On this day
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Tuna-fishing contests described; illus
Net gains in the stock market yesterday which ranged from 1 to 3 points on active issues and as high as 5 points on the less popular items closed the week of war scares with a net gain. THE NEW YORK TIMES average of fifty stocks ended at 97.87, advancing 0.34 from the preceding Saturday. Industrials closed at 175.54, up 0.72 on the week.
1939William Least Heat-Moon, American travel writer and historian[†]
William Least Heat-Moon is an American travel writer and historian. He describes his heritage as English, Irish, and Osage. He is the author of several books which chronicle unusual journeys through the United States, including cross-country trips by boat and, in his best known work, about his journey in a 1975 Ford Econoline van.
1939Edward Patten, American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2005)[†]
Edward Roy Patten was an American R&B/soul singer, best known as a member of Gladys Knight & the Pips. He was a cousin of Gladys Knight. Patten was a member of the group from 1959 until the disbandment in 1989. Patten was a multiple Grammy Award winner, and along with the group, he was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
1939Nikola Pilić, Yugoslav tennis player and coach (died 2025)[†]
Nikola Pilić was a Croatian professional tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia.
1939First flight of the turbojet-powered Heinkel He 178, the world's first jet aircraft.[†]
The turbojet is an airbreathing jet engine which is typically used in aircraft. It consists of a gas turbine with a propelling nozzle. The gas turbine has an air inlet which includes inlet guide vanes, a compressor, a combustion chamber, and a turbine. The compressed air from the compressor is heated by burning fuel in the combustion chamber and then allowed to expand through the turbine. The turbine exhaust is then expanded in the propelling nozzle where it is accelerated to high speed to provide thrust. Two engineers, Frank Whittle in the United Kingdom and Hans von Ohain in Germany, developed the concept independently into practical engines during the late 1930s.