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Yellow fever vaccine created (1932). Mutiny on HMS Bounty (1789). Muhammad Ali refuses army draft (1967). iTunes store launched (2003). Dennis Tito becomes first space tourist (2001). Railway workers set track-laying record (1869). Mussolini executed (1945). International Congress of Women opens (1915). Kon-Tiki Raft expedition begins (1947). University of Santo Tomas founded (1611).
The creation of a yellow fever vaccine for humans has been announced. (1932) Virologist Max Theiler created the vaccine and actually caught the disease himself while the vaccine was still being developed. Before the vaccine became available, there had been over 20 major yellow fever outbreaks, killing hundreds of thousands in North America alone.
The crew of HMS Bounty mutinied. (1789) The crew rebelled against Captain William Bligh because of his cruelty and because he wanted to stay on the island of Tahiti, where he had been docked for several months. The mutiny has since been made into a book and several films.
Muhammad Ali refused to be drafted into the army. (1967) Ali refused to be induced due to religious reasons, and was stripped of his boxing titles and sentenced to five years in prison and a $10,000 US Dollar (USD) fine for prison break. The conviction was eventually overturned by the Supreme Court
The iTunes store is launched. (2003) The shop was extraordinarily popular; eight months after opening, it had sold over 200 million songs.
Dennis Tito became the world’s first space tourist. (2001) Tito is the multimillion-dollar founder of an investment management firm and was the first space tourist to pay for his own ticket, which reportedly cost $20 million USD.
The railway workers set a track-laying record. (1869) Chinese and Irish workers who were working on the first transcontinental railroad laid 10 miles (16 km) of track in one day, presumably to settle a bet. It was the furthest rail ever laid by hand in one day.
Mussolini was executed. (1945) He had been caught trying to flee the country dressed as a soldier along with his mistress and brother. He and his mistress were shot, then their bodies were sent back to Milan and hung upside down for public viewing.
The International Congress of Women has opened in The Hague. (1915) The meeting was a big deal, especially since women did not yet have the right to vote in the United States, and it was one of the first major international meetings of women to discuss political issues.
The Kon-Tiki Raft expedition has begun. (1947) The Kon-Tiki Raft Expedition was undertaken by Norwegian Thor Heyerdahl to sail from South America to the Polynesian islands on a hand-made raft similar to those used by pre-Columbian explorers. Heyerdahl and his crew actually completed the voyage, sailing more than 4,000 miles in about 100 days.
The University of Santo Tomas was founded. (1611) The university is the oldest in the Philippines and East Asia, and is one of the largest Catholic universities in the world by enrollment.
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