In 1984 The Virus which causes the deadly ‘Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome” or Aids was first discovered. Since the discovery of Aids in the United Sates 1981 it had been identified all over the world but the cause of the syndrome had not yet been identified. The identification of the virus meant that the production of blood test could be initiated which would help reduce the spread of the Aids. It was initially known as the HTLV-3 virus but in 1987 it became known as the Human Immunodeficiency Virus or HIV. The virus was known to have been spread through the transfer of human bodily fluids and was initially found in homosexual men and drug users that shared needles but it soon spread to many other demographics. Until the possibility of blood test people were able to get the virus from infected blood during transfusions and this discovery saved millions form a possible pandemic.
In 1962 the U.S. Ranger 4 spacecraft launched with the mission of collecting scientific data and sending images of the Moon to Earth before crashing on the Luna surface. On board computer failure caused the spacecraft to crash on the moon before data was sent.
In 1616 one of the greatest and most influential writers of all time William Shakespeare died aged 52. It also very likely that he was born on this day in 1564 but there is no record of his birth. Being born a lowly son of a leather trader, John Shakespeare, he was not important enough for any other records to have been kept. There is however record of his Christening on the 26th of April 1564, which was traditionally performed three days after birth. If this is the case then this day in 2014 will mark the 450th anniversary of his birth.
In 303 AD Saint George died. Saint George was a soldier in the Roman Empire who was martyred for his refusal to persecute Christians in Palestine, disobeying orders from the Roman Emperor. The act of slaying the dragon and saving the fair maiden was later attributed to St. George in medieval times. This day is celebrated around the globe as Saint George who is the patron of many nations including England, Georgia, Egypt, Bulgaria, Romania, Ethiopia, Greece, India, Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, Lithuania, Palestine, Portugal, Macedonia, Serbia, the Ukraine, Russia and Syria.
