October 4 Birthday
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 — a 184-pound metal sphere with four antennas that transmitted a radio beep. It was the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. Americans were shocked — the Soviets had beaten them into space. The launch triggered the Space Race, the creation of NASA, and the National Defense Education Act, which poured billions into science education. Sputnik orbited for three months before burning up on reentry. Its radio signal was monitored by amateur radio operators worldwide. The launch proved that the Soviet Union had rockets capable of reaching the United States — the same technology that would deliver nuclear warheads. In 2004, SpaceShipOne won the $10 million Ansari X Prize by becoming the first private spacecraft to reach space twice in two weeks. Designed by Burt Rutan and funded by Paul Allen, it was carried to 50,000 feet by a jet, then rocketed to 70 miles altitude. The achievement demonstrated that spaceflight was not exclusively a government enterprise. Buster Keaton, born this day in 1895, performed his own stunts without a double. In Steamboat Bill Jr. (1928), the front of a two-ton house falls toward him; he survives because he is standing exactly where an open window lands. If he had been six inches off, he would have been killed. He did it in one take. His career collapsed with the coming of sound — he lost his independent studio, his marriage, and his creative control. He was rediscovered in the 1960s. People born on October 4 fall under the zodiac sign of Libra. The birthstone is Opal and the birth flower is Marigold. Historical events on October 4 include 1957: Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, first artificial satellite (Space Age begins), 1965: Pope Paul VI becomes first pope to visit the United States, 2004: SpaceShipOne wins $10 million Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight. Famous people born on October 4 include Buster Keaton (1895), Charlton Heston (1923), Anne Rice (1941).