Israeli general, politician, 11th Prime Minister of Israel
American surgeon, co-created Corn flakes
Turkish politician, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey
French author, poet, playwright
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor
English author
Indian politician
American trumpet player
French diplomat
American comedian
In 1616, the Roman Inquisition delivered an injunction to Italian astronomer Galileo Galilei, demanding that he abandon his belief in heliocentrism. Heliocentrism is the theory that the Earth and planets revolve around the Sun, which went against the established belief that the Earth was the center of the universe. Galileo's defiance of this injunction would eventually lead to his trial and house arrest by the Catholic Church.
The Bank of England issued the first-ever £1 note in 1797. The note featured an image of the Bank's first governor, Sir John Houblon, and was initially introduced as a way to combat a shortage of gold coins during the French Revolutionary Wars. The £1 note continued to be used in Britain until it was replaced by a coin in 1984.
In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte and his supporters left the island of Elba to start a 100 day re-conquest of France. This campaign ultimately led to his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo and his exile to the island of Saint Helena.
The Berlin Conference, which took place in 1884-1885, was a meeting between European powers to regulate and divide African territory among themselves. At the conference, the Congo Free State was given to Belgium, and Nigeria was given to Great Britain. This division had significant consequences for the people and resources of these African nations.
In 1909, the Palace Theatre in London presented a series of 21 short Kinemacolor films, which marked the first public showing of a color motion picture. The Kinemacolor process involved using a rotating filter to capture and project alternating frames of red and green, creating a color effect for viewers.
The Original Dixieland Jass Band recorded "Livery Stable Blues" for the Victor Talking Machine Company in 1917, marking the first-ever jazz recording. The band's style of music, which drew heavily from African American traditions, was a significant departure from the popular music of the time and helped establish jazz as a genre.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, directed by Robert Wiene, premiered in 1920 and is considered one of the greatest examples of German Expressionist cinema. The film's visual style, which emphasized distorted sets and sharp angles, was intended to convey a sense of psychological unease and has had a lasting impact on the horror genre.
In 1935, Scottish engineer Robert Watson-Watt demonstrated the first practical radar system, which he had developed for detecting aircraft. The technology, which uses radio waves to locate and track objects, was essential to the Allied victory in World War II and has since become a ubiquitous part of modern life.