Landmark Publications and Discoveries
- 1859: On the Origin of Species British naturalist Charles Darwin published his seminal work, which introduced the groundbreaking theory of evolution by means of natural selection. This challenged established scientific and religious views of how life developed, fundamentally altering the course of biology.
- 1877: Black Beauty English author Anna Sewell’s classic novel about an abused horse was published. It quickly became popular and was an important work in the burgeoning animal rights movement.
- 1974: Discovery of “Lucy” The 40% complete fossilized skeleton of an early human ancestor, nicknamed “Lucy“, was discovered in the Awash Valley of Ethiopia. This vital find provided evidence that human ancestors walked upright more than three million years ago.
Key Political and Criminal Events
- 1963: Lee Harvey Oswald Killed Two days after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the accused assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was shot and killed on live national television by nightclub owner Jack Ruby while being transferred by police in Dallas.
- 1971: D.B. Cooper Hijacking A man identifying himself as “Dan Cooper” (popularly known as D.B. Cooper) hijacked a Northwest Orient Airlines plane, extorted $200,000 in ransom money, and parachuted out over Washington State. His fate and identity remain one of the great unsolved mysteries in U.S. history.
- 1989: Velvet Revolution Culmination After more than a week of mass protests in Czechoslovakia against the Communist regime, the entire presidium and secretariat of the Communist Party resigned, effectively ending communist rule in the country.
