Today in History - October 28

On October 28, 1886, the final rivet was fitted to the Statue of Liberty during the dedication by President Grover Cleveland.

Bartholdi, the sculptor, was in the torch during the dedication, and pulled the rope that removed the French flag from Liberty's face.

Then, President Cleveland accepted the statue on behalf of the United States and said, ""We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."

Some interesting facts:

• The statue's official name is "Liberty Enlightening the World".
• Bertholdi personally selected New York Harbor as the site of the statue.
• U.S. Patent D-11,023 was issued for the Statue of Liberty. This patent covered the sale of small statues, which helped finance the cost of the full statue.
• The statue's nose is 4' 6" long.

Today in History - September 9

In 1909, Russian Pyotr Nesterov came into contact with aviation when he was sent to an aircraft manufacturer to work. He built his first glider and learned to fly it. Nesterov began formal training as a pilot and soon graduated. A short time later he also passed the examination to be a military pilot.

Nesterov believed that an aircraft could fly a loop, a feat not previously performed. Despite the doubts of his peers, Nesterov proved his theory on September 9, 1913 and became the first pilot to fly a loop. This was done in a Nieuport IV monoplane with a 70 hp Gnome engine over Syretzk Aerodrome near Kiev, before many observers. He was disciplined with ten days house arrest for risking government property. His achievement made him famous overnight and the punishment was reversed – he was promoted to staff captain and later awarded a medal. He founded the practice of aerobatics, stressing the value of these exercises for a military pilot. Nesterov improved the flight methods and designed new flight models without rudders.

In honor of Nesterov the Soviet Union established the Nesterov's cup for the best aerobatics crew. The cup was donated to the International Aeronautics Federation in 1962, and is awarded to the Men's World Team Champions of the World Aerobatic Championships.

Today in History – August 21

On August 21, 1911, Leonardo Da Vinci’s painting, the Mona Lisa, was stolen from the Louvre in Paris, France. The next day, a painter named Louis Béroud walked into the Louvre and went to the spot where the Mona Lisa had been on display for five years. However, where the Mona Lisa should have stood, he found four iron pegs. Béroud contacted the section head of the guards, who thought the painting was being photographed for marketing purposes. A few hours later, Béroud checked back with the section head of the museum, and it was confirmed that the Mona Lisa was not with the photographers. The Louvre was closed for an entire week to investigate the theft.

At the time, the painting was believed to be lost forever, and it was two years before the real thief was discovered. Louvre employee Vincenzo Peruggia stole it by entering the building during regular hours, hiding in a broom closet and walking out with it hidden under his coat after the museum had closed. Peruggia was an Italian patriot who believed Leonardo's painting should be returned to Italy for display in an Italian museum. After having kept the painting in his apartment for two years, Peruggia grew impatient and was finally caught when he attempted to sell it to the directors of the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. The Mona Lisa was exhibited all over Italy and returned to the Louvre in 1913. Peruggia was hailed for his patriotism in Italy and only served a few months in jail for the crime.

Today In History - May 8

On May 8, 1886 (122 years ago) John S. Pemberton's new headache remedy, Coca-Cola, went on sale for the first time in Atlanta, GA.

Today in History - March 9

On March 09, 1074 (934 years ago) all married Roman Catholic priests were excommunicated by Pope Gregory VII.

Today in History - January 18, 1778

Captain James Cook became the first European to "discover" the Hawaiian Islands on January 18, 1778. He made initial landfall at Waimea harbour, Kauai, where he named the archipelago the "Sandwich Islands" after the fourth Earl of Sandwich, the acting First Lord of the Admiralty.

Cook returned to the islands in 1779. After a month's stay at Kealakekua Bay, on the "big island" of Hawaii, his expedition got under sail again to resume his exploration of the Northern Pacific. Shortly after leaving, the foremast of his command ship (the HMS Resolution) broke and the party returned to Kealakekua Bay for repairs. Tensions rose and a number of quarrels broke out between the Europeans and Hawaiians.

On February 14 at Kealakekua Bay, some Hawaiians took one of Cook's small boats. Cook attempted to take the Chief of Hawaii, Kalaniopu'u, as his hostage. The Hawaiians prevented this, and Cook's men had to retreat to the beach. As Cook turned his back to help launch the boats, he was struck on the head by the villagers and then stabbed to death as he fell on his face in the surf.

Today in History – January 7, 1610

On January 7, 1610, nearly four hundred years ago, Galileo wrote a letter containing the first mention of Jupiter’s moons. At the time, he only saw three of them, and he believed them to be fixed stars near Jupiter. He continued to observe these celestial orbs from January 8 through March 2. In these observations, he discovered a fourth body, and also observed that the four were not fixed stars, but rather were orbiting Jupiter. He attempted to call the objects the Medicea Sidera ("the Medician stars”) after the Medici family, whose patronage he was trying to secure.

The names that eventually prevailed were chosen by Simon Marius, who claimed to have discovered the moons at the same time as Galileo. He named them after lovers of the god Zeus (the Greek equivalent of Jupiter): Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto. Galileo was perturbed by this, and refused to use the names. He referred to them instead as Jupiter I, II, III and IV, creating a numbering scheme that is still in use today.

Though his name for the bodies didn’t stick, Galileo is credited with their discovery and the moons are still referred to as Galilean Moons.

A composite image showing the relative sizes of the four moons as compared to Jupiter. From the top: Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto.