Fun Holiday: 

Umbrella Day 

Astronomical events: 

In 1720, Edmond Halley was appointed second Astronomer Royal of England. 

Space: 

In 1958, radar signals were bounced off the planet Venus by MIT engineers at Lincoln Laboratories in experiments conducted during an inferior conjunction with Venus. A maser installed at the Millstone Hill radar site, Westford, Mass., was used. The return echoes were distinguished from the background noise using digital signal processing. 

Technology: 

In 1863, the first U.S. patent on a fire extinguishing system for buildings was granted to Alanson Crane of Fortress Monroe, Va. (No. 37,610). The patent drawing shows a longitudinal vertical section of a building, which could be with one or more stories, as a dwelling, storehouse or any other purpose. It shows a water pipe under the foundation of the outside wall, which supplies a vertical pipe leading up the inside of the wall to one or more perforated pipes extending horizontally throughout the building. The principle innovation was to include a stop cock with a locking cover that could be operated outside the wall by an authorized person in the event of a fire when the building is unoccupied. Thus water could flood the floors and quickly extinguish a fire. 

Engineering: 

In 1863, Dubois D. Parmelee was issued a U.S. patent for an "Improvement in Artificial Legs" using a custom-molded suction cup to receive the stump (No. 37,637). Atmospheric pressure held the socket in place such that "straps usually employed for this purpose can be dispended with, and at the same time a perfect fit of the bucket is attained." On the underside of the bucket "a small faucet" was open as the stump was forced into the tightly fitting socket. The faucet was then closed, and atmospheric pressure held the bucket in place until air is readmitted through the faucet. It was 90 years before his idea received general acceptance.