The first commercial movie was screened. (1895) Two French brothers, Louis and Auguste Lumiere, had created the movie and the equipment it was shown on. They showed the movie in the Grand Cafe in Paris, and charged admission to a movie for the first time.
The first test tube baby was born in America. (1981) Elizabeth Carr was born to Judy and Roger Carr, the first people to attempt in vitro fertilization in the US. She was only the 15th IVF baby born in the world, and was born 3 years after the first ever IVF baby — Louise Brown — who was born in the UK.
Muriel Siebert became the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange. (1967) Siebert was also the first woman to own her own brokerage firm. At the time, women in finance was virtually unheard of, and many of the 1,365 male members of the exchange found her desire to join ridiculous. It took years of campaigning before Siebert was finally elected, but once she had her seat, she made many anti-sexist reforms.
Westminster Abbey was consecrated. (1065) The church was built by Edward the Confessor in penance for not having gone on a pilgrimage to Rome. It took more than 15 years to complete, and Edward died just 8 days after it was consecrated.
Nixon signed the Endangered Species Act into law. (1973) It was the first legislation in American history to focus on protecting animals and their habitats from economic encroachment.
The first chewing gum — containing rubber — was patented. (1869) Though people had been chewing on paraffin and sap for years, William Semple’s version, complete with rubber, charcoal, and myrhh, was the first one to be patented.
Chinese forces crossed the 38th parallel into South Korea. (1950) The UN and South Korean forces had actually conquered all of North Korea earlier that year, and the war was expected to end soon. That didn’t happen however, since after General MacArthur made an ill-advised invasion into China, Chinese forces began pouring over the border, and beat the Allies all the way back down to the bottom of South Korea. The fighting continued for another three years, before a cease-fire came into effect.
The first Labor Day was observed in the US. (1869) It was first observed by the Knights of Labor, a group of tailors in Philadelphia, which later became influential nationwide. The day did not become an official US holiday until more than 20 years later.
US Vice President John Calhoun resigned. (1832) Calhoun only served 16 days in office before he resigned, and he was the first vice president to do so. He resigned because of political differences with President Andrew Jackson, but still continued to be a major force in American politics and a big influence on the policies of the Confederacy.
American revolutionary writer Thomas Paine was arrested in France. (1793) Paine, most famous for his book Common Sense, had moved to France to join in the French Revolution. Though he was welcomed at first for his anti-royalist sentiments, he fell out of favor because of his vocal opposition to the death penalty. After he was released, he fell out of favor in America too, and died impoverished.