On this day: Zond 5 Rocket Launched
On this day in 1968, Russia launched the Zond 5 rocket from Baikonur. It was the first spacecraft to travel around the moon and return to Earth; serving a mainly scientific purpose, the expedition carried two tortoises and assorted insects…
On this day: Newport Transporter Bridge Opened
On September 12, 1906, the Newport Transporter Bridge opened, carrying vehicle and foot traffic across the River Usk. A gondola hanging from the main boom is carried back and forth between two supporting towers. There are less than ten of…
On this day: Ground was Broken for The Pentagon
Mid way through WWII, on this day in 1941, ground was broken for the Pentagon, the headquarters for the US Department of Defense. Thirteen years ago it was targeted as part of the 9/11 attacks and a section of the…
On this day: The Basilica of Our Lady of Peace Was Consecrated
On this day in 1990, the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) was consecrated by Pope John Paul II. The largest Church in Africa (and maybe the world, depending what criteria you look at) has…
On this day: Toulouse-Lautrec Died
On September 1, 1901, French artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec died at the age of 36. Despite health problems throughout his short life, he took to a bohemian Paris lifestyle easily, and captured the city's late-19th century life in all its…
On this day: First Football League Games
Saturday afternoons were never the same after September 8, 1888, when the first games were played amongst the twelve teams in England's new Football League. Among the teams, all from the midlands and north-west, Preston North End beat Burnley 5-2,…
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