1624: The first submarine is publicly tested in London on the Thames for King James I

1758: French astronomer Charles Messier mistakes the Crab Nebula for a comet while searching for Halley’s Comet, leading him to begin his Messier Catalogue

1909: World’s first patent for synthetic rubber granted to German chemist Fritz Hofmann

1940: Four teenagers follow their dog down a hole near Lascaux, France, and discover 17,000-year-old drawings now known as the Lascaux Cave Paintings

1958: US Supreme Court orders the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, to integrate

1959: Luna 2 is launched by the Soviet Union, becoming the first spacecraft to impact the Moon

Source: Onthisday.com