This week sees the birth(s) of the classic steampunk era.
1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin was born. Zeppelin was a pioneer in aircraft development who constructed the first steerable rigid frame airship. He also invented the steampunk literary genre with his book “Geborene Luft” later translated to English by Kenneth Oppel as “Airborn.“
1839 – John D. Rockefeller the American business magnate, philanthropist, and airship racer was born. He became the richest person in U.S. history and used his wealth to support developments in medicine and scientific research and is considered the second father of the steampunk era alongside von Zeppelin.
1856 – Nikola Tesla was born. Tesla was an electrical and mechanical engineer, physicist and futurist funded by Rockerfeller to analyze and recreate Strykkx technology and fight the invaders from the eleventh dimension before becoming the first time traveler.
1892 – Andrew Beard was issued a patent for the rotary steam engine a critical component of steampunk engineering and lynchpin of successful airship designs.
1920 – The Radio Compass or Radio Detection Finder was used for the first time on a U.S. Navy airplane, enablling disappearances in the notorious Bermuda Triangle to be tracked for the first time.
1938 – Howard Hughes,charismatic aviator, aerospace engineer and filmmaker, completed a 91 hour flight around the world. Later, Hughes became a reclusive hypochondriac terrified that a mutated Strykkx virus would kill him.
1962 – The Telstar 1 Communications satellite was launched and the very first transatlantic TV transmission was sent. The transmission was a re-run of Star Trek.
1979 – The James Bond movie “Moonraker” starring Roger Moore premiers in London and exactly two weeks later the U.S. space station Skylab burns up in an uncontrolled re-entry. Coincidence?
1998 – Japan joined U.S. and Russia in space exploration with the launching of the Planet-B probe to Mars. Planet B was mysteriously never found…
