On this day

2 January in history.

5 moments from 1818 to 2004: discovery, creativity and courage, each with a source to read more.

5 moments

1959

A spacecraft heads for the Moon. The Soviet probe Luna 1 lifted off. It became the first spacecraft to reach the neighbourhood of the Moon, then carried on into an orbit around the Sun.

Photo: RIAN_archive_510848_Interplanetary_station_Luna_1.jpg : Alexander Mokletsov / Александр… / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

1818
Six engineers start a society
A small group of engineers founded the Institution of Civil Engineers in Britain. The famous road and bridge builder Thomas Telford later became its first president.
Wikipedia: Institution of Civil Engineers Wikipedia: Thomas Telford
Photo: Henry Raeburn / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
1921
R.U.R. reaches the stage
Karel Čapek's science fiction play R.U.R. had its first performance, in a theatre in Hradec Králové. It is the play that gave the world the word "robot".
Wikipedia: R.U.R.Wikipedia: Karel Čapek
Photo: Unknown author / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
1991
A first for Washington, D.C.
Sharon Pratt Dixon took office as mayor of Washington, D.C. She was the first African American woman to lead a major American city.
Wikipedia: Sharon Pratt
Photo: District of Columbia / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)
2004
Catching dust from a comet
NASA's Stardust probe flew close to Comet Wild 2 and gathered tiny particles from the cloud around it. The samples were later brought safely back to Earth.
Wikipedia: Stardust (spacecraft)Wikipedia: 81P/Wild
Photo: NASA / 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.