Chronology up to 1920

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Chronology 1920 and on 1054 July 4 - The Crab Nebula Supernova Nation: China. 1572 November 11 - Tycho Brahe's observes Supernova 1572 Nation: Germany. 1604 October 9 - Supernova 1604 (Kepler's Nova) Nation: Germany. 1610 January 7 - Galileo Galilei's Discovery of Jupiter Moons Io, Europa and Callisto Nation: Italy. 1610 January 11 - Galileo Galilei's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Ganymede Nation: Italy. 1610 July 30 - Galileo Observes Saturn's Rings Nation: Italy. 1655 March 25 - Christiaan Huygens' Discovery of Saturn Moon Titan Nation: Netherlands. 1670 June 20 - Nova 1670 Vulpeculae Nation: France. 1671 October 25 - Giovanni Cassini's Discovery of Saturn Moon Iapetus Nation: Italy. 1672 December 23 - Giovanni Cassini's Discovery of Saturn Moon Rhea Nation: Italy. 1675 June 22 - Royal Greenwich Observatory founded. Nation: UK. 1687 July 6 - Isaac Newton's Principia Published Nation: UK. 1781 March 13 - William Herschel's Discovery of Uranus Nation: UK. 1787 January 11 - William Herschel's Discovery of Uranus Moons Titania and Oberon Nation: UK. 1789 August 28 - William Herschel's Discovery of Saturn Moon Enceladus Nation: UK. 1789 September 17 - William Herschel's Discovery of Saturn Moon Mimas Nation: UK. 1801 January 1 - Guiseppe Piazzi's Discovery of the First Asteroid (Ceres) Nation: Italy. 1802 March 28 - Wilhelm Olbers' Discovery of Asteroid 2 Pallas Nation: Germany. 1804 September 2 - Karl Harding's Discovery of Asteroid 3 Juno Nation: Germany. 1807 March 29 - Wilhelm Olbers' Discovery of Asteroid 4 Vesta Nation: Germany. 1815 October 3 - Chassigny Meteorite Fall (Mars Meteorite) Nation: France. 1820 January 12 - Royal Astronomical Society founded. Nation: UK. 1840 January 19 - Discovery of Antarctica Nation: UK. 1846 September 23 - Johann Galle's Discovery of Neptune Nation: Germany. 1846 October 10 - William Lassell's Discovery of Neptune Moon Triton Nation: UK. 1848 September 19 - William and George Bond's Discovery of Saturn Moon Hyperion Nation: UK. 1851 October 24 - William Lassell's Discovery of Uranus Moons Umbriel and Ariel Nation: UK. 1865 - Launch Vehicle: Jules Verne Moon Gun. Jules Verne's From the Earth to the Moon Nation: France. This was a seminal work that inspired most of the original rocket pioneers. Verne used real engineering analysis to arrive at the design of his cannon and manned moon projectible. As a result, at the time of the Apollo 8 and 11 missions it was noted that Verne had made a number of correct predictions about the actual missions.... 1877 August 17 - Asaph Hall's Discovery of Phobos (Mars Moon) Nation: USA. 1879 - Tsiolkovskiy's Astronomical Drawings Nation: Russia. While living in Ryazan with his father's family, he published his first known scientific work. It schematically depicted the Solar System and the distances between planets. 1882 October 5 - Robert Goddard is born. Nation: USA. The future rocket pioneer is born in Roxbury, Massachusetts, to an old New England family. Goddard's father is an inventor and travelling salesman. 1883 - Tsiolkovskiy's Free Space Nation: Russia. Tsiolkovsky considered the possibility of living in outer space and the effects of zero gravity. For the first time he included a drawing of a spacecraft that could orient itself in space with the help of reactive jets (but not change its position by propulsive rockets). 1892 September 9 - Edward Barnard's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Amalthea Nation: USA. 1897 October 21 - Yerkes Observatory founded. Nation: USA. 1899 September 6 - American Astronomical Society founded Nation: USA. 1899 October 19 - Goddard's dream. Nation: USA. Goddard's imagination and inventiveness is encouraged by his father, who gives him a telescope, microscope, and subscription to Scientific American. He is constantly tinkering, trying to work aluminium, build a rigid-skin balloon. Illness prevents him from attending classes, so he becomes self-educated. Uniquely among rocket pioneers he is inspired by H G Wells' War of the Worlds rather than the works of Jules Verne. On this date, while climbing a cherry tree, the ten year old had a vision. He saw a huge flying machine, propelled by whirling unequal horizontal centrifugal devices, rising from a pit, heading for Mars. Although he would give up working on a 'perpetual motion' device of this type for several years, he abandoned the idea when he discovered Newton's laws of motion. References: 377. 1902 January 27 - Goddard multistage guns Nation: USA. In an article rejected by Popular Science News, Goddard proposes staged nested cannons to achieve high velocities. References: 377. 1903 - Tsiolkovskiy's The Investigation of Space by Means of Reactive Devices Nation: Russia. Here he first outlined his theory of spaceflight and published the basic equation for reaching space by rocket that is still known to students as the 'Tsiolkovsky Equation'. It was the first theoretical proof of the possibility of spaceflight. 1903 October 8 - Johannesburg Observatory founded. Nation: South Africa. 1903 December 17 - Wright Brothers' First Airplane Flight Nation: USA. 1904 June - "..the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow..." Nation: USA. Goddard delivers this line in his high school graduation speech, 'On Things Taken for Granted'. References: 377. 1904 September - Goddard levitated train concept Nation: USA. Goddard enters Worcester Polytechnic, where he will earn his bachelor degree. While there, he writes an essay, 'Travelling in 1950', which envisions use of magnetically-levitated high-speed trains travelling in evacuated vacuum tubes. The concept will be patented by his estate in 1950. His notebooks are filled with space travel - use of aerobraking for planetary capture, methods of protection from meteoroids, use of suspended animation for interstellar flight. References: 377. 1904 December 3 - Charles Perrine's Discovery of Himalia (Jupiter Moon) Nation: Argentina. 1904 December 20 - Mt. Wilson Observatory founded. Nation: USA. 1905 January 5 - Charles Perrine's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Elara Nation: Argentina. 1908 January 27 - Melotte's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Pasiphae Nation: UK. 1908 June 30 - Tunguska Explosion Nation: Russia. 1909 February 2 - Goddard Lox/LH2 rocket concept Nation: USA. Goddard realises his earlier nested gun concept is not practical - he calculates it will take 56 tons of explosive to launch a 500 pound payload to an altitude of 2,000 miles. He realises Lox/LH2 will make the ideal rocket fuel, although he is still thinking in terms of explosive pulses. References: 377. 1911 June 19 - Goddard receives PhD from Clark University Nation: USA. Goddard's doctoral thesis is on a radio principle very similar to the transistor. But his secret passion remains rocketry and space travel. After a one year fellowship at Princeton, Goddard will return to Clark to teach as an assistant professor of physics. References: 377. 1911 June 28 - Nakhla Meteorite Fall in Egypt (Mars Meteorite, Hit Dog) Nation: Egypt. 1912 March 23 - Wernher von Braun born in in Wirsitz, Posen. Nation: Germany. Von Braun was the second of three sons born to Baron Magnus von Braun and Baroness Emmy von Quistorp. 1913 March 22 - Goddard diagnosed with tuberculosis. Nation: USA. The doctors thought he had just two weeks to live. During the months of recuperation that followed, Goddard conceived the basic concepts of rocketry, leading to patents the following year. References: 377. 1914 July 7 - Goddard patents multi-stage rocket. Nation: USA. Goddard receives US Patent 1,102,653, covering the concept of using multiple rocket stages to achieve high velocities. References: 377. 1914 July 14 - Goddard patents liquid fuel rocket Nation: USA. Goddard receives US Patent 1,103,503. Although mainly concerned with his concept of cartridge rockets, a brief section fully outlines the concept of liquid rocket propulsion. References: 377. 1914 July 21 - Seth Nicholson's Discovery of Jupiter Moon Sinope Nation: USA. 1915 March 3 - National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) founded. Nation: USA. 1915 Summer - First Goddard rocket tests. Nation: USA. While teaching at Clark University, Goddard made many tests with existing rockets in 1915-1916 to determine their efficiencies, which were found to be very low (2%). Redesigned rockets were then tested, using black and smokeless powders. Goddard managed to achieve a 16.7% efficiency with a DeLaval nozzle. By mid-summer 1915, improved nozzles were achieving efficiencies of 40% and jet velocities of 6730 ft/sec. References: 377. 1916 Summer - First Goddard rocket flight tests Nation: USA. Goddard's modified black powder rockets, launched from Coes Pond, Massachusetts, reached 480 feet and demonstrated jet velocities of up to 8000 ft/sec. References: 377. 1916 September 27 - Goddard runs out of money Nation: USA. Goddard, on an assistant professor's salary of US$ 1,000 per year, had used up his savings in rocket research. He wrote to the Smithsonian Institution, asking for research grant. When asked for supporting documentation, he submitted the draft of 'A Method of Reaching Extreme Altitudes', which proposed using multi-stage smokeless powder cartridge rockets to achieve altitudes of hundreds of miles. The cartridge rocket consisted essentially of a gun-like thrust chamber, into which a series of smokeless power cartridges would be automatically loaded and fired to produce thrust.. References: 377. 1917 January 5 - Goddard receives grant for rocket research Nation: USA. Goddard receives US$ 5,000 Hodgkins Fund grant from Smithsonian, allowing him to continue development of the cartridge rocket. References: 377. 1917 May 19 - Goddard proposes sonar to US Navy Nation: USA. The Navy advises they are not interested in the device. References: 377. 1917 June 19 - Goddard develops bazooka Nation: USA. Goddard receives $ 20,000 from US Army Signal Corps for rocket development. Together with his assistant Clarence N Hickman he develops a prototype of the World War II bazooka at the Mount Wilson Observatory in California. References: 377, 482. 1917 November 2 - Mount Wilson 100-Inch Telescope First Light Nation: USA. 1917 November 7 - October Revolution Nation: USSR. In October Revolution, Bolsheviks seize power in armed coup d'état led by Lenin and Trotsky. Kerensky flees. U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary 1918 March - Launch Vehicle: Paris Gun. Paris Gun begins bombardment of Paris Nation: Germany. Apogee: 40 km (24 mi). The rail-mounted weapon could hurl a 120 kg shell with 7 kg of explosive to a range of 131 km. During the 170 second trajectory the shell reached a maximum altitude at the edge of space - 40 km. This was the highest altitude attained by a man-made object until the first successful V-2 flight. From March through August of 1918, three of the guns shot 351 shells at Paris from the woods of Crepy, killing 256 and wounding 620. As a military weapon the gun was a failure - the payload was minuscule, the barrel needed replacement after 65 shots, and the accuracy was only good enough for city-sized targets. But as a psychological tool it was remembered when the V-1, V-2 and V-3 weapons were being developed two decades later. 1918 November 6 - Goddard demonstrates rockets to US government. Nation: USA. After demonstrations to Army officers of work achieved at Mt Wilson, Goddard is requested to demonstrate his rockets at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland. The scientists and representatives of the Signal Corps, Air Service, Army Ordnance, are most impressed ('this will revolutionise warfare'). Goddard admits that his cartridge rocket concepts have been less successful and 'need further work'. The next day, Germany surrenders, World War I ends, and funding dries up. References: 17, 377. 1919 January 19 - Goddard resumes teaching at Clark University Nation: USA. From 1919 to 1930 he resumed full-time teaching at Clark University, and could devote only spare time and summers to rocket research. References: 377. 1919 June 28 - Launch Vehicle: V-2. Treaty loophole permits German rocket development. Nation: Germany. Signing of Treaty of Versailles disarmed Germany of a military air force but did not include rockets as potential weapons, thus leaving Germany free under international law to develop them. References: 17. Contact us with any corrections, additions, or comments. Conditions for use of drawings, pictures, or other materials from this site.. To contact astronauts or cosmonauts. © Mark Wade, 1997 - 2008 except where otherwise noted.