On this day

19 October in history.

5 moments from 1752 to 2017: discovery, creativity and courage, each with a source to read more.

5 moments

A statue of Benjamin Franklin which stands across from the New York Times Building at 41 Park Row at Spruce Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City. The plaza it's located in was once known as "Printing House Square" due to the offices and presses of numerou…

1752

Benjamin Franklin describes his kite experiment. The Pennsylvania Gazette printed Benjamin Franklin's account of flying a kite to show that lightning is electrical.

Wikipedia: The Pennsylvania Gazette

Photo: Beyond My Ken / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

More from 19 October

  1. Title page, first edition, w:en:Jane Eyre .

    1847

    Jane Eyre is published

    The novel Jane Eyre was published in London.

    Wikipedia: Jane Eyre

    Photo: Unknown author / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  2. This chemical structure drawing is intended to match as closely as possible the view in the 3D ball-and stick figure.

    1943

    A cure for tuberculosis is found

    Researchers at Rutgers University isolated streptomycin, the first antibiotic able to treat tuberculosis.

    Wikipedia: Streptomycin

    Photo: CopperChemist / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

  3. Members of the European Broadcasting Union . Countries with one or more members are in dark blue. Associated members in light blue. Suspended members in yellow.

    1955

    Eurovision gets the go-ahead

    The European Broadcasting Union agreed to stage the very first Eurovision Song Contest.

    Wikipedia: European Broadcasting UnionWikipedia: History of the Eurovision Song ContestWikipedia: Eurovision Song Contest

    Photo: Miloszk22 / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

  4. This artist’s impression shows the first interstellar object discovered in the Solar System, `Oumuamua. Observations made with ESO’s Very Large Telescope, the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, and others show that the object is moving faster than predicted while leaving the Solar…

    2017

    The first visitor from another star system

    Canadian astronomer Robert Weryk discovered ʻOumuamua, the first known object from outside our Solar System seen passing through it.

    Wikipedia: Robert WerykWikipedia: 1I/ʻOumuamuaWikipedia: Interstellar object

    Photo: ESA/Hubble, NASA, ESO, M. Kornmesser / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0)

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