On this day: Stephenson’s Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials
On 8 October 1829, Stephenson's Rocket locomotive won the Rainhill Trials. A short chronicle line records the year, the participant and the result, without technical details.
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On This Day: Alien: Isolation was released on 7 October 2014
On 7 October 2014, Creative Assembly and Sega released the survival horror game Alien: Isolation. The story is set 15 years after the 1979 film, and the alien cannot be…
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Niels Bohr: the creator of the atomic model was born on 7 October 1885
Niels Bohr was born in Copenhagen on 7 October 1885. In 1913 he combined Rutherford's model of the atom with Planck's quantum ideas, explained the Balmer formula, and in 1922…
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On this day: the first planet around a Sun-like star
On 6 October 1995, Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced the discovery of a planet around the star 51 Pegasi. It is the first known planet around a Sun-like star…
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On this day: in 1962 The Beatles released their debut single ‘Love Me Do’
On 5 October 1962, The Beatles' debut single 'Love Me Do' was released in the United Kingdom. The B-side was 'P.S. I Love You', the record was released by the…
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Windows 11: how the October 5, 2021 release went
On October 5, 2021, Microsoft released Windows 11 as a free upgrade for eligible PCs running Windows 10. The system is recognizable by its centered Start menu and taskbar.
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On This Day: Buster Keaton Was Born on October 4, 1895
On October 4, 1895, Buster Keaton was born — an American film actor, director, and producer. He died in 1966. A historical note for the "On This Day" section.
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On this day: how ten days disappeared from the calendar
On October 4, 1582, the Catholic countries of Europe lived their last day under the Julian calendar: it was immediately followed by October 15. Thus the Gregorian calendar came into…
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School of Rock: the 2003 comedy where fifth-graders formed a rock band
On October 3, 2003, Richard Linklater's School of Rock, starring Jack Black, was released. The comedy about a rock band of fifth-graders later became a musical and a TV series.
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On this day: Britain carried out its first atomic bomb test
On 3 October 1952, off the Montebello Islands in Western Australia, the first British atomic device detonated. Operation Hurricane made the United Kingdom the third nuclear power.
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On this day: the premiere of “The Twilight Zone” in 1959
On October 2, 1959, "The Twilight Zone" premiered on CBS — Rod Serling's anthology series, in which each episode told a separate story about ordinary people confronting the inexplicable.
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October 2, 1955: ENIAC is switched off for the last time
On the evening of October 2, 1955, ENIAC was switched off for the last time. The first general-purpose programmable electronic computer gave way to EDVAC and ORDVAC.
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