October 6 – Soviet Luna 3, Impacts Moon And More

History is something that illuminates the culture and its origin. It also forecasts the awareness and how and when everything evolved and fell into place. It not only helps us trace the origins of the past but also helps us understand it better which leads to an understanding of the present more desirably. We, at Brag Social, try to keep you updated with the happening of past and present through our today column. Let us now read the historical milestones of October 6.

1959 – Soviet Luna 3, 1st successful photographic spacecraft, impacts Moon

The first far side photographs of the moon are taken by the space probe – Soviet Luna 3 on October 6 1959. The spacecraft was the first successful photographic spacecraft was radio controlled and was a part of Soviet Union’s lunar programme. It completed 20 missions to the moon between January 1959 to October 1970. To achieve the far side photographs of the moon, the probe was equipped with a dual-lens 35mm camera, one a 200mm, f/5.6 aperture, the other a 500mm, f/9.5 and when Luna 3’s photocell detected the sunlit far side, the photo sequencing was automatically triggered passing about 40,000 miles above the lunar surface.

1965 William Goodhart’s “Generation” premieres in NYC

William Goodhart penned the Broadway hit comedy – Generation that was officially premiered in the Morosco Theatre in New York City on October 6 1965. The play was a Broadway comedy of three acts that ran 300 performances and was nominated for a Tony award in 1966 for the Best Featured Actor in a play. The play starred Henry Fonda and featured Richard Jordan, Holly Turner, Sandy Baron, Don Fellows and A. Larry Haines and was directed by Gene Saks. Later the play was adapted into an American comedy film directed by George Schaefer and was released on 15th December 1969 by AVCO Embassy Pictures.

1966 – LSD is first declared illegal in the state of California

Initially, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide) was discovered as a commercial medication for various psychiatric uses in 1947 but by mid-1960s there was a backlash against the use of LSD and its perceived corrosive effects. This resulted in governmental action to restrict the availability of the drug by making any use of it illegal. To control LSD, and to outlaw, the manufacture, sale, and possession of the drug, the governors of Nevada and California both signed bills into law on May 30, 1966. The law went into effect on October 6 1966, in California, while it was effective immediately in Nevada, making them the first two states to outlaw the use of LSD. The ban was followed by the US and other states as well in future.

1987 – Fiji becomes a republic independent of the British Commonwealth.

Fiji was a parliamentary democracy with a government led by an elected president dominion, a member of the Commonwealth, until 1987. Four years before Fiji achieved independence from Great Britain, it was in 1966 when the country’s first constitution was promulgated. In 1987, the government was overthrown twice in military-led coups following Fiji’s expulsion from the British Commonwealth, thus becoming a republic independent. Fiji is now governed under a constitution that was adopted in 2013. 

1995 – Astronomers discover 51 Pegasi as the second star known to have a planet orbiting it

Astronomers Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz announced the discovery of the first planet in orbit around a distant sun-like star on October 6 1995. The star was located about 50 light-years away in the direction of our constellation Pegasus the Flying Horse and was known as 51 Pegasi. The new planet was designated as 51 Pegasi b that has a mass about half of the planet Jupiter. In contrast to 365 days for our Earth to orbit the sun and 12 years for Jupiter, 51 Pegasi b orbits very close to its star, requiring only four days to orbit.

2007 – Jason Lewis becomes the first person to complete a human-powered circumnavigation of the globe.

British adventurer Jason Lewis’s 13-year-long expedition is a tale of perseverance as he towed his pedal-powered boat Moksha (liberation) at Greenwich on 6 October 2007 after crossing the Thames and became the first person to complete a human-powered circumnavigation of the globe. On mere human power—walking, cycling, roller-blading, kayaking, swimming and pedalling, Lewis embarked upon this mammoth expedition in 1994 with college friend Steve Smith and covered about 75,000 km crossing five continents, two oceans and one sea.

Source – https://www.wikipedia.org/