1754 The first noted use of the word Serendipity was by Horace Walpole (1717–1792). In a letter to Horace Mann he said he formed it from the Persian fairy tale The Three Princes of Serendip, whose heroes “were always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things they were not in quest of”. Some serendipitous discoveries:
- Gelignite
– Superglue
– Viagra
– L-dopa
– Microwave oven
– Velcro
– Penicillin
1813 Pride and Prejudice, a novel by Jane Austen, first published.
1896 Walter Arnold of East Peckham, Kent became the first person to be convicted of speeding. He was fined 1 shilling, plus costs, for speeding at 13 kph, exceeding the contemporary speed limit of 3.2 kph.
1938 The World Land Speed Record on a public road was broken by driver Rudolf Caracciola in the Mercedes-Benz W195 at a speed of 432.7 kph.
1958 The Lego company patented the design of its Lego bricks.
Born:
1912 Jackson Pollock, American painter
1929 Acker Bilk, English jazz clarinetist
1955 Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France
Died:
1547 King Henry VIII of England
Also, the Senate passed Resolution 25 recognizing January 28, 2009 as National Data Privacy Day.
John Morrison
| 16/05/12 | Join us this Friday for breakfast & guest speaker Gordon Bray |
| 14/05/12 | Benefit Concert: JUN 9 |
| 04/05/12 | Trivia Night |
| 02/05/12 | GUEST SPEAKER – Simon Mordant AM |
| 12/04/12 | Fundraising Success |
| 14/03/12 | “The Best Golf Day Ever” |
| 05/03/12 | A Truly Amazing Feat |
| 13/02/12 | Movie Night for Polio Plus |
| 01/02/12 | Fantastic Turnout at the Wheelchair Race |
| 23/01/12 | Charity Golf Day 2012 |
