Fun Holiday: 

Make a Friend Day 

Astronomical events: 

In 1801, Giuseppe Piazzi made a 24th observation of the position of Ceres, the asteroid he discovered between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter, on 1 Jan 1801. It was the first and largest of the dwarf planets now known. After this, it moved into the light of the Sun, and was lost to view for most of the rest of the year. To mathematically relocate Ceres, Carl Gauss, took up the challenge to calculate its orbital path, based on the limited number of observations available. His method was tedious, requiring 100 hours of calculation. He began with a rough approximation for the unknown orbit, and then used it to produce a refinement, which became the subject of another improvement.. And so on. Astronomers using them found his results in close agreement as they located Ceres again 25 Nov-31 Dec 1801 

Culture: 

In 1752, the Pennsylvania Hospital, the first in America, opened in Philadelphia through the considerable efforts of Benjamin Franklin, who was involved in drafting the petition for its establishment and fund-raising. It was established on 11 May 1751, when the colonial governor of Pennsylvania approved its charter as a proposed hospital to include treatment of people with mental illness.  

Space: 

In 1970, Japan became the fourth country to put a satellite into orbit with the launch of Osumi 5. (Four earlier launches since 1966 had failed.) The University of Tokyo's Institute of Space and Aeronautical Science launched the 24-kg satellite from the Kagoshima Space Center on the Osumi peninsula, using a Lambda 4S solid-fuel rocket. Its mission was to explore the upper atmosphere. NEC made Osumi, and later satellites for meteorological and communications. 

Science: 

In 1808, Judge Jesse Fell of Wilkes-Barre, Penn experimented by burning anthracite coal to keep his house warm. He developed a method to burn the stone coal without the use of forced air and his fireplace grate opened up the home heating market. On the fly-leaf of one of his books he wrote: February 11, 1808, made the experiment of burning the common stone coal of the valley in a grate, in a common fireplace in my house, and found it will answer the purpose of fuel, making a clearer and better fire, at less expense, than burning wood in the common way. He had found a cheap, clean burning fuel. As a result, that area of northeast Pennsylvania became an important coal mining area for generations. 

Technology: 

In 1928, the La-Z-Boy reclining chair was invented. Ed Shoemaker (1907-98), and his cousin Edward Knabusch, designed the first La-Z-Boy with a piece of plywood and a yardstick. Then, it was a comfortable wood slat porch chair. In Spring 1929, the upholstered chairs were introduced for a year-round market. 

Engineering: 

In 1809, Robert Fulton patented his steamboat for the first time in the U.S., although he had already made his first successful steamboat trip on the Clermont between New York City and Albany in 1807. He obtained a supplementary patent on 9 Feb 1811. Few inventions have been as important as the steamboat, which opened up American rivers to two-way travel. 

Birthdays: 

Thomas Edison – 1847