In 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell received a patent for an “Improvement in Telegraphy” (No.174,465) which established the principle of bidirectional signals that made the telephone possible.

In 1926 – The first successful Transatlantic telephone call was placed between New York City and London. Transatlantic service began the following year at $75 a minute.

In 1994 – The Supreme Court found that 2 Live Crew’s parody of Roy Orbison’s “Oh Pretty Woman” was fair use, and not a violation of copyright, thus ensuring the future of The Onion.

In 1886 – The first alternating current power plant in the US was put into regular operation in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

In 1937 – The first woman in space and only woman ever to fly solo in space, Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was born in the Yaroslavl region of Russia.

In 1992 – The first media-hyped computer virus reached fever pitch as the Michelangelo boot sector virus began to affect computers. Worldwide catastrophe did not follow.

In 1975 – The Homebrew Computer Club, held its first meeting in a the garage of Gordon French in Menlo Park, California. 32 people showed up for the first meeting. John Draper, Steve Wozniak and Steve Jobs were some of the more famous members of the club.

In 1981 – Sinclair Research launched the ZX81 in Britain for £69.95 and would go on to sell over 1.5 million units around the world. It was much more successful than it’s predecessor the ZX80.

In 1982 Four days after it’s twin, the second of two Soviet probes to Venus, the Venera 14 landed on the planet. Venera 13 and 14 would continue to send data until 1983.

In 1976 – The first Freon-cooled Cray-1 supercomputer was shipped to Los Alamos Laboratories, in New Mexico at a cost of $19,000,000.

In 2000 – The Sony PlayStation 2 went on sale in Japan.

In 2007 – Election Day was held in Estonia, and for the first time in the world, voters were allowed to vote on the Internet. Approximately 30,000 voters took advantage of electronic voting. Ballots had to be completed three days before election day.

In 1847 – In Ediinburgh, Scotland, an expert vocal physiology and elocution welcomed his newborn son into the world. He was named after his father. Alexander Graham Bell would gon to become synonymous with the telephone.

In 1885 – The American Telephone and Telegraph Company was incorporated in New York State as the subsidiary of American Bell Telephone.

In 1966- The BBC announces plans to begin broadcasting television programmes in colour the following year, becoming the first European broadcaster to provide regular colour broadcasts.