1578 – England grants Sir Humphrey Gilbert a patent to explore and colonize North America
1644 – Florentine scientists describe invention of the barometer
1742 – Benjamin Franklin invents his Franklin stove, a metal lined fireplace with a hollow baffle and inverted siphon. The stove serves to produce more heat but less smoke than an ordinary stove.
1770 – Captain James Cook discovers the Great Barrier Reef off Australia
1825 – The first cornerstone is laid for Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn.
1895 – Charles E Duryea patents a gas-driven automobile
1935 – Inventor Edwin Armstrong gives the first public demonstration of FM broadcasting in the United States, at Alpine, New Jersey.
Birthdays
1842 – Carl von Linde, German engineer and industrialist who developed refrigeration and gas separation technologies.
1867 – Charles Fabry, discovered the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere
1886 – David Steinman, bridge builder who designed the Henry Hudson and Triborough Bridges, as well as numerous others across the globe.
1915 – Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician, physicist and computer scientist
Weddings
1509 – King Henry VIII marries Catherine of Aragon, his first wife. They had one daughter, Mary I of England, but no sons. Henry VIII’s intentions of annulling their marriage set off the chain of events that resulted in England’s schism with the Catholic Church.
Deaths
323 BC – Alexander the Great, Macedonian king (b. 356 BC)
1727 – George I of Great Britain (b. 1660)
1937 – R. J. Mitchell, English engineer, designed the Supermarine Spitfire (b. 1895)
1941 – Daniel Carter Beard, founded the Boy Scouts of America (b. 1850)
2014 – Ruby Dee, American actress (b. 1922)