Today, June 20, is an interesting day in history, from the perspective of technological innovation.
For example, on June 20 in 1840, Samuel Morse received a patent for the telegraph. Just a few decades later, on June 20 in 1877, Alexander Graham Bell installed the world’s first commercial telephone service. His bold move helped end the use of telegraphs.
On June 20 in 1944, a German V-2 rocket became the first ever human-made object to reach outer space. This despite the fact that the director of the project, Wernher Von Braun, was imprisoned by his government just a few months before the launch, apparently on suspicion of thinking too much. It would seem that his government and our current government have a lot in common.
Now one of my favorites. On June 20 in 1990 the Asteroid Eureka was discovered. At which point it became the world’s first perfectly tautological celestial object.