2023
The FDA gave Elon Musk the go-ahead to trial his Neuralink brain implants on humans.
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2017
Wonder Woman, directed by Patty Jenkins, premiered in Los Angeles. It was the first superhero film directed by a woman.
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2012
SpaceX’s Dragon became the first commercial spacecraft to dock at the International Space Station.
The spacecraft was named after the song “Puff, the Magic Dragon” as a response to those who said the project was impossible. In addition to succeeding, Dragon also made a cargo delivery to the ISS on its voyage.
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2011
Oprah Winfrey aired her last show.
After 25 years and 4,561 episodes, The Oprah Winfrey Show ended. It remains one of the highest-rated daytime talk shows in American TV history.
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2001
32-year-old Erik Weihenmayer from Boulder, Colorado, became the first blind person to reach the summit of Mount Everest.
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2000
At the 53rd Cannes Film Festival, “Dancer in the Dark,” directed by Lars von Trier starring Björk, won the Palme d’Or award.
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2000
The South Lebanon Conflict, which began in 1985, ended on this day, and Lebanon became liberated.
This day is now celebrated every year as Lebanon Day of Liberation.
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1992
Jay Leno became the permanent host of “The Tonight Show.”
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1986
The Hands Across America charity event was held.
The goal was to make a human chain holding hands from California to New York. Although many areas weren’t populated enough to make the line unbroken, about 5 to 6.5 million people held hands for 15 minutes. The event raised $15 million for charities.
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1979
Alien, directed by Ridley Scott and starring Sigourney Weaver, was released.
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1977
The original Star Wars film (Episode IV – A New Hope), directed by George Lucas, was first released.
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1961
US President John F. Kennedy addressed Congress and promised to put a man on the moon within a decade.
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1953
The United States conducted its first and only nuclear artillery test at the Nevada Test Site.
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1895
Oscar Wilde was sentenced to two years of hard labor for committing gross acts of indecency with another male person.
He was shuffled around a few different prisons during these two years. There, he was forced to walk on treadmills and perform other mundane but physically exhausting tasks.
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1521
Martin Luther was declared an outlaw by the Holy Roman Emperor.
Luther was a priest for 12 years before he started writing a list of things he thought needed changing in the Catholic church, which ultimately led to him being brought before the Pope and the Holy Roman Emperor. He refused to take back his words, for which he was excommunicated from the church and made an outlaw.
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