at the age of 19 scientist Thomas Alva Edison introduced his first invention, an electric machine, which was intended for counting votes in the U.S. Congress. However, the Congress did not buy.
In 1889 in London, the British physicist James Prescott Joule dies. He studied the nature of heat, and discovered its relationship to mechanical work. The unit of energy, the joule, is named for James Joule.
In 1939, U.S. scientists, led by Albert Einstein, presented the then U.S. President Roosevelt the possibilities for the development of the atomic bomb.

In 1963 French chanson singer Edith Piaf dies. She was called the Paris nightingale and is still considered the leading French chanson singer.
In 1968, NASA launched Apollo 7, the first spacecraft in the Apollo missions that had a human crew.
THIS DAY IN HISTORY
1961- The Highwaymen are No.1 on the British singles chart with 'Michael'.
1962 - The Beatles with their song "Love Me Do" for the first time take the top spot on the British charts.
1969 - Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg are No. 1 on the British singles chart with 'Je t'aime... Moi non plus'. The song, due to its erotic content was prohibited on many radio stations; it was the first song in the French language to enter the British charts.
1974 – Number 1. On the British charts is taken by the romantic song 'Annie's Song' sung by John Denver. He wrote the song for his wife in just a few minutes during a winter holiday.
1976 – No.1 on the British singles chart is 'Mississippi' by the German group Pussycat.
1986 – On the American singles chart is 'When I Think Of You' by Janet Jackson.
1986 – At the top of the British chart is Madonna with the song 'True Blue'.
1997 - 'Candle In The Wind ' was originally written by Elton John in 1974 in honour of Marilyn Monroe; in 1997 the song was dedicated to Princess Diana who died in a tragic car accident. The song reached the top of the British charts.
BORN ON THIS DAY
1946 – Singer and guitarist Daryl Hall (Hall and Oates 1982 'Maneater').