Today in Tech History – September 26

1914 – FTC Established

             The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is formed to regulate business in the US. President Wilson issued this to “Trust bust”. The FTC is controlled by 5 member panel that serve in 7 year terms. They govern all fair trade practice. Companies like Microsoft and IBM have been under the microscope with the FTC and the FCC.

1924 – IC Pioneer Jean Hoerni Born

             Jean Hoerni, a pioneer of the transistor, is born in Switzerland. A physicist, Hoerni in 1959 invented the planer process, which, combined with Robert Noyce’s technique for placing a layer of silicon dioxide on a transistor, led to the creation of the modern integrated circuit. Hoerni’s planar process allowed the placement of complex electronic circuits on a single chip.

1960 – For the first time, a US presidential debate was televised. Vice President Nixon and Senator Kennedy debated in Chicago and were perceived differently by those who listened on radio versus those who watched on television.

1973 – Concorde Breaks Atlantic Crossing Speed Record

              The supersonic aircraft Concorde makes its first non-stop Atlantic crossing and sets a new speed record in the process. Flying from Washington D.C. to Paris, France in 3 hours 32 minutes at an average speed of 954 miles-per-hour, the Concorde cut the old speed record in half.

1983 – 17-year-old Neal Patrick, of the hacking group 414s testified before the US House of Representatives about computer break-ins and how they might be stopped.

1991 – Eight people entered Biosphere 2, an airtight replica of the Earth’s biosphere in Oracle Arizona. They left exactly two years later in 1993. Results of the experiment are still controversial.

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