60 years ago today, a British radio telescope in North West England, made history contacting an American probe 407,000 miles away. It was the world’s largest steerable dish telescope at the time, measuring 250 feet in diameter (76 meters). Still located in Cheshire since 1957, it is the third largest in operation today.

It has not only tracked space probes, it has helped measure the distance to the moon and to Venus; observed the first pulsar in a globular cluster; observed quasars, the first gravitational lens, and the first Einstein ring; and, part of time, it searches for signs of life in space for SETI. (1960)

MORE Good News on this Day in History:

Eli Whitney was granted a patent for the cotton gin, one of the most important moments in manufacturing and agriculture (1794)

was granted a patent for the cotton gin, one of the most important moments in manufacturing and agriculture (1794) Orvan Hess and John Bumstead became the first in the world to successfully treat a patient using penicillin (1942)

and became the first in the world to successfully treat a patient using penicillin (1942) Importation into the US of guns deemed assault weapons was banned by President George H. Bush (1989)

was banned by President George H. Bush (1989) The Linux operating version 1.0.0 was released (1994)

operating version 1.0.0 was released (1994) The International Criminal Court in The Hague issued its first verdict, convicting Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of conscripting and using children under the age of 15 in his Congolese rebel army (2012)

in The Hague issued its first verdict, convicting Thomas Lubanga Dyilo of conscripting and using children under the age of 15 in his Congolese rebel army (2012) In Japan and Korea, White Day is celebrated, which is similar to Valentine’s Day, when men give gifts to women.

Happy 87th birthday to Quincy Jones, the influential record producer, arranger, and musician who is perhaps best known for producing multiple albums for superstar Michael Jackson, including 1982’s Thriller and 1987’s Bad.

Since the 1960s, he has worked prolifically on film scores (33 of them), and has earned a record 79 Grammy Award nominations overall, and won 28 of them. Jones was also the producer and conductor of the 1985 charity song “We Are the World”. In his autobiography, entitled “Q”, he revealed how he grew up poor and got into trouble on the mean streets of Chicago’s South Side, but he took up the trumpet and was literally saved by music. His charitable works now help save others–including a re-recording of We Are The World that benefitted victims of the Haiti earthquake. (1933)

And, one of the greatest thinkers of our time, Albert Einstein, was born on this day in 1879. Growing up in Germany, his teachers labeled him stupid when he refused to study what he didn’t find interesting. When he was just 26 years old he wrote his paper on Special Theory of Relativity and also three others that year that were revolutionary, including the one that included: E = mc2. As a Jew, the Nobel Prize winning physicist fled the Nazi regime in 1933 and emigrated to the US.

“The only subjects he did find interesting were math and philosophy. He finally dropped out of school at the age of 16,” and didn’t fare much better in college, according to Writer’s Almanac. WATCH a short bio video…

Also, the actor-comedian Billy Crystal turns 72 today: “You look… mahvelous!” Known for films like When Harry Met Sally, City Slickers, Analyze This, and Monsters, Inc., Crystal made it big on Saturday Night Live, and later became the most popular host of the Academy Awards, having anchored the gala nine times. (1948)

WATCH his famous Muhammad Ali monologue…

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