History, News and Stories of Switzerland

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• 1565 - The pencil is invented (Conrad Gesner, Switzerland)
  "In 1565 the German-Swiss naturalist Conrad Gesner first described a writing instrument in which graphite, then thought to be a type of lead, was inserted into a wooden holder."
  www.britannica.com
  
  Read more about Conrad GESNER
•   1718 - January 17 - Avalanche destroys every building in Leukerbad, Switzerland; kills 53
  
  onthisday.com
  January 17, 1718
  
• 1784 - The oil lamp is invented (Aimé Argand, Switzerland)
  "Argand burner, first scientifically constructed oil lamp, patented in 1784 in England by a Swiss, Aimé Argand. The first basic change in lamps in thousands of years, it applied a principle that was later adapted to gas burners. The Argand burner consisted of a cylindrical wick housed between two... Read MORE...
  
  
  Read more about François Pierre Aimé ARGAND
• In 1815, the world's first commercial cheese factory opened in Switzerland.
  
  
•   1870 - The number of emigrants that left Switzerland for over sea in 1868 numbered 9,752, of whom 4,755 came to America.
  
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  January 29, 1870
  
•   1870 - The practice of torturing prisoners in order to make them confess, which has been abolished by most civilized nations, still exists in Switzerland.
  
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  January 29, 1870
  
•   1878 - The ancient tower of Aspermont, in Switzerland, which crowned a mass of high rocks, and which had withstood the tempest of ages, fell lately with a tremendous crash.
  
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  July 13, 1878
  
•   1884 - In Switzerland, you can send almost anything through the mails. Trunk, gripsack, hat-box, bag of potatoes - it is all one to the postal authorities, as long as you pay the postage.
  And it is a very rare thing for anything to be tampered with or miscarry.
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  November 29, 1884
  
•   1887 - Switzerland has recently adopted by popular vote a new law placing the the entire control of the manufacture and sale of intoxicating liquors in the hands of the government...
  
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  September 24, 1887
  
•   1888 - An avalanche descended into the valley of Morrobia, Switzerland, on the 28th ult., killing ten persons and a large number of horses and cattle.
  
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  March 3, 1888
  
•   1888 - At Montreux, on the lake of Geneva, in Switzerland, a reservoir used to work and electric railway burst on the 6th, destroying numerous houses and drowning many persons.
  
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  November 10, 1888
  
•   1888 - President of Switzerland Dead.
  BERNE, Nov. 28. - M. Hertenstein, President of Switzerland, who underwent the amputation of his right leg last week because of disease of the arteries, is dead.
  
  St Joseph Herald
  Saint Joseph, Michigan
  December 1, 1888
  
• 1895 - Switzerland
  Switzerland, a federal republic of Central Europe, situated between lat. 45° 50' and 47° 50' N. and lon.6° and 10°25' E., bounded on the N. by Baden, from which it is separated for the most part by the Rhine, N.E. by Würtemberg and Bavaria, from which it is separated by the Lake of Constance, E. by ... Read MORE...
  
  
• 1900 - Population of Switzerland - 3,315,400
  
  
•   1904 - May 21 – The International Federation of Association Football, FIFA, is established.
  
  wikipedia.org
  May 21, 1904
  
• 1938-1944 - Sunscreen is invented (Franz Greiter, Switzerland and Benjamin Green, United States)
  The earliest form of sunscreen was created by Franz Greiter in 1938 and then Benjamin Green in 1944 who used a mixture of cocoa butter and red veterinary petroleum to protect his skin from the sun. Shortly afterwards, Franz Greiter branded his formula Piz Buin while Mr Green marketed his as... Read MORE...
  
  
• 1948 - Velcro is invented (George de Mestral, Switzerland)
  George de Mestral (June 19, 1907 – February 8, 1990) was a Swiss electrical engineer who invented the hook and loop fastener which he named Velcro...
  
  De Mestral first conceptualised hook and loop after returning from a hunting trip with his dog in the Alps in 1941. After removing several of the... Read MORE...
  
  
•   1957 - B.B.C. FOOLS ABOUT WITH SPAGHETTI - APRIL 1 HOAX FILM
  By L. Marsland Gander
  Daily Telegraph Radio Correspondent
  
  The B.B.C. made "April Fools" of many television viewers last night by showing a film apparently of spaghetti growing on trees. It was broadcast at the end of the "Panorama" programme with great seriousness and a commentary by Richard... Read MORE...
  
  
• 1989 - The World Wide Web is invented at CERN (Tim Berners-Lee, UK)
  Tim Berners-Lee, a British scientist, invented the World Wide Web (WWW) in 1989, while working at CERN. The web was originally conceived and developed to meet the demand for automated information-sharing between scientists in universities and institutes around the world.
  
  The first website at... Read MORE...
  
  
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