1612 – First observation of Neptune – Galileo observes and records a “fixed star” without realising it is a planet

1893 – French lieutenant Boiteux annexes Tumbuktu

1895 – Film makers the Lumiere brothers, hold the first commercial film screening at Salon Indien du Grand Café, Paris

1904 – 1st daily wireless weather forecasts published (London)

1915 – Today the British Cabinet recognizes the true nature of the war by deciding to institute compulsory military service, with single men to be conscripted before married ones

1926 – Imperial Airways begins England-India mail & passenger service

1948 – US announced a study to launch an Earth satellite

1948 – The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 50 miles south of Miami, Florida.

1950 – Chinese troops cross 38th Parallel, into South Korea