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Skylab crashed on Earth in 1979, causing debris to fall in the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. The world population exceeded 5 billion in 1987, and Babe Ruth made his pitching debut in 1914. US Vice President Aaron Burr killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel in 1804. Jean-Louis Pons discovered 37 comets in 1801, William Howard Taft served as both US president and Chief Justice, and Kokichi Mikimoto produced the first cultured pearl in 1893. Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities was published in 1859, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird was released in 1960. Tijuana, Mexico was established in 1889.
Skylab, the first US space station, crashed on Earth. (1979) The space station, which orbited the Earth from 1973 to 1979, was the second space station to be visited by humans. Skylab was expected to burn as it re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, producing a shower of debris. NASA estimated the probability of the debris hitting a human at 152 to 1, but the chance of hitting a city was estimated at 7 to 1. The San Francisco Examiner newspaper offered $10,000 US dollars (USD) for the first piece of debris brought to his offices . The rain of debris affected the Indian Ocean and Western Australia. Esperance County in Western Australia has fined the United States $400 USD for waste. The United States never paid the fine, but a radio show host collected the money from listeners and paid the fine to NASA in 2009. A 17-year-old Esperance resident delivered debris to the offices of the Examiner newspaper in San Francisco and collected the $10,000 prize.
The world population has exceeded 5 billion people. (1987) Approximately 134 million people are born each year. The death rate is less than half the birth rate at about 57 million people a year. The world population is projected to exceed 9 billion by 2040 or 2050.
Babe Ruth made his major league baseball pitching debut. (1914) Ruth began his career pitching for the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. He became one of the best hitters in baseball history and was the first to hit 60 home runs in a season. His .342 lifetime record ranks tenth in history.
The US Vice President killed the US Treasury Secretary in a duel. (1804) US Vice President Aaron Burr shot Alexander Hamilton, who died the next day. Hamilton has been a longtime political rival and public critic of Burr. One evening, after Hamilton made critical remarks at a dinner party, Burr had enough and challenged him to a duel. Burr was later indicted for murder, but the trial resulted in an acquittal. His political career was ruined and later rumors that he was planning to start his own monarchy and secede from the United States led to his arrest for treason. This accusation also resulted in an acquittal. He fled to Europe for several years, then returned to New York where he practiced law until his death.
Jean-Louis Pons, a French astronomer, saw his first comet, a journey that led him to discover more comets than anyone else in history. (1801) Pons discovered a total of 37 comets over the next 27 years, setting a historical record for most comets discovered by one person.
William Howard Taft became the only US president to also serve as Chief Justice of the United States. (1921) Taft was president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and chief justice from 1921 to 1930, making him the only person in US history to hold both offices.
The first cultured pearl is born. (1893) Japanese businessman Kokichi Mikimoto perfected his technique for creating hemispherical cultured pearls, on this day producing the world’s first pearl. Over the next 12 years, he would hone his own technique, making spherical pearls indistinguishable from perfect specimens rarely found in nature.
A Tale of Two Cities has been published. (1859) The book, written by Charles Dickens, would go on to become the best-selling original English-language novel of all time, with over 200 million copies sold.
To Kill a Mockingbird has been released. (1960) Written by Harper Lee, the book is her only published work by her. It quickly became a classic and won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 1961.
Tijuana, Mexico is established. (1889) Tijuana is the largest city in the Baja California region of Mexico and the sixth largest city in Mexico. It is a border city between Mexico and the United States with approximately 300,000 border crossings each day.
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