Today in history

1605 : Spanish forces under Ambrogio/Spínola capture Lingen (Germany)

1735 : Evening Post begins publishing (Boston, Massachusets)

1834 : Vesuvius erupts

1872 : First mail-order catalog issued by A M Ward

1925 : Cardinal Mercier warns Belgians against socialism and liberalism

1926 : Weather map televised for first time

1930 : Eastern Airlines begins passenger service

1958 : Mambo King by Perez Prado receives one of the first gold records

1960 : Beatles give their first public performance (Kaiserkeller in Hamburg)

1961 : Construction on Berlin Wall completed

1978 : The Who release their eighth studio Who Are You. It is The Who's last album with Keith Moon as the drummer. Moon died twenty days after the release of this album

2011 : IBM has developed a microprocessor which it claims comes closer than ever to replicating the human brain. The system is capable of 'rewiring' its connections as it encounters new information similar to the way biological synapses work