1. 1926 The first liquid fueled rocket is invented
PHOTO: wiki
PHOTO: Astronautix
Robert H Goddard wrote his name in the history books today by being the first to use Liquid fuel for a rocket. The first flight took place in Auburn Massachusetts in 1926 and only lasted about 2.5 seconds at an estimated 60 mph and was said to have reached an altitude just over 40 ft. The rocket stood approximately 10ft tall and used a mixture of liquid oxygen and gasoline for fuel. It was found 184 feet from where it took off and even though it was a fairly small journey, Goddard had made the first step towards modern day rockets that sent humankind into the space age.
2. 1802: West Point Military Academy is established
PHOTO: wiki
On this Day Thomas Jefferson signed off on the Military Peace Establishment Act which approved the funding for what would be the first U.S. Military Academy located just off the Hudson River in West Point, New York. The Military Academy quickly became known simply as West Point and was located on the site where the Revolutionary-era fort used to be. This was the same Fort that infamous traitor Benedict Arnold had agreed to surrender West Point to the British for 6,000 pounds. His plot was discovered and Arnold was required to flee to the British for protection. West point is currently run by the Army and has over 4,000 students attending.
3. 1978: Supertanker Amoco Cadiz, wrecks off the coast of France
PHOTO: Aukevisser
PHOTO: NineFineStuff
The Amoco Cadiz was one of the largest Supertankers on the water in 1978. It was over 65 meters (213.5 ft) longer than the Titanic and was capable of carrying roughly 250,000 tons of crude oil. The tanker was owned by American company Amoco but was registered in Liberia and had a crew mostly of Italians. It was headed towards Le Harve, France via the Persian Gulf and while trying to navigate the crowded shipping lanes it suffered a catastrophic steering failure and started to drift towards the rocky coast. A German tugboat attempted to save the giant tanker but was unsuccessful. The Cadiz slammed into the coast near Portsall and split into two pieces allowing as much as 68 million barrels of crude oil to spill into the sea. Although there have been much larger oil spills since then, the Cadiz still is considered to be the Largest Shipwreck disaster in history.