1862: Astronomer John Campbell born in Lisburn, Co Antrim, Ireland.
1877: A major milestone in Japanese aviation history is accomplished with the first flight of a military balloon. It has a capacity of 14,000 cu.ft. and is inflated with coal gas.
1924: Adrienne Bolland wins the women’s record for looping from Laura Bromwell, performing the feat 212 times in 1 hour, 1 minute in her Caudron 127 in Paris.
1931: A full-scale wind tunnel goes into operation at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Laboratory at Langley Field, Virginia.
1955: First flight of the Sud Caravelle.
1958: First flight of the McDonnell XF4H-1 Phantom II.
1961: The first crossing of the English Channel by a VTOL (vertical take-off and landing) aircraft is made by the Short SC.1, which is flown by A. Roberts from England to Paris for the Paris Air Show.
1961: Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner, Chairman of the Space Science Board of the NAS, stated: 'Since, as space activity becomes more difficult and advanced, the space effort will be limited by our knowledge of space at any time, leadership in space science must soon become one of the controlling factors in acquiring space leadership generally.' Berkner spoke at the first National Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Space held at Tulsa, Okla.
1963: First flight of the McDonell Douglas F-4C Phantom II (USAF version).
2004: Delta Air Lines begins service between Cincinnati and New Haven.