1781 – English astronomer William Herschel observed what he initially thought was a comet but turned out to be the planet Uranus. It was the first planet to be discovered using a telescope.
http://www.universetoday.com/18886/discovery-of-uranus/
1882 – At the Royal Institution, Eadweard J. Muybridge demonstrated his zoopraxiscope, an optical apparatus that exhibited photographs of moving animals. It is sometimes considered the first movie projector.
http://www.archive.org/details/attitudesofanima00muyb
1969 – Apollo 9 returned safely to Earth after orbital testing of the first crewed Lunar Module.
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo9.html
Read Tom’s science fiction and other fiction books at Merritt’s Books site.