On this day in 1913, Taiwan's first bus began operating in Taipei City, running between the train station and Yuanshan.
On this day in 1959, Luna 1, the first spacecraft to reach the vicinity of the Moon and to orbit the Sun, was launched by the Soviet Union.
On this day in 1974, US President Richard Nixon signed a bill lowering the maximum US speed limit to 55 MPH in order to conserve gasoline during an OPEC embargo.
And on this day in 1981, one of the largest investigations by a British police force ended when serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, the "Yorkshire Ripper", was arrested in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.