Technology

On September 25, 1639, the first printing press in America was set up in Cambridge, Massachusetts Bay Colony. The press remained in continuous use for 150 years, printing some of the first books in the New World.

The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) was founded on September 20, 1848, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It grew to become the world’s largest general scientific society with more than 120,000 members.

On September 4, 1882, Thomas Edison began providing electricity to a portion of New York City, an event often considered the start of the electrical age.

On August 20, 1920, Detroit’s 8MK radio station began daily broadcasts. Still in operation today, the station often claims to be the first commercial radio station, though a few others have also staked their claim on that title.

On August 12, 1918, the US Post Office Department took over control of airmail service from the US Army Air Service. Under the Post Office Department, the service flourished, leading to transcontinental airmail service, which was eventually taken over by private companies.

On August 6, 1991, Tim Berners-Lee published the first-ever website, heralding the start of the world wide web. The web has grown to over 1.8 billion websites today, and continues to grow every day.

Inventor William Kennedy-Laurie Dickson was born on August 3, 1860, in Le Minihic-sur-Rance, Brittany, France. Dickson helped invent the Kinetoscope and Mutoscope, early steppingstones in the motion picture industry.

On July 28, 1897, Alexander Winton began a nine-day test-drive of his automobile, proving its reliability to investors.  Winton went on to become the top-selling automobile manufacturer for several years.  He had more than 100 patents, and often allowed others to use them for free when safety was involved.

On July 20, 1969, the US effectively won the Space Race when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed the Eagle lunar module on the Moon’s surface.