Today in Tech History – August 3, 2017

1811 – Elisha Otis was born. He invented a safety brake that prevented elevators from falling if the hoisting cable broke. Thank him every time you get in an elevator.

http://www.theelevatormuseum.org/e/E-5.htm

1958 – The nuclear submarine USS Nautilus became the first watercraft to reach the geographic North Pole. Commanding Officer, Commander William R. Anderson, announced to his crew, “For the world, our country, and the Navy – the North Pole.”

http://www.ussnautilus.org/nautilus/index.shtml

1977 – Tandy Corp of Texas held a New York press conference to announce that it would manufacture the TRS-80.

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/aroundthemall/2010/08/august-3-1977-the-trs-80-personal-computer-goes-on-sale/

1995 – John Romero released the first screenshots of Quake on the Internet. They were 320 x 200 TIFFs.
http://rome.ro/news/2016/6/22/happy-20th-birthday-quake

Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.