Joseph Kittinger's freefall 😱

@facethenation

Philo Farnsworth adjusts a television camera during a demonstration of his television system at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia on August 28, 1934 @facethenation

Philo Farnsworth, one of the pioneers of electronic television, invented a special type of electron tube for use as a camera tube or imaging tube in television systems

@facethenation

The legendary "flying goal" scored by Bobby Orr in 1970 @facethenation

🏒 Upon scoring, Bobby Orr was accidentally tripped by Blues defenceman Noel Picard, creating Orr's famous flying goal pose

@facethenation

Francis Chichester on board ⛵️ Gipsy Moth IV during his historic, single-handed round the world voyage @facethenation

Francis Chichester, adventurer who in 1966 — 1967 sailed around the world alone in a 55-foot (17 meters) sailing boat, the Gipsy Moth IV.

He had single-handedly sailed the same path as the speedy 19th-century sailing ships with 20-strong crews that plied their trade between Europe and the Far East, with a stopover in Australia. Sailing the length of the Atlantic Ocean south across the equator, rounding the Cape of Good Hope and circumnavigating much of the Southern Ocean past Cape Horn, for a return leg northwards along the Atlantic, was the fastest and most direct way between the major continents by sea before the Suez and Panama Canals were built. And, even today, it remains the most risky and adventurous, exposed to the fiercest elements and long tracts of treacherous open sea, far from land and rescue — despite the huge progress in communications technology, navigation, boat building and safety, including the advent of satellites, since Gipsy Moth IV's voyage.

29.600 miles (47.600 kilometres) in 226 days sailing time. Fastest voyage around the world by any small boat.

@facethenation­

Franz Reichelt in his parachute suit 🐥 @facethenation

Franz Reichelt designed the first portable parachute, which however failed him when he tried throwing himself from the Eiffel Tower in 1912

@facethenation

First (and last) attempt to test his new parachute

@facethenation

Walter Cunningham piloted the eleven-day flight of Apollo 7 - the first manned flight test of the third generation United States spacecraft @facethenation

Apollo 7 astronaut Walt Cunningham floats in the zero-gravity of space on October 14, 1968

@facethenation

President John Kennedy and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy arrive at San Antonio Airport on November 21, 1963. Kennedy's last day @facethenation

John Kennedy's motorcade cruises through San Antonio on November 21, 1963, the day before he was assassinated in Dallas

@facethenation

On May 6, 1937, the German passenger airship Hindenburg experienced a mid-air explosion at Lakehurst, New Jersey and was engulfed in flames in just 32 seconds.

At the time, the Hindenburg was the fastest and most luxurious way to cross the Atlantic. It had already completed 63 flights from its base in Germany to a range of destinations including Rio de Janeiro. It had also been used as a propaganda tool to support Hitler’s remilitarisation of the Rhineland in 1936, and flew over the Berlin Olympics later that year.

The Hindenburg began its maiden trans-Atlantic flight exactly one year before the disaster, on May 6, 1936. By the end of the year it had crossed the Atlantic 34 times, transporting 3.500 passengers and 30.000 kg of mail. It was, therefore, a proven and reliable form of transport – if you could afford a ticket!

When the Hindenburg arrived at Lakehurst on May 6, 1937, Captain Max Pruss delayed landing due to poor weather conditions. Three hours later he carried out a swift landing to take advantage of an improvement in the weather. The landing ropes were dropped at 7.21pm, and shortly afterwards the Hindenburg was engulfed by flames.

The most widely accepted explanation for the fire is that the airship was statically charged as a result of flying through the storm, and the landing ropes ‘earthed’ the airship, resulting in a spark. However, the biggest single cause of the fire is simple: the Hindenburg contained 7 million cubic feet of explosive hydrogen gas

@facethenation­

The airship Hindenburg, the largest dirigible ever built and the pride of Nazi Germany, burst into flames

@facethenation

French soldiers moving into attack from their trench during the Verdun battle on the Western Front in France, on February 21, 1916, during the first World War @facethenation

The battle that raged for 10 terrible months: soldiers wait in the trenches as they prepare to make their way "over the top" to face the enemy

@facethenation

In 1925 and 1926, the Ku Klux Klan descended on Washington for two massive marches.

In the early 1920's, the KKK was at the peak of its membership, numbering 4 million strong. The growth of the hate group was fueled by the 1915 release of the silent film Birth of a Nation, which portrayed members as heroes, coinciding with the widespread xenophobia following the devastation of World War I.

The KKK's hatred was directed not only against black people, but also against European Catholic and Jewish immigrants flocking to the U.S. after the war.

@facethenation­

Ku Klux Klan members hold a march in Washington

@facethenation