TODAY ON HISTORY...

[jAnEz]

September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 114 days remaining until the end of the year.


1966 - The Severn Bridge was officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II

The Severn Bridge (Welsh: Pont Hafren) is a suspension bridge spanning the River Severn between South Gloucestershire, just north of Bristol, England, and Monmouthshire in South Wales, via Beachley, a peninsula between the Severn and Wye estuaries. It is the original Severn crossing between England and Wales and took five years to construct at a cost of £8 million.[1] It replaced the Aust ferry.

The bridge was opened on 8 September 1966 by Queen Elizabeth II, who hailed it as the dawn of a new economic era for South Wales. The bridge was granted Grade I listed status in 1998.

The Severn Bridge seen from the English side of the river. From 1966 to 1996, the bridge carried the M4 motorway. On completion of the Second Severn Crossing the motorway from Olveston on the English side to Rogiet was renamed the M48


Severn Bridge looking toward Wales


The Wye Bridge with the Severn Bridge in the distance, looking towards England

1966 - The first Star Trek series premieres on NBC.

1968 - The Beatles perform their last live TV performance on the David Frost show. They perform their new hit Hey Jude.

[jAnEz]

September 9 is the 252nd day of the year (253rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 113 days remaining until the end of the year.

2004 - 2004 Australian emb*ssy bombing: A bomb explodes outside the Australian emb*ssy in Jakarta, killing 10 people.

The Australian flag continues to fly in front of a neighbouring building devastated by the bomb.

The 2004 Australian emb*ssy bombing took place on September 9, 2004 in Jakarta, Indonesia.

A one-tonne car bomb, which was packed into a small Daihatsu delivery van, exploded outside the Australian emb*ssy at Kuningan District, South Jakarta, at about 10:30 local time (03:30 UTC), killing 9 people including the suicide bomber, and wounding over 150 others. It gutted the Greek Emb*ssy on the 12th floor of an adjacent building, where three diplomats there were slightly wounded.[1] Damage to the nearby Chinese emb*ssy was also reported. Numerous office buildings surrounding the emb*ssy were also damaged by the blast, which shattered windows in buildings 500 metres (500 yd) away, injuring many workers inside, mostly by broken gl*ss.

A dispute ensued as to how many civilians lost their lives after the explosion: local health authorities in Jakarta reported 9 deaths, compared to 11 deaths reported by Australian officials. Nonetheless, all Australians working at the emb*ssy were reported alive. Among the victims killed were emb*ssy security guard Anton Sujarwo, 23, and four Indonesian policemen on duty at the emb*ssy. The rest were civilians, including the emb*ssy gardener, Suryadi, 34, two emb*ssy workers, a visa applicant, and a pedestrian.

[mindy]

September 10

 The US patent for the first sewing machine was issued on this date in 1846. American inventor Elias Howe made the first successful machine using an eye-pointed needle and an intermittent feed. Other machines had been developed earlier in England and France, and in America Walter Hunt first came up with the idea for the lockstitch machine ten years before Howe, but Hunt didn't patent his idea. Howe improved upon it, received the patent, and went on to make a fortune from his machine.

[kaLbo]

SEPTEMBER 11 2001

Terrorists hijack two passenger planes crashing them into New York's World Trade Towers causing the collapse of both and death of 2,752 people 

Terrorists hijack a passenger plane and crash it into the Pentagon causing the death of 125 people 

Attempt by passengers and crew of United Airlines Flight 93 to retake control of their hijacked plane from terrorists causes plane to crash in Pennsylvania field killing all 64 people onboard 

[mindy]

September 11

     The fourth — and last — of NASA's Great Observatories satellites is the Spitzer Space Telescope, which recently celebrated its fifth anniversary in space. To mark the day, NASA released infrared photos of a stellar nursery, providing new evidence that the radiation and brute winds of massive stars can trigger the birth of stellar newborns. According to the space agency, this molecular cloud spans an area of sky equivalent to four full moons and is about 6,500 light-years from Earth in the constellation Cassiopeia. In other space news, the last Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission is due to launch today.

[jAnEz]

September 11 is the 254th day of the year (255th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 111 days remaining until the end of the year.

It is usually the first day of the Coptic calendar and Ethiopian calendar (in the period AD 1900 to AD 2099).

The terms September 11th, 11th September, 11 September, and 9/11 (pronounced "Nine-eleven") have been widely used in the Western media as a shorthand for the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon in the United States of America.

In other places of the world the media also use it as shorthand for other events; for example, the September 11, 1973 Coup d'État in Chile is referred to as "El 11 de Septiembre" or "El once" ("September 11" or "The eleventh" in Spanish) as shorthand for the Coup events; September 11 is also Enkutatash or New Year's Day in the Ethiopian calendar.


# 1972 - Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) in San Francisco, California begins regular service.

A westbound BART train with aerodynamic design "A" car in downtown San Francisco.


BART Routes


BART train waiting on the platform at Millbrae Station. Note the extremely long destination displayed on the sign: SFO AIRPORT / SF /DUBLIN PLEASTN


Refurbished B car interior


C (C1) car interior


Ticket vending machines at the Powell Street Station

[jAnEz]

September 12 is the 255th day of the year (256th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 110 days remaining until the end of the year.


# 2005 - Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.

Hong Kong Disneyland is the first theme park inside the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort and is owned and managed by the Hong Kong International Theme Parks, an incorporated company jointly owned by The Walt Disney Company and the Government of Hong Kong.

Mickey and Minnie in summer outfits at Main Street, U.S.A.


The fountain featuring Mickey Mouse in the Park Promenade next to Hong Kong Disneyland


Main Street, U.S.A. at Hong Kong Disneyland


Fireworks over Sleeping Beauty Castle


The Mickey mouse float in Disney on parade


The "Thank you for visiting" sign


Land planned for future expansion viewed from the Tarzan's Treehouse in Adventureland

[jAnEz]

September 15 is the 258th day of the year (259th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 107 days remaining until the end of the year.

# 1961 - Hurricane Carla strikes Texas with winds of 175 miles per hour.

Hurricane Carla was one of two Category 5 tropical cyclones during the 1961 Atlantic hurricane season. It struck the Texas coast as a Category 4 hurricane, becoming one of the most powerful storms to ever strike the United States and the strongest ever to hit Texas.
The storm caused over $2 billion (2005 US dollars) in damages, but due to the evacuation of over 500,000 residents the death toll was only 43.

[jAnEz]

September 16 is the 259th day of the year (260th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 106 days remaining until the end of the year.


# 1975 - The first prototype of the MiG-31 interceptor makes its maiden flight.

The Mikoyan MiG-31 (Russian: МиГ-31) (NATO reporting name "Foxhound") is a supersonic interceptor aircraft developed to replace the MiG-25 'Foxbat'. Designed by the Mikoyan design bureau, the MiG-31 was the most advanced interceptor fielded by the Soviet Union before its dissolution. The MiG-31 was constructed for air defense forces over Siberia.

MiG-31 'Foxhound' in flight


MiG-31 'Foxhound' showing its Zaslon phased-array radar


MiG-31 'Foxhound' armed with R-33 (AA-9 'Amos') missiles


Russian Air Force MiG-31BM on display

General characteristics

    * Crew: Two (pilot and weapons system officer)
    * Length: 22.69 m (74 ft 5 in)
    * Wingspan: 13.46 m (44 ft 2 in)
    * Height: 6.15 m (20 ft 2 in)
    * Wing area: 61.6 m² (663 ft²)
    * Empty weight: 21,820 kg (48,100 lb)
    * Loaded weight: 41,000 kg (90,400 lb)
    * Max takeoff weight: 46,200 kg (101,900 lb)
    * Powerplant: 2× Soloviev D-30F6 afterburning turbofans
          o Dry thrust: 93 kN (20,900 lbf) each
          o Thrust with afterburner: 152 kN (34,172 lbf) each

Performance

    * Maximum speed:
          o High altitude: Mach 2.83 (3,000 km/h, 1,860 mph)
          o Low altitude: Mach 1.2 (1,500 km/h, 930 mph)
    * Combat radius: 720 km at Mach 2.35 (450 mi)
    * Ferry range: 3,300 km (2,050 mi)
    * Service ceiling 20,600 m (67,600 ft)
    * Rate of climb: 208 m/s (41,000 ft/min)
    * Wing loading: 665 kg/m² (136 lb/ft²)
    * Thrust/weight: 0.85

    * Maximum g-load: 5 g

Armament

    * 1x GSh-6-23 23 mm cannon with 260 rounds.
    * Fuselage recesses for four R-33 (AA-9 'Amos') or (for MiG-31M/BM only) six R-37 (AA-X-13 'Arrow') long-range air-to-air missiles.
    * Four underwing pylons for a combination of:
          o two R-40TD1 (AA-6 'Acrid') medium-range missiles, and
          o 2x2 R-60 (AA-8 'Aphid') or R-73 (AA-11 'Archer') short-range IR missiles, or
          o 2x2 R-77 (AA-12 'Adder') long-range missiles.
    * Some aircraft are equipped to launch the Kh-31P (AS-17 'Krypton') and Kh-58 (AS-11 'Kilter') anti-radiation missiles in the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) role.

[jAnEz]

September 17 is the 260th day of the year (261st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 105 days remaining until the end of the year.


# 1991 - The first version of the Linux kernel (0.01) is released to the Internet.

Linux (commonly pronounced IPA: /ˈlɪnəks/ in English; variants exist[1]) is a Unix-like computer operating system family which uses the Linux kernel. Linux is one of the most prominent examples of free software and open source development; typically all the underlying source code can be freely modified, used, and redistributed by anyone.[2]

Predominantly known for its use in servers, it is installed on a wide variety of computer hardware, ranging from embedded devices and mobile phones to supercomputers.[3] Several corporations are deeply involved in the development and distribution of Linux, and many more give financial and other support: these include Red Hat, Novell, Oracle Corporation, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sun Microsystems, Nokia, and Dell.

The name "Linux" comes from the Linux kernel, originally written in 1991 by Linus Torvalds. The system's utilities and libraries usually come from the GNU operating system, announced in 1983 by Richard Stallman. The GNU contribution is the basis for the alternative name GNU/Linux.

Richard Stallman, founder of the GNU project, and Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel


A summarised history of Unix-like operating systems showing Linux's origins. Note that despite similar architectural designs and concepts being shared as part of the POSIX standard, Linux does not share any non-free source code with the original Unix or Minix.