1840 – A hot air balloon took to the air for the first time in Canada when the “Star of the East,” piloted by American aeronaut Louis Anselm Lauriat, rose into the sky over Saint John, New Brunswick.
1914 – The United Kingdom enters World War I, declaring war on Germany.
1943 – Death of Augustus Henry Orlebar, British World War I pilot, test pilot and air racer.
1955 – Birth of Andrew Michael “Andy” Allen, U.S. Marine Corps pilot and NASA astronaut.
1971 – First flight of the AgustaWestland AW109, a twin-engine, eight-seat multi-purpose helicopter.
1995 – The Grob Strato 2C (shown), a German experimental high altitude research aircraft, sets a world altitude record for manned piston-engined aircraft of 60,897 feet on its last flight.
