1796 Gloucestershire, Medicine: English country doctor Edward Jenner administered the world’s first recorded vaccination. It was against smallpox. The vaccine was enthusiastically embraced by doctors far and wide and saved millions of lives. It also inspired the search for other preventative vaccines. So far no vaccine against stupid has been found.
1804 Meriwether Lewis and William Clark left St Louis for parts unknown. The Corps of Discovery, as it was called, had forty-five men. The journey there and back took nearly three years.
1855 Sydney, History: The Royal Mint on Macquarie Street commenced operations. The building still stands and boasts a restaurant these days.
1897 Flat Holm Island (England): Guglielmo Marconi sent the first message over the sea by wireless telegraph — radio. The equipment is being set up below.
1969 Ottawa, Politics: The Trudeau government removed homosexuality from the Criminal Code of Canada. Pierre Trudeau had often said that the nation does not belong in the nation’s bedrooms. The sky did not fall.
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