On this day

9 December in history.

5 moments from 1868 to 1979: discovery, creativity and courage, each with a source to read more.

5 moments

SRI’s Douglas Engelbart practices for the December 9, 1968 "mother of all demos"

1968

The Mother of All Demos. Douglas Engelbart showed the computer mouse, hypertext and windows on screen to the public for the first time, in a demo that shaped personal computing.

Wikipedia: The Mother of All Demos

Photo: SRI International / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

More from 9 December

  1. A modern British LED Traffic Light (Siemens Helios Mk1 LED) in Portsmouth

    1868

    The first traffic lights

    The first traffic lights were put up outside the Palace of Westminster in London. They looked like railway signals and were lit at night by red and green gas lamps.

    Wikipedia: Traffic lightWikipedia: Palace of Westminster

    Photo: Unisouth / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

  2. French journalist and feminist Marguerite Durand (1864-1936)

    1897

    Marguerite Durand founds La Fronde

    Actress, journalist and suffragist Marguerite Durand founded La Fronde, a feminist newspaper in France.

    Wikipedia: Marguerite DurandWikipedia: La Fronde (newspaper)

    Photo: Agence Rol / Adam Cuerden / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  3. 1960

    Coronation Street begins

    The first episode of Coronation Street, now the world's longest-running TV soap opera, was broadcast in the UK.

    Wikipedia: Coronation Street

  4. Smallpox

    1979

    Smallpox is wiped out

    Scientists working with the World Health Organization certified that smallpox had been eradicated worldwide, the first human disease ever to be beaten completely.

    Wikipedia: SmallpoxWikipedia: Eradication of infectious diseases

    Photo: Photo Credit: Content Providers(s): CDC/James Hicks / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Moments chosen for discovery, creativity and courage. Each one links to a source where you can read more; photos are credited to their owners.