Tech History Made on April 21, 1911

On this day in 1911 geeks best friend was born. Ivan Combe was an inventor, an inventor of personal hygiene products. Combe brought us Clearasil and Odor Eaters. Many a geek, dork and nerd would live a life more filled with shame if it wasn't for this man. Ivan Combe we salute you

Tech History Made on April 18, 1922

On this day the adjustable wrench was patented 86 years ago. The patent was filed by someone rather unlikely, John Johnson. Johnson was in prison when he had the idea to make a wrench that would replace an entire wrench set. The jaws of the wrench could be adjusted quickly and easily. Johnson had been a professional boxer who met much controversy because he was black. Racist of the day keep talking about "the great white hope" that would defeat Johnson. That didn't happen but that didn't stop Johnson's personal life from becoming a mess. He left his first wife and his second committed suicide. Then he took to womanizing and even got in trouble for using prostitutes. He married again and fled to France to avoid jail time. It was after this that he finally wound up in prison and invented the adjustable wrench.

Tech History Made on April 17, 1790

On this day in 1790 we lost a great American, Benjamin Franklin. Franklin was many things, one of which was an inventor. His three greatest inventions were bifocals, the lightning rod and the"Franklin" stove. He never patented his ideas, leaving anyone the ability to utilize them as they saw fit. Franklin was 84 when he passed on.

Aviation History Made on April 16, 1912

On this day in 1912 the first woman flew solo over the English Channel. This was not the only first for Harriet Quimby. In 1911 she became the first woman to receive a pilot's license in the US, second woman in the world. Women had piloted before but none had been licensed. A month after getting her license Quimby became the first woman to fly a plane at night. Her stunt of flying over the English Channel went unnoticed due to the Titanic disaster. Quimby did not get the oppurtunity to do something greater because she died in an aviation accident 3 months later.

Tech History Sunk on April 15, 1912

On this day in 1912 the Titanic sunk into the icy depths taking over 1,500 passengers with her. Hailed as unsinkable the Titanic's bottom resembled an ice cube tray. An iceberg hit the front of the ship which allowed water to rush in. Quickly the water overflowed into the the next section. This continued until the boat sank. Many mistakes were made and learned from. This unbelievable loss change Maritime laws and rules. More importantly it brought us an awesome movie and song.

Tech History Made on April 14, 2000

On this day in 2000 Lars Ulrich ruined music sharing for everybody. Ulrich, the drummer from Metallica, filed suit against Napster. Thus began the messy, unfair punishment of music sharers across the country. Thanks Lars.

Tech History Made on April 11th 1939

On this day in 1939 "truth serum" was patented by Volwiler and Tabern. "Truth serum" or Pentothal relaxes a person without unconsciousness. They name "truth serum" is inaccurate, Pentothal does make one truthful but rather lowers ones inhibitions. So you can still lie if someone uses truth serum one you. Makes a lot of conspiracy theories look silly, doesn't it?

Tech History Made on April 10, 1849

On this day in 1849 a small device was patented that we all have used at some point in our lives, the safety pin. They say necessity is the mother of invention, Walter Hunt didn't need a safety pin he needed money to pay a debt. So within 3 hours he developed the safety pin out of a single piece of wire. It vastly improved upon the hinged models of the day and he sold the patent the same day. Hunt is an interesting fellow who developed many things: a forest saw, a gong for fire engines, a hard coal burning stove, a road sweeping machine, a paper collar for a shirt, an ice plow, bicycle improvements, a knife sharpener, a streetcar bell, and an advanced sewing machine. In 1849 Hunt also developed a repeating rifle. Despite all his great ideas the one made in a fit of desperation is how he will be remembered.

Tech History Made on April 9, 1806

On this day in 1806 I. K. Brunel was born. Brunel was and engineer who helped with change many modes of transportation in Britain. Brunel directed construction of the Thames Tunnel when he was only 19 years old. A bridge he constructed in 1859 carries trains over the river. At 26 he was appointed engineer of the Great Western Railway. His biggest accomplishment came in 1958 with the launching of the Great Eastern a ship. The ship had six boilers, six masts, a propeller and two paddle wheels. The ship was so large it had to be launched sideways. The ship was used to lay cables across the Atlantic ocean, which it did 4 times over in its 30 years in service. Unfortunately Brunel did not live to see its accomplishments, he died in 1959 of s stroke.

Tech History Made on April 8, 1953

On this day in 1953 that first major Hollywood studio debuted a 3 D movie. Smaller outfits had been producing 3 D movies for decades. The film shown for the first time today was Man in the Dark. The audience wore glasses with multi colored lenses that played with depth perception of the viewer. Despite the neat glasses the movie was not that good. The grand roller coaster scene was not very exciting and 3 D or not the plot fell short. It did however kick off the 3 D movie era.

Tech History Made on April 7, 1964

On this day in 1964 IBM released its behemoth System/360. The mainframe computer involved these components: CPU, control unit, display terminal, printer, data-cell storage, drum storage, disk storage and DASD control unit, tape storage, a tape control unit, card reader-card punch combination, console station and console typewriter. The idea was that a small affordable system could be purchased and upgraded as needed. This worked because all 6 computers and 40 components of the System / 360 worked with all past and future IBM products. IBM invested $5 billing dollars into development. The investment paid off, by 1966 at least 1000 were sold a month a $2.5 million or more a pop. It is funny to think that a $600 dollar laptop of today is runs faster than the million dollar machines of the sixties.

Tech History Made on April 4, 1975

On this day in 1975 Bill Gates and Paul Allen formed a partner ship. That partnership went on to become Microsoft Corporation. Gates was 19 and Allen was 22 but youth did not stop their endeavors. They developed MS-DOS 1.0 for use on IBM's personal computers. The company's stock did not go public until 1986 and has grown 140 times the original value. Whether you love them or love to hate them Microsoft is a huge part of computer history.

Tech History Made on April 3, 1973

On this day 35 years ago the first cellular phone call was made. In those day if you wanted a mobile phone you would of needed a radiophone in your car. The radiophone was cumbersome and its supporting equipment weighed 30 pounds. Martin Cooper of Motorala first call with the cellular phone was to Bell labs research chief Joel Engel. Bell labs had the idea of cell phones in the late 40's and competed through the 60's and 70's with Motorola to make the idea real.
The first cellphone, DynaTAC (for DYNamic Adaptive Total Area Coverage), was 2 1/2 pounds, 9 inches long and contained 30 circuit boards. After a 10 hour charge you could have 35 minutes of talk time. By 1983 Motorola developed a marketable cell phone. The 1 pound DynaTac set you back a cool $3500. By 1990 there were 1 million American cell phone subscribers. Today you would be hard pressed to find someone who doesn't have a cell. Many people have abandoned land lines all together. Which is easy to see considering the lightest phone is only 1.41 ounces and every carrier has a free phone with 2 year contract.

Tech History Made on March 21, 1863

On this day in 1863 George Owen Squier was born. Squier developed a process called multiplexing. Multiplexing is a process by which multiple digital data streams or analog message signals are grouped together and sent as one signal. For example, one phone line could carry multiple phone calls. If you are having trouble with his name just say square.

Tech History Made on March 20, 1800

On this day in 1800 it was announced that the first wet-cell battery had been produced. Alessandro Volta had postulated that electricity was made when metals and moisture were introduced. He made a stack of copper and zinc discs with salt water soaked cardboard between each layer. The cell produced a steady current. News spread quick of his accomplishment and Emperor Napoleon of France was impressed. Volta was named a knight, then a senator and then Count Volta. If you hadn't already figured it out the unit of measure Volt was named after Count Volta.

Space History Made on March 19, 1915

On this day in 1915 Pluto was photographed for the first time. At the time it was not known that Pluto was in the photo. On February 18 1930 Pluto was discovered (in the photos above) and upon reviewing older photos it was found that it had been first photographed in 1915. Of course today Pluto is no longer classified as a planet but it still was a an exciting discovery. Pluto had been right under astronomers noses for 15 years unnoticed.

Tech History Made on March 18, 1858

On this day 150 years ago the inventor of the diesel engine was born. Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel a German born in Paris who also lived in London before finally moving to Germany at the age of 12. At 14 he knew he wanted to be an engineer and went on the Industrial School of Augsburg. He did not like the engines of the day so he made his own. The engine worked on ignited fuel after it was injected into the engine. He was able to patent the engine in many countries. The oddest thing about Diesel surrounds his death. In 1913 he was traveling by ship Belgium to England. He went to bed and asked that he be roused the next morning at 6. In the morning he was gone and his body was later found floating of the Dutch Coast.

Tech History Made on March 17, 1948

On this day William Ford Gibson III was born. Gibson is a science fiction writer who first coined the word "cyberspace" in a short story in 1981. He then used the term in his novel Neuromancer. Here is the quote from the book "Cyberspace. A consensual hallucination experienced daily by billions of legitimate operators, in every nation, by children being taught mathematical concepts... A graphic representation of data abstracted from the banks of every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity. Lines of light ranged in the nonspace of the mind, clusters and constellations of data. Like city lights, receding...". Today what we call "cyberspace" is the networked world of modern computerized communication. Gibson's books continued in this vain and lead to the realm of sci-fi called cyberpunk.

Tech History Made on March 14, 1794

On this day in 1794 the patent for the cotton gin was filed by Eli Whitney. During this time the seeds were removed from cotton in a very labor intensive process. Whitney's cotton gin performed the task quickly and well. A wooden drum covered with hooks pulled the freshly picked cotton over a mesh screen. The cotton went through the mesh but the seeds did not. A simple invention that helped transform the south. Unfortunately for Whitney it did not make him a fortune.

Tech History Made on March 13, 1986

On this day 22 years ago......Microsoft "went public with an IPO, with a starting initial offering price of $21.00 and ending at the first day of trading as at US $28.00. In 1987, Microsoft eventually released their first version of OS/2 to OEMs." Today Microsoft stock is at $28.86.







Source Wikipedia

Tech History Made on March 12, 1923

On this day in 1923 movies received synchronized sound. Many had tried and failed to sync the human voice with moving lips on screen. Thomas Edison tried using a phonograph in conjunction with a moving picture, it didn't work. Lee de Forest bypassed the phonograph and combined the sound and pictures. He placed the sound recording on the film using an optical soundtrack. Sound frequency and volume were analog blips of light on the film. Forests patents dated back to 1919 but his first successful try was during a press demo in 1923. His technique was used for years until digital sound in the 1990's. The Oscars honored him 1959 with a special award for the "pioneer invention which brought sound to the motion picture".

Tech History Made on March 11, 1915

On this day in 1915 Joseph Carl Robnett Licklider aka JCR or Lick, was born. JCR is a very prominent figure in computer science and the history of general computing. JCR did not contribute inventions but rather ideas. His ideas included the following: online banking, graphical computing, digital libraries, migrating networks, e-commerce and point-and-click interfaces. In 1960 he wrote his famous paper Man-Computer Symbiosis which discussed the need for simple interaction between computers and man. Licklider is a common household name but he sure did contribute a lot to everyones life.

Tech History Made on March 10, 1876

On this day in 1876 the first phone call was made. Alexander Graham Bell called his assitant in the next room. He said,"Mr. Watson, come here -- I want to see you." Mr. Watson heard and understood. He walked into the next to find a very excited and proud Mr. Bell. Watson diary records the sentence as, "Mr. Watson come here I want you." This was not the biggest controversy surrounding the telephone. We have told you before of the patent war between Bell and Gray.
Who was the first is still unclear but Bell be far has the more exciting story.

Medical History Made on March 7, 1857

On this day in 1857 Julius Wagner-Jauregg was born. Julius was an Austrian physician who while not formerly trained in pathology of the nervous system made a great discovery for it. Julius experimentated with the idea of inducing a fever in patients with mental disease as a treatment. In 1917 he tried using malaria parasites which proved very effective in patients with dementia paralytica. This discovery earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine 1927. We liked this story for the idea that something notoriously bad can be used in a good, beneficial way.

Space History Made on March 6, 1937

On this day in 1937 the first woman to travel into space was born. Valentina Tereshkova was born in Russia to a textile mill worker and a tractor driver turned soldier. She had the perfect background to represent Russia as the first woman to enter outer space. Tereshkova was a textile worker like her mother but found an interest in parachuting and began training. When the desire came to send a woman to space she was picked along with 57 other woman to be screened in Moscow. 5 were chosen to receive training.Tereshkova lacked in eduction but the craft was self piloting. In the end her proletarian background and physical stamina won her the seat on the Vostok Craft. Tereshkova completed 48 orbits of the earth for a total of 70 hours in space. Initially she claimed to have no ill effects from the journey but it was later discovered she suffered some emotional trauma while in orbit. She became a member of the Supreme Soviet and was made a Hero of the Soviet Union.

Tech History Made on March 5, 1872

On this day in 1872 the patent was filed for the first railway air brake system. George Westinghouse was 22 when he invented the air brake and only 25 when patented. The air brake worked using pipes, reservoirs and specially designed valves. The pipe ran the length of the train with flexible connections at each car. The system was flawless because if a pipe broke the brakes would be applied stopping the train. Westinghouse developed the system after seeing a train wreck in which both conductors could see the other but could not apply the brakes fast enough. Men had to run on top of the train and apply the brakes on each car individually. The Westinghouse Air Brake Company (WABCO) was formed to produce and sell the invention. It took no time for the system to be widely used and is the basis for many train braking systems of today.

History Made on March 4, 1915

On this day in 1915 the inventor of daylight savings time passed away. William Willett is often overlooked as the inventor as Benjamin Franklin had discussed the ancient practice of daylight savings time in 1784. Willett first began to think of adjusting the time according to the season while on a early summer morning horse ride. He noticed that homes blinds were still down, the sun was up and people were missing it. In 1907 he used his own money to publish "The Waste of Daylight". Willett proposed advancing the clocks 80 minutes in the summer and then turned back 80 minutes in the fall. This would extend the summer days into the evening using less electricity and extended recreation time. The bill was finally passed in Britain on May 17, 1916 due to the need to conserve coal during WWI. Willett did not live to see its adoption in Britain or any other countries as he passed away in 1915. So now you know who to curse as you set your clocks forward this Saturday night.

Tech History Made on March 3, 1847

On this day 161 years ago Alexander Graham Bell was born in Edinburgh, Scotland. We have talked before of Bell's patent war with Edwin Howard Armstrong. We also have discussed one of his inventions, the transistor. Bell's first invention was a dehusker for his friends father to use in his mill. Bell became fascinated by acoustics when his mother slowly became deaf. He developed a hand language to explain the conversations around her. He found that by talking into her forehead very purposely she could understand him. He remember the hand language until his death. His wife said "Don't leave me" and he signed "No"as he slipped away. Makes you wonder, if his mother had not been deaf would he have gone on to invent the telephone?

February 29th

It's leap year which means it is hard to find a notable discovery or invention from February 29th.
So here is some info on this extra day of ours.

From Wikipedia article, Leap Year

"February 29 is a date that occurs only every four years, and is called leap day. This day is added to the calendar in leap years as a corrective measure, because the earth does not orbit around the sun in precisely 365.000 days.

The Gregorian calendar is a modification of the Julian calendar first used by the Romans. The Roman calendar originated as a lunisolar calendar and named many of its days after the syzygies of the moon: the new moon (Kalendae or calends, hence "calendar") and the full moon (Idus or ides). The Nonae or nones was not the first quarter moon but was exactly one nundinae or Roman market week of nine days before the ides, inclusively counting the ides as the first of those nine days. In 1825, Ideler believed that the lunisolar calendar was abandoned about 450 BC by the decemvirs, who implemented the Roman Republican calendar, used until 46 BC. The days of these calendars were counted down (inclusively) to the next named day, so 24 February was ante diem sextum Kalendas Martii ("the sixth day before the calends of March") often abbreviated a. d. VI Kal. Mar. The Romans counted days inclusively in their calendars, so this was actually the fifth day before March 1 when counted in the modern exclusive manner (not including the starting day).^[4]

The Republican calendar's intercalary month was inserted on the first or second day after the Terminalia (a. d. VII Kal. Mar., February 23). The remaining days of Februarius were dropped. This intercalary month, named Intercalaris or Mercedonius, contained 27 days. The religious festivals that were normally celebrated in the last five days of February were moved to the last five days of Intercalaris. Because only 22 or 23 days were effectively added, not a full lunation, the calends and ides of the Roman Republican calendar were no longer associated with the new moon and full moon.

The Julian calendar, which was developed in 46 BC by Julius Caesar, and became effective in 45 BC, distributed an extra ten days among the months of the Roman Republican calendar. Caesar also replaced the intercalary month by a single intercalary day, located where the intercalary month used to be. To create the intercalary day, the existing ante diem sextum Kalendas Martii (February 24) was doubled, producing ante diem bis sextum Kalendas Martii. Hence, the year containing the doubled day was a bissextile (bis sextum, "twice sixth") year. For legal purposes, the two days of the bis sextum were considered to be a single day, with the second half being intercalated, but common practice by 238, when Censorinus wrote, was that the intercalary day was followed by the last five days of February, a. d. VI, V, IV, III and pridie Kal. Mar. (which would be those days numbered 24, 25, 26, 27, and 28 from the beginning of February in a common year), i.e. the intercalated day was the first half of the doubled day. All later writers, including Macrobius about 430, Bede in 725, and other medieval computists (calculators of Easter), continued to state that the bissextum (bissextile day) occurred before the last five days of February.

Until 1970, the Roman Catholic Church always celebrated the feast of Saint Matthias on a. d. VI Kal. Mar., so if the days were numbered from the beginning of the month, it was named February 24 in common years, but the presence of the bissextum in a bissextile year immediately before a. d. VI Kal. Mar. shifted the latter day to February 25 in leap years, with the Vigil of St. Matthias shifting from February 23 to the leap day of February 24. Other feasts normally falling on February 25–28 in common years are also shifted to the following day in a leap year (although they would be on the same day according to the Roman notation). The practice is still observed by those who use the older calendars."

Aviation History Made on February 27, 1999

On this day in 1999 the record for longest time spent in a hot air balloon was set. Colin Prescot and Andy Elson spent 233 hours and 55 minutes in a hot air balloon. Prescot and Elson had set up to circumnavigate the world but were stopped when they were not allowed into China's airspace. The duo set to around China by going over Thailand. They accomplish what they set out to do but the pair will still go down in history.

Weapons History Made on February 26, 1903

On this day in 1903 Ricahed Jordan Gatling passed away. Gatling was the inventor of the Gatling gun, the first operating machine gun. He was born in North Caroline and held many different jobs: fisherman, court clerk, teacher, and storekeeper. Gatling Gun Company was founded in 1862. His inspiration for the machine gun came from seeing so many Civil was soldiers return from battle injured by sickness and disease not gunshots. He thought if he could event a gun that could do the work of a hundred guns he could cut the amount of exposure the soldiers had to endure. Thus the hand crank Gatling gun. Unfortunately in 1911 the US Army announced the gun was obsolete. Gatling invented new tools all his life and was named the first president of American Association of Inventors and Manufacturers. He died a wealthy despite his bad investments. Today the tern gatling gun is still used to describe the menacing rapid fire weapon.

Weapons History Made on February 25, 1836

On this day in 1836 Samuel Colt was granted his U.S. patent for the revolver. At 16 Colt was a sailor. Some part of the ship inspired him to make a chamber the rotated. He whittled a model out of wood and once his sailing days were over he built working models. He traveled in Europe and gained patents for his revolver in England and France. When he returned to the U.S. he received his patent in which he noted the quickness in which multiple shots could be made. It took ten years for Colt to make a profit but the Colt revolver soon became the gun of the Wild West.

Science History Made February 22, 1997

Dolly (July 5, 1996 to February 14, 2003)

On this day in 1997 scientists from the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland announced they had successfully cloned a sheep. Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell cloned the sheep from a mammory gland cell, so of course she had to named after Dolly Parton. Dolly was the first ewe cloned from an adult somatic cell using nuclear transfer. Wilmut and Campbell proved that one cell could produce a whole living being. Other animals have since been cloned including horses and bulls. A controversy surrounds cloning, some find it unethical while others see the vast medical possibilities available. To think it all started with a little sheep named Dolly.

Tech History Made on February 21, 1947

On this day in 1947 the Polaroid camera was demonstrated for the first time by inventor Edwin Land. Land, very successful inventor, was second only to Thomas Edison in number of patents. Land was only in his twenties when he invented the plastic sheet-light polarizer.

Land-Wheelwright Laboratories was co founded by Land in 1932. The company made various polarizers that were used for scientific and commercial applications. In 1937 the company was renamed Polaroid Corporation. The company did very well during WWII producing optics for the military, including designing optics for the Cold War's U-2 spy plane.

Land was known for his insane work habits. He would work for days on end without sleeping or changing clothes. Shifts were set up so assistants could be at their best when working with him. Land once said"My whole life has been spent trying to teach people that intense concentration for hour after hour can bring out in people resources they didn't know they had".

In 1947 Land demonstrated the Polaroid camera for the first time. The picture took 60 seconds to develop. In 1963 a color version was offered with Polacolor film. The Polaroid Land camera was produced until 1983. Unfortunately after Lands death, Polaroid Corporation did not do so well and filled for bankruptcy protection in 2001. In recent news, Polaroid announced it will not longer be making the film used in the Polaroid camera.

Polaroid had been overshadowed by the quickness and detail of digital but every adult can remember the first time they shook a Polaroid. A joy that will now end with this generation.

Physics History Made on February 20, 1934

On this day in 1934 the cyclotron was patented. The cyclotron was one of the first circular particle accelerators. It moved charged protons between electrodes until they are highly charged particles. The cyclotron was designed and built by Ernest O. Lawrence. He had made a mashup model in 1931 but waited to patent it. He was not out to make personal gain but to advance science. He worked at Yale and at U of C Berkeley where two laboratories are named after him. He also has an element named after him, lawrencium. His desire to advance science and not increase his own pocketbook paid off. In 1939 he received the Nobel Prize in Physics for his cyclotron.

Space Tech History Made on February 19, 1473

On this day in 1473 Nicolaus Copernicus was born in Poland. Copernicus made a discovery that could have cost him his life. During his lifetime Earth was believed to be the center of our universe. Anything to the contrary was considered heresy. Copernicus found that in fact the sun was the center of our universe. He wrote a short paper on his heliocentric hypothesis that he only showed to friends. Despite urgings to publish and distribute his work, it was not printed until Copernicus lay on his death bed. It is said he held the first printing in his hands and then passed away. His last words were, "The big yellow one is the sun".

Geek History Made February 18, 1930

On this day in 1930 our once 9th planet was discovered. Clyde Tombaugh studied photographs taken from Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona. He was given the task of finding Planet X, predicted by Percival Lowell and William Pickering. Tombaugh took photos of the same section of sky several nights apart and then compared the photos. He was able to distinguish between stationary and non- stationary items. Thus he discovered Pluto, which was named by an 11 year old English school girl. In 2006 the International Astronomical Union declared that Pluto was not comparable to the "classical planets" but was a one of many dwarf planet. This leaves me with one question: How will kids remember the names and order of the planets in our solar system now? MY VERY EDUCATED MOTHER JUST SERVED US NINE ________

Tech History Made on February 15, 1995

On this day in 1995 Kevin Mitnick was arrested in Raleigh, NC on charges of access device fraud. Mitnick had evaded police, US Marshalls and the FBI after he disapeared 2 years earlier while on probation for computer and access device fraud. He was able to stay untrackable by using stolen cell phones and hijacked internet access. Kevin stole all kinds of data including source code for products companies had invested millions into developing. He pleaded guild to one of 23 charges in North Carolina and then his case was transferred to California where 25 more charges were added. Mitnick pleaded guilty to 5 of the counts and to 2 additional counts from Northern California. He served a total of 60 months or 5 years. Mitnick now has his own securities company, Mitnick Security Consulting. Mitnick will go down in history as "America's Most Wanted Computer Outlaw"

Tech History Made on February 14, 1946

On this day in 1946 the Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC) was unveiled at The University of Pennsylvania. The U.S. Army had contracted the design and production for use U.S. Army;s Ballistic Research Laboratory in calculating artillery firing tables. The ENIAC "was the first high-speed, purely electronic,Turing-complete, digital computer capable of being reprogrammed to solve a full range of computing problems". Other systems had achieved these feats but not all together and with such speed. Despite it's $500,000 dollar price tag 9 months later it was shutdown for a memory upgrade and refurbishment. During this time it was moved to Aberdeen Proving ground in Maryland where it was turned back on July 29 1947. The ENIAC remained in operation until October 2,1955. During its operation most of the programming was done by six women who were later inducted into the Women in Technology Hall of Fame. To read more about the computer and the people behind check out this article.

Tech History Made on February 13, 1923

Today we celebrate a man special to myself and my wife, Chuck Yeager. I was born in WV and she was born and raised there. Today in 1923 Charles Elwood Yeager was born in WV, he went on to be the first man ever to fly faster than the speed of sound. Yeager joined the US Army Air Corps when he was 18, he was a fighter pilot at the end of World War II. He took down 12 enemy planes total during the his years in the war, 5 in one dog fight alone. After the war he was a flight instructor and then became a test pilot. In October of 1947 as a test pilot he flew the Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound. He did it despite broken ribs he had received several days before in a horse riding accident. Some say others broke the sound barrier before Yeager, even if they did he went on to break many more speed and altitude records. We will remember his records every time we go home, our flight always ends at Yeager Airport.

Tech History Made on February 12, 1791

On this day in 1791 the designer and producer of the first American built locomotive was born. Peter Cooper was born in New York City to Dutch parents. He had little schooling but had many jobs throughout the years; hat maker, couch maker's apprentice, cabinet maker, grocer, and he worked in the cloth shearing machine industry. Cooper's claim to fame was the design and manufacturing of Tom Thumb, the first American built steam locomotive. Tom Thumb was "a 4-wheel locomotive with a vertical boiler and vertically mounted cylinders that drove the wheels on one of the axles". Cooper had good reason to design and build the locomotive, boost his property values. How? He wanted the rail companies to adopt the steam locomotive and begin laying line through an area where he owned real estate, instant value boost. Tom Thumb caught on and soon rail companies where gearing up for their first steam locomotive.