1957 - Sputnik 2 launched.
The second Sputnik satellite, launched by the Soviet Union, carried a dog, named Laika, into space. Biological data was returned for a week before the animal had to be put to sleep.
1879 - Death of James Maxwell
James Clerk Maxwell was a Scottish physicist who lived between 1831-1879. Maxwell is most famous for his equations linking electricity and magnetism. His revolutionary work lead to the development of quantum physics in the early 1900's and to Einstein's theory of relativity.
1867 - Birthday of Marie Curie
Marie Curie was a Polish physicist and chemist who lived between 1867-1934. Together with her husband, Pierre, she discovered two new elements and studied the x-rays they emitted. She found that the harmful properties of x-rays could be used in medical treatment to kill tumors.
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