A team of scientists working with the Tauros Programme are trying to bring the extinct Aurochs back to Europe. The Aurochs was an ancient bovine breed that stood about 7 feet tall at the shoulder, 2 feet taller than their modern descendants, and were last seen in Europe in the 17th Century.
30 June
The first leap second is added to the UTC time system on this day in 1972. Continue reading “1972 – The leap second”
15 June
Mount Pinatubo, in the Philippines, explodes in the second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th Century.
26 April
The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on this day in 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the city of Pripyat, then located in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic of the Soviet Union. Continue reading “1986 – The Chernobyl nuclear disaster”
21 April
For the first time, optical fibre is used to carry live telephone traffic. Continue reading “1977 – Optical fibre”
22 April
The 1st Air Commando Group using Sikorsky R-4 helicopters stage the first use of helicopters in combat with combat search and rescue operations in the China Burma India Theater. Continue reading “1944 – the first use of helicopters in combat”
April
USS Thresher (SSN-593) was the lead boat of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in the United States Navy. She was lost with all hands during deep-diving tests on 10 April 1963.
Continue reading “1963 – Submarine USS Thresher lost at sea”
7 April
2001 Mars Odyssey is a robotic spacecraft orbiting the planet Mars. The project was developed by NASA, and contracted out to Lockheed Martin, with an expected cost for the entire mission of US$297 million. Its mission is to use spectrometers and a thermal imager to detect evidence of past or present water and ice, as well as study the planet’s geology and radiation environment. Continue reading “2001 – Mars Odyssey is launched”
5-6 April
The 1936 Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak was an outbreak of at least 12 tornadoes that struck the Southeastern United States from April 5–6, 1936. Continue reading “1936 – Tupelo–Gainesville tornado outbreak”
