1825 Ezra Daggett and son-in-law Thomas Kensett patented food storage in hermetically sealed tin cans. They switched from jars which broke to tin containers for fish, fruit, and vegetables.
1915 George Claude patented the first neon tube in patent no, 1,125,476. He had first displayed neon tubes in Paris in 1910. His company held a virtual monopoly on neon lighting into the 1930s because of this patent.
1937 Howard Hughes flew non-stop from Burbank CA to Newark NJ in seven hours and 22 minutes. In 1936 he had done it in nine hours and 27 minutes. All of this before he entered his full nutso phase. In 2003 a Concorde did the trip in just under four hours.
1966 Australia’s longest-serving Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, retired. He out manoeuvred many rivals and opponents, while weathering many a storm.
1983 The Apple Lisa the first commercial personal computer to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse. The Lisa was targeted at businesses and cost $9,995 (about $25,258.61 today) and because of that price tag it languished. Apple does not always get it right. However today Maserati is small potatoes compared to Apple, as indicated by the pathetic newspaper advertisements it now runs.
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