On this day

5 September in history.

5 moments from 1698 to 1980: discovery, creativity and courage, each with a source to read more.

5 moments

Voyager 1

1977

Voyager 1 launches. NASA launched Voyager 1. It has travelled farther than any other human-made object and is still sending messages.

Wikipedia: Voyager 1

Photo: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

More from 5 September

  1. A beard token, received for paying the Russian beard tax

    1698

    A tax on beards

    To modernise his nobles, Peter the Great put a tax on beards. Those who paid carried a token as proof.

    Wikipedia: Beard taxWikipedia: Peter the Great

    Photo: U.S. State Department / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  2. Tottenham

    1882

    Hotspur is founded

    A group of London schoolboys formed Hotspur Football Club. It became Tottenham Hotspur.

    Wikipedia: Tottenham Hotspur F.C.

    Photo: Acabashi / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

  3. Bust photographic portrait of Muhammad Ali in 1967. World Journal Tribune photo by Ira Rosenberg

    1960

    Cassius Clay wins gold

    Eighteen-year-old Cassius Clay, later Muhammad Ali, won Olympic boxing gold in Rome.

    Wikipedia: Muhammad Ali

    Photo: Ira Rosenberg / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

  4. The entrance to the St. Gotthard Tunnel (Switzerland) from the south side (Airolo)

    1980

    The Gotthard Road Tunnel

    A road tunnel through the Swiss Alps opened, at the time the longest road tunnel in the world.

    Wikipedia: Gotthard Road Tunnel

    Photo: Grzegorz Święch / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 3.0)

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