers across America.

Charles Monroe Schulz, creator of 'Peanuts', was born in St Paul, Minnesota, on 26 November 1922. As a teenager, he was shy and introverted, and when he created his comic strip 'Peanuts' he based the character of Charlie Brown on himself. Charlie Brown first appeared in the comic strip "Li'l Folks", published in 1947 by the St Paul Pioneer Press. In 1950, Schulz approached the United Features Syndicate with his best strips from "Li'l Folks", and "Peanuts" made its debut on 2 October 1950.

"Peanuts" ran for nearly 50 years, appearing in over 2,600 newspapers in 75 countries. It ended only when Schulz's own failing health prevented him from continuing to produce the comic strip. The final original Peanuts comic strip was written on 3 January 2000 and published in newspapers a day after Schulz's death on February 12.

Cheers - John

Gday...

1824  -             Explorers Hume and Hovell set out to explore between Sydney and Western Port.

Hamilton Hume was an Australian-born settler with excellent bush skills. He was interested in exploring south of the known Sydney area in order to open up new areas of land, but could not gain Government support for his proposed venture. William Hovell was an English immigrant with little bush experience, a former ship's captain who was keen to assist Hume's expedition financially, and accompany him. The expedition was set up, and Hume and Hovell departed Hume's father's farm at Appin, southwest of Sydney, on 3 October 1824.

Although the two men argued for most of their journey, and even for many years after their return, the expedition was successful in many ways. Hume and Hovell were the first to discover the "Hume River", though it was later renamed by Sturt as the Murray River. They were the first white men to see the Australian Alps. Much good grazing and pasture land was also found.

There was one major mistake, however. Hovell, as navigator, managed to incorrectly calculate their position when they thought they had reached Westernport on the southern coast. They were in fact at Corio Bay in Port Phillip, where the city of Geelong now stands. As a result of their reports of excellent farmland when they returned to Sydney, a party was sent to settle the Westernport area in 1826, only to find poor water and soil quality. The Port Philip settlement was abandoned, and not resumed for another ten years. Nonetheless, Hume and Hovell's expedition still opened up vast tracts of valuable land.

1916  -             Inventor of the portable defibrillator, James F Pantridge, is born.

James Francis "Frank" Pantridge was born on 3 October 1916, in Hillsborough, Ireland. He was educated at Queen's University in Belfast, graduating in medicine in 1939, and became a physician and cardiologist. He served in the British Army during WWII, became a prisoner of war and spent much time working on the infamous Burma railway. After the war, he returned to a life of academia, and studied further under cardiologist F N Wilson.

After returning to Northern Ireland in 1950, he was appointed as cardiac consultant to the Royal Victoria Hospital and professor at Queen's University, where he established a specialist cardiology unit. Together with his colleague Dr John Geddes, he introduced modern cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) for the early treatment of heart attack. Further study led Frank Pantridge to the realisation that death occurred within the first hour for 60% of pre-middle-aged males who died from heart attack, and of these, 90% suffered ventricular fibrillation. To facilitate the earliest possible treatment, Pantridge equipped an ambulance with a portable defibrillator. It achieved a 50% long-term patient survival rate. The first automated external defibrillators (AEDs) became available in 1979, and have since contributed significantly to improved chances of survival from heart attack.

1935  -             Italian troops invade the African nation of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia).

In 1934, Abyssinia (Ethiopia) was still one of the few independent states in a European-dominated Africa. Countries such as Britain and France had conquered smaller nations in the "Scramble for Africa" the previous century. In 1896, Italy had attempted to expand in eastern Africa by adding Abyssinia to her conquests (which included Eritrea and Somaliland), but the Italians were heavily defeated by the Abyssinians at the Battle of Adowa. Italy bided her time.

In 1928, Italy signed a treaty of friendship with Abyssinian leader Haile Selassie, but Italy was already secretly planning to invade the African nation. In December 1934, a dispute at the Wal Wal oasis along the border between Abyssinia and Italian Somaliland gave Italian dictator Benito Mussolini an excuse to respond with aggression. Italian troops stationed in Somaliland and Eritrea were instructed to attack Abyssinia, and the invasion occurred on 3 October 1935. Overwhelmed by the use of tanks and mustard gas, the Abyssinians stood little chance. The capital, Addis Ababa, fell in May 1936 and Haile Selassie was removed from the throne and replaced by the king of Italy, Victor Emmanuel.

Selassie's request for European help was largely ignored. It was not until after World War II, and the defeat of Italy, that he was returned to power.

1935  -             The Australian/New Zealand dessert, the pavlova, is named after ballerina Anna Pavlova.

The pavlova is a traditional Australian dessert consisting of a base made of a meringue crust topped with whipped cream and fresh fruits such as kiwi fruit, passionfruit and strawberries.

There is some dispute as to whether the pavlova was actually created in Australia or New Zealand. The Australian legend states that the pavlova was created by Herbert Sachse, the chef of the Hotel Esplanade in Perth, Western Australia, on 3 October 1935. It is said to have been given the name "Pavlova" by Harry Naire from the Perth hotel, in honour of the visiting Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Naire is alleged to have stated that the built up sides of the dessert reminded him of a tutu.

New Zealand may have a greater claim to the pavlova, however. Recipes for pavlova appeared in a magazine and a cookery book from 1929 and 1933, whilst extra notes from a biographer state that it was invented in 1926 after Anna Pavlova's visit. What is clear is that, while the dessert may have been invented in New Zealand, it was undisputedly named in Australia.

1953  -             Britain tests its first atomic bomb at a group of uninhabited islands off Western Australia.

The Montebello islands are a group of islands about 140 kilometres off the Pilbara coast of North West Australia. As well as the two main islands, Hermite Island and Trimouille Island, there are about 170 other islands in the archipelago, of which another 30 or so are named. Prior to World War II, much pearl fishing was conducted off the islands.

On 3 October 1952, the Montebello islands became the site for testing of the first British atomic bomb. "Operation Hurricane" was conducted 350 metres off the coast of Trimouille Island for the purpose of testing the effects of a bomb smuggled inside a ship - a great concern at the time. The plutonium implosion bomb was exploded inside the hull of HMS Plym, a 1,370-ton River class frigate, which was anchored in 12 m of water. The resulting explosion left a saucer-shaped crater on the seabed 6 metres deep and 300 metres across.

1990  -             West Germany and East Germany are reunified for the first time since 1949.

Following Germany's defeat in World War II, Germany was split into two separately controlled countries. West Germany, also known as the Federal Republic of Germany, was proclaimed on 23 May 1949 with Bonn as its capital. As a liberal parliamentary republic and part of NATO, the country maintained good relations with the Western Allies. East Germany, or the German Democratic Republic, was proclaimed in East Berlin on 7 October 1949. It adopted a socialist republic, and remained allied with the communist powers, being occupied by Soviet forces. The Berlin Wall, which divided the original capital of Germany into east and west-controlled sectors, was constructed in 1961.

The Soviet powers began to dwindle in the late 1980s, and the Communist Party in East Germany began to lose its grip on power. In 1989 the Berlin Wall started to crumble, and was completely dismantled shortly afterwards. On 18 March 1990, the first and only free elections in the history of the GDR were held, producing a government whose major mandate was to negotiate an end to itself and its state. The German "Einigungsvertrag" (Unification Treaty) was signed on 31 August 1990 by representatives of West Germany and East Germany. German reunification took place on 3 October 1990, when the areas of the former German Democratic Republic, also known as East Germany, were incorporated into The Federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany.

Cheers - John