1682

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Today in History 04/09/17

Illustration of Robert Cavelier, Sieur de la Salle (1643 - 1687), as the French explorer stands at the mouth of the Mississippi River (© Getty Images)(1682) De La Salle claims “La Louisiane” for France
French explorer Robert de La Salle, having ventured throughout the central northern regions of America, now arrives at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River, names the entire basin area “La Louisiane,” after French King Louis XIV, and claims the territory for France.
René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, or Robert de La Salle was a French explorer. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf of Mexico. He claimed the entire Mississippi River basin for France.
Born: Nov 22, 1643 · Rouen, France
Died: Mar 19, 1687 · Huntsville, TX
Romance: Danielle Cavelier
Founded: Mississippi Company
Siblings: Jean Cavelier
Parents: Catherine Gest (Mother) · Jean Cavelier (Father)

wiki/René-Robert_Cavelier,_Sieur_de_La_Salle
Phonautograph (c 1857) apparatus for studying sound vibrations graphically, invented by (Edouard) Leon Scott de Martinville (© Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group/REX)(1860) Oldest surviving recording of a human voice is made
Parisian bookseller Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville sets up his invention, the phonautograph, and records someone singing ‘Au Claire de la Lune.’ It will predate Thomas Edison’s more famous first recordings by 28 years. The MP3 won’t arrive for another 133 years.
Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville was a French printer and bookseller who lived in Paris. He invented the earliest known sound recording device, the phonautograph, which was patented in France on 25 March 1857.
Born: Apr 25, 1817 · France
Died: Apr 26, 1879
Inventions: Phonautograph

wiki/Édouard-Léon_Scott_de_Martinville
General Robert E. Lee's (right) surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia to General Grant (left) at Appomattox Courthouse, April 9, 1865 (© Culture Club/Getty Images)(1865) Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders
In a last-ditch effort against Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee realizes the effort is futile and surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Virginia’s Appomattox Court House. The surrender triggers others across the South, as the American Civil War finally winds down.
The Battle of Appomattox Court House, fought on the morning of April 9, 1865, was one of the last battles of the American Civil War. It was the final engagement of Confederate Army general Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia before it surrendered to the Union Army under Lt. Gen. Ulysses S. Grant. Lee, having abandoned the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia, after the ten-month Siege of Petersburg, retreated west, hoping to join his army with the Confederate forces in North Carolina. Union forces pursued and cut off the Confederate’s retreat at the village of Appomattox Court House. Lee launched an attack to break through the Union force to his front, assuming the Union force consisted entirely of cavalry. When he realized that the cavalry was backed up by two corps of Union infantry, he had no choice but to surrender.
Date: Apr 09, 1865

wiki/Battle_of_Appomattox_Court_House
The Mercury Seven astronauts pictured (front row, left to right) Walter Schirra, Donald Slayton, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, (back row, left to right) Alan Shepard, Virgil Grissom and Gordon Cooper in 1959 (© Oxford Science Archive/Print Collector/Getty Images)(1959) NASA introduces picks for Project Mercury
Seven astronauts out of 500 applicants are determined to have the right stuff to conduct manned spaceflights, and they’re introduced in Washington, DC, in front of hundreds of reporters. Astronauts Carpenter, Cooper, Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard, and Slayton will become national heroes.

The Mercury Seven were the group of seven Mercury astronauts announced by NASA on April 9, 1959. They are also referred to as the Original Seven or Astronaut Group 1. They piloted the manned spaceflights of the Mercury program from May 1961 to May 1963. These seven original American astronauts were Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, John Glenn, Gus Grissom, Wally Schirra, Alan Shepard, and Deke Slayton.

Members of the group flew on all classes of NASA manned orbital spacecraft of the 20th century — Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, and the Space Shuttle. Gus Grissom died in 1967, in the Apollo 1 fire. The others all survived past retirement from service. John Glenn went on to become a U.S. senator, and flew on the Shuttle 36 years later to become the oldest person to fly in space. He was the last living member of the class when he died in 2016.


Astronaut Assignments Chart - Mercury 7
wiki/Mercury_Seven
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A Historical Day

(1682) De La Salle claims “La Louisiane” for France
1682 French explorer Robert de La Salle, having ventured throughout the central northern regions of America, now arrives at the mouth of the mighty Mississippi River, names the entire basin area “La Louisiane,” after French King Louis XIV, and claims the territory for France..
(1860) Oldest surviving recording of a human voice is made
Parisian bookseller Édouard-Léon Scott de Martinville sets up his invention, the phonautograph, and records someone singing ‘Au Claire de la Lune.’ It will predate Thomas Edison’s more famous first recordings by 28 years. The MP3 won’t arrive for another 133 years.. 1860
(1865) Confederate General Robert E. Lee surrenders
1865 In a last-ditch effort against Union forces, Confederate General Robert E. Lee realizes the effort is futile and surrenders his 28,000 troops to Union General Ulysses S. Grant at Virginia’s Appomattox Court House. The surrender triggers others across the South, as the American Civil War finally winds down..
(1959) NASA introduces picks for Project Mercury
Seven astronauts out of 500 applicants are determined to have the right stuff to conduct manned spaceflights, and they’re introduced in Washington, DC, in front of hundreds of reporters. Astronauts Carpenter, Cooper, Glenn, Grissom, Schirra, Shepard, and Slayton will become national heroes. . 1959