October 9

1604: Johannes Kepler and other observers saw the appearance of a "new" star in the constellation of Ophiuchus, which became Supernova 1604. 1801: Auguste-Arthur de La Rive, who pioneered the electrochemical theory of batteries, was born. 1876: The first two-way telephone conversation occurred over outdoor wires between Alexander Graham Bell and Watson over the telegraph line linking Boston and East Cambridge. 1879: Nobel Prize winner Max Von Laue, who discovered the diffraction of x-rays in crystals, was born. 1906: Joseph Glidden, inventor of barbed wire, died. 1930: Aviator Laura Ingalls landed in Glendale, CA, to complete the first solo transcontinental flight across the U.S. by a woman. 1943: Pieter Zeeman who won Noble Prize in Physics for splitting of spectral lines (the Zeeman effect), died. 1988: Felix Wankel, inventor of the pistonless internal combustion engine, died. 1992: The Great Meteor, seen from Kentucky to New York, was observed at 7:50 pm EDT, and hit a Chevrolet Malibou car belonging to Mrs. Michelle Knapp of Wells Street in Peekskill, NY.