Jerry Leventer

This Day In History: 1/1/2008

2000: the dreaded Y2K computer ‘millennium bug’ failed to appear as predicted.

1985: the first British mobile phone call was made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone; and the Internet’s Domain Name System was created.

1983: the ARPANET officially changed to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.

1939: William (Bill) Hewlett and David Packard founded Hewlett-Packard.

1925: American astronomer Edwin Hubble announced the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way.

1908: for the first time, a ball dropped in New York City’s Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.

Happy Birthday:

Author J. D. Salinger (1919),
FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (1895-1972),
Inventor George Washington Carver (1864-1943),
Seamstress Betsy Ross (1752-1836),
and American Revolution Patriot Paul Revere (1735-1818).

RIP: Singer Hank Williams (1953).

Source: IDG Connect
[tags]History, Fun, This Day In History, Happy New Year, 2008[/tags]