This Day in History – September 25

Sep 25, 2022 News

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Compiled by Zena Henry

Leonardo Torres y Quevedo demonstrates the Telekino, the first use of a remote control

Kaieteur News – Torres Quevedo started to develop the idea of a remote control around 1901 or 1902, as a way of testing his airships without risking human lives.

He was the first person to lay down the modern remote control operation principles, which he expressed in a prototype that he patented in 1903 under the name Telekine. This term came from two Greek words: tele (far away, in the distance) and kine (force, movement), resulting together in “movement at a distance,” which is basically what the inventor was trying to achieve. He carried out his first Telekine experiments a year later with a simple tricycle. He managed to make it go forward and backward, as well as change direction, by sending orders from a wireless telegraph transmitter from a distance of up to about 32 yards.

After this, Torres Quevedo decided to extend the use of his remote control to engine-driven boats.

On 25th September 1906, in the presence of King Alfonso XIII of Spain and a crowd of awed spectators, Torres Quevedo successfully demonstrated the telekino in the port of Bilbao, where he controlled a vessel with eight people aboard, from a distance of two kilometres.

The positive results of those experiences encouraged Torres Quevedo to apply to the Spanish government for the financial aid required to use his Telekine to steer submarine torpedoes, a technological field which was just starting out. His application was, sadly, denied, which caused him to abandon the development and improvement of the Telekine. (Source: cyberneticzoo.com)

The international Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery is first signed

The 1926 Slavery Convention or the Convention to Suppress the Slave Trade and Slavery was an international treaty created under the auspices of the League of Nations and first signed on September 25, 1926.

It was registered in League of Nations Treaty Series on March 9, 1927, the same day it went into effect. The objective of the convention was to confirm and advance the suppression of slavery and the slave trade.

TAT-1, the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system is inaugurated

TAT-1 (Transatlantic No. 1) was the first submarine transatlantic telephone cable system. It was laid between Oban, Scotland and Clarenville, Newfoundland. Two cables were laid between 1955 and 1956 with one cable for each direction.

It was inaugurated on September 25, 1956. The cable was able to carry 35 simultaneous telephone calls. A 36th channel was used to carry up to 22 telegraph lines.

Dr. Frank Jobe performs first ulnar collateral ligament replacement surgery

On September 25, 1974, the late Dr. Frank Jobe performed the first ever elbow ligament reconstruction surgery on Dodgers left-hander Tommy John.

The procedure is now more commonly known as Tommy John surgery. John, who was 31 years old at the time of his injury, tore his ulnar collateral ligament pitching in a game in July 1974. Jobe, the Dodgers team doctor, looked him over and knew the UCL was torn. A few weeks of rest didn’t help, which is when Jobe suggested a radical new procedure. In a nutshell, elbow reconstruction involves drilling some holes in the elbow and a weaving a tendon from another part of the patient’s body — usually the wrist or forearm — into a figure-eight pattern to form a new ligament. (Source: cbssports)

NASA launches the Mars Observer to monitor red planet

After a 17-year gap since its last mission to the red planet, the United States launched Mars Observer on September 25, 1992.

The spacecraft was based on a commercial Earth-orbiting communications satellite that had been converted into an orbiter for Mars. The payload of science instruments was designed to study the geology, geophysics and climate of Mars.

The mission ended with disappointment on August 22, 1993, when contact was lost with the spacecraft shortly before it was to enter orbit around Mars. Science instruments from Mars Observer were reflown on two other orbiters, Mars Global Surveyor and 2001 Mars Odyssey.  (Source: NASA)

Calls for Sex Offenders registry heighten after 13 yr old boy is raped and murdered in Berbice

Following the heinous rape and murder of Berbice teenager, 13-year-old Leonard Archibald, calls for the introduction of a Sex Offenders Registry heightened in the hopes of keeping other at-risk children safe. On September 25, 2017, Women and Gender Equality Commission (W&GEC) members pressed for the implementation of this Registry.

They stressed the need for the court to process cases more swiftly, citing two recent convictions that had occurred in 2017. There were two rape convictions earlier that year and advocates hoped to start with those convicts; a pastor who raped a six-year-old girl in 2007 and the other raped another child in 2010; both were convicted in 2017. The child rights advocates felt that special attention needs to be given to such offences against children. The Commission had pointed toward a shorter time span for children to get justice. They said that children are being violated (partly) because of systematic weaknesses.

 

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