Today, the Soviet Union launches Sputnik 2 in 1957, with space dog Laika, a mostly-Siberian husky, onboard, becoming the first animal in orbit.
On November 3, 1957, the Soviet Union astonished the world by launching Sputnik 2. Laika, the first animal to orbit Earth, was aboard the tiny satellite. Laika, however, was not the first mammal in space. Since 1947, the United States and the Soviet Union have been placing animals atop rockets. No one understood what the repercussions of weightlessness would be in the early days of rocket technology. Animals, mostly dogs, monkeys, and chimps, were used to assess the safety and practicality of launching a live being into space and returning it intact.
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Today, Barack Obama is elected President of the United States, becoming the first African-American to do so, beating Republican contender John McCain.
Matthew McConaughey, an American actor, was born today in Uvalde, Texas, in 1969.
Today, Howard Carter discovers Tutankhamun's tomb in Egypt in 1922.
Bryan Adams, a Canadian singer, was born in Kingston, Ontario in 1959.
Shakuntala Devi, an Indian writer and mental calculator known as the "Human Computer," was born today in Bangalore, Mysore, British India, in 1929.
Today, The Times of India, the world's most widely read English-language daily broadsheet newspaper, was launched in 1838 as The Bombay Times and Journal of Commerce Today.
Kendall Jenner, an American model and television personality, was born in Los Angeles, California in 1995.
Chittaranjan Das, an Indian lawyer and politician who founded the Swaraj Party, was born in Bikrampur, British India, in 1869.
In the Second Battle of Panipat in 1556, Hindu Emperor of North India Hem Chandra Vikramaditya is defeated by Mughal Emperor Akbar's army, who capture and eventually behead Hem Chandra.
Today is 1933. Amartya Sen is an Indian economist and Nobel laureate who was born in Santiniketan, West Bengal, India.
Chevrolet officially joins the automotive market in 1911, competing with the Ford Model T.
Today, in Springfield, Illinois, American socialite Mary Todd marries Illinois Congressman and lawyer Abraham Lincoln in 1842.
Tilda Swinton, a British actress, was born in London, England in 1960.
Virat Kohli, Indian cricketer, star batsman, and captain of India, was born in Delhi, India in 1988.
Vivien Leigh, an English actress, was born in Darjeeling, Bengal Presidency, India, in 1913.
Tabu [Tabassum Hashmi], an Indian actress, was born today in Hyderabad, India, in 1972.
Today! Akbar succeeds his father Humayun as Sultan of Delhi in 1556.