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Victorian Space Age Alternate History Time-Line

1700-1799 (Last Updated 10-12-13)

1700 February [earth] After growing tensions it finally happened. World War broke out when a lone Austro Hungarian Wolf Pack torpedo bomber attacked and sank the American Battle ship Hiawatha in the Aegean Sea just off the coast of Psara.

1702 February [Earth] During the Battle of Batumi in the Eastern Black Sea, the Austrian air frigate "Carantania" was sent in to offer the Germans air support. Shortly after arriving over the battle area, it burst into flames and crashed between fighting ships. There were no survivors and the cause of the incident would remain a mystery for another 160 years until the Log of the Minerva Balloon ship was discovered in Honduras 1862.

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1703 April [Earth] The German Empire began using Fulcrum Rockets flew as a terror weapon against the people of Great Britain in an effort to end a war that they were losing. Instead it only intensified the war. In the many years that followed, variants based on its initial design flew the first man out beyond the Earth's atmosphere, carried satellites into orbit, and eventually the first commercial manned spacecraft.

1704 March [Earth] The Battle of the Aegean tock place in the sky, on the surface, and under the sea. It was one of the, if not the deadliest conflict in human history. In a thick weather front over the Aegean, the Air Force and Navies of the world converged. The battle lasted 3 days. When it ended, there was over a million casualties. The whole thing actually happened by accident. From opposite ends of the weather front the fighting forces of both sides entered, hoping to hide their position from the other, only hours later to find themselves on top of each other.

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1704 July [Earth] Ironically on July 18th 1704 the heavy fighting around Tortum Selalesi triggered a 9.8 earth quake that sealed of the underworld and its treasures completely. After that, all the major forces of the world began to slowly withdraw. August [Earth] On August 7th 1704 an armistice peace accord was signed aboard King Digmare's yacht the Shangri La just off the island of Lesbos. After the signing, leaders from all sides extended their say for a brief vacation to enjoy the islands natural beauty.

1705 May [Earth] Zephfram Spears (The first man to walk on Mars) was born in New Rochelle, New York on May 16th. 1708 July [Earth] The Rocket Plane "Endeavor" rolled out and was ready for flight testing. In an effort to search for and be the first to reach what was known as "The Dark Valley" in Antarctica, Sir Charles Limped created the flying research vessel "Endeavor". In order an effort to stay ahead of his rivals it was built in a remote fieord on South island, New Zealand.

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1708 August [Earth] Charles Limped's Rocket Plane, Endeavor underwent extensive flight testing off South Island.

1709 January [Earth] In search of the Lost Valley legend the Limped's exploration team aboard the Endeavor pass over Antarctica coastal ice fields heading into the interior.

February [Earth] The Endeavor reaches the Dark Valley.

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1710 May [Earth] After decades of rocket racing through major cities, using national monuments and land mark buildings as pylons, the sport of Grand Prix Rocket Racing came to an end after an incident involving the Statue Of Liberty. Noah Blumberg, the Mayor of New York decided "Enough was Enough" and the sport was banned from city limits. Soon after; Rome, London, Paris, Moscow, and many others followed. The excitement and tourism dollars were great, but it usually came at the expense of a national monument. A typical example; the Eiffel tower had to be rebuilt three times.

1712 March [Earth] Adalberto Santos Rodriguez (who was credited for starting commercial manned space flight) was born in Montevideo Argentina. April [Earth] Rocket development begins on Russia. May [Earth] In New York the Statue Of Liberty was fully restored to its former glory. But in a strange twist of fate somehow the plans got reversed and she ended up holding the torch with her left hand. Many local left hand groups jumped at the opportunity to sell; pencils, pots, pans, and other left handed objects as souvenirs.

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1715 April [Earth] On April 11th 1715, the first manned space flight occurred when the Dino III lifted off from the Siderno da Gerace Launch Facility in Italy. After reaching an altitude of 67 miles the Titus Nickelene glided the Dino III back to the landing field on what had been a 27 minute flight.

May [Earth] After working on rocket designs for several years, Arina Georgy was finally taken seriously and development of her Svarog-1 rocket launched on May 15th 1715 carrying the first man made satellite into Earth orbit.

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1717 April [Earth] On April 23rd the Baryshnikov Royal Russian Family held a reunion aboard their yacht on the Black Sea. The party came to an abrupt end when the Royal Firewind yacht collided with a cargo ship that was carrying nitrates and phosphates. It was a terrific explosion. After being awakened at 2:00AM by the blast, whiteness in the port settlement of Anapa claimed to see a orange mushroom cloud in the distant horizon. Immediately following the incident the Russian Government was hard pressed to find an heir to the throne. It wasn’t long until their search led them to America, more specifically to distant relative, Alexi Andropoff.

May [Earth] Alexi Andropoff becomes the Czar of Russia. Alone in the Royal garden with his brother Sergei Andropoff (the President of the United States) have a bet to see who will be the first to get to the Moon.

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1717 October [Earth] On October 6th, 1717 a Russian Svarog-3 rocket launched the first manned spacecraft into earth orbit.

1718 March [Earth] The Russian Vodka consortium had arranged for a zero gravity fermentation experiment aboard the second Svarog mission. As expected it produced a new kind of Vodka. The difference was slightly over exaggerated but the discovery was enough to get investors to pour millions of rubles into the “ZVG” (Zero Gravity Vodka) project.

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1719 July [Earth] On July 13th 1719 the first American orbital spacecraft the Dino-20 made its first flight circling the Earth 7 times before landing safely in the California Mohave desert.

August [Earth] American Industrialist Mark Allen felt- if the infrastructure for a Moon mission was designed to support Lunar development he would go along with President Andropoff's Lunar plans and persuade others to do so. He also wanted to be on the first Lunar mission. The President agreed and America's Thor Lunar program began. 1724 June [Earth] Powell's Mountain Theme park opened in southern California and became known worldwide attracting millions of visitors each year. It later expanded to include the world's first commercial space flight center.

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1725 October [Moon] On October 6th 1725 a modified Svarog spacecraft soft landed on the Moon just 6 hours ahead of the American Thor. After the Americans they landed and looked over the area, they were somewhat chilled by the fact the Russians sent had sent a no return suicide mission. When the Americans saw that it was Anna Aleksandra, the famous Russian actress they were stunned, especially crew member David Stone (who was known to have a weakness for beautiful women). Just as Czar Andropoff predicted; Once Stone saw Aleksandra, he would gladly give up 100 pounds of Moon rocks for her safe return to Earth, and he did. The Czar had won the bet he made with his brother (the US President) back in 1717.

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1727 August [Earth] Zephfram Spears (The first man to walk on Mars) started work as an aerospace engineer at the Allen Corporation in California. 1730 March [Earth] By 1730 the Americans had flown 6 Thor missions to the Moon. In March of that year they launched the Sky Hab space station which was over 90% composed of left over Thor hardware. It marked the beginning of an era that was later referred to as "The Big Sleep" when no manned spacecraft went beyond Earth orbit.

1731 April [Earth] The first serious national study and plan for a manned Mars expedition, commissioned by US President Goldberg was completed. It was called Typhoon. It called for a fleet of interplanetary ships and the projected cost was equivalent to the national budgets of America and Europe for the next 20 years. The idea was quickly abandoned.

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1733 June [Earth] The Russian space station "Blue Ice" became operational. Its primary purpose was for the production of Zero Gravity Vodka or ZGV. It turned out to be very profitable. So much so that many Russian space missions were directly funded by ZGV sales.

July [Earth] Zephfram Spears began working detailed plan for the conquest of Mars that was affordable and used existing technology. 1736 July [Earth] Adalberto Santos Rodriguez (who was credited for starting commercial manned space flight) became a tour submarine captain in Key Largo, Florida.

1737 April [Earth] Adalberto Santos Rodriguez (who was credited for starting commercial manned space flight) first learned to fly and became a flying tour operator at the Sheldon Aerodrome in Sandusky Ohio.

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1739 March [Earth] Almost 9 years to the day after it the American Sky Hab space station was launched it fell out of orbit and crashed into Pompeii. Luckily no one was hurt.

July [Earth] Zephfram Spears detailed plan for the conquest of Mars was first published. November [Earth] Adalberto Santos Rodriguez (who was credited for starting commercial manned space flight) first arrived in Los Angeles and began work flying tours out of the Van Dixon Aerodrome. Shortly after arriving he joined the North Valley Rocket Club. 1740 February [Earth] Zephfram Spears book "Mars- The 2nd New World" was published worldwide and ignited a firestorm by uniting groups interested in expanding humanity beyond the Earth. 1741 April [Earth] As a result of his Book "Mars- The 2nd New World" Zephfram Spears received an invitation from Fernando Hernandez (The King of Spain). While there, Spears was introduced to the head members of the ESC (European Space Consortium). They wanted to turn his book into a reality. The Mars Project was officially on, April 3rd 1741. December [Earth] Burges Hillderon (the future CEO of the Hillderon Resort Corporation who pioneered off-world resorts) was born in new York City on December 23rd. 1742 March [Earth] Adalberto Santos Rodriguez approached Garret Powell (a highly successful theme park operator known worldwide) with a proposal to develop and implement the first commercial space flight venture.

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1744 June [Earth] At the North Valley Rocket Club, formal planning of a commercial space flight vehicle using a modified Fulcrum rocket began. 1745 August [Earth] At the Allen Space Corporation in southern California, CEO Mark Allen presented a full scale mock up of his semi-inflatable habitation module to investors. His module was the result of a modification to the Thor Lunar Lander based on a concept he had in mind when he helped design it years earlier. He claimed if his plans went forward, the modules could lead to a perminant lunar settlement in 10 years.

1746 September [Earth] Just over a year after rolling out his inflatable lunar module, Mark Allen presentenced an early prototype of the inflatable Martian greenhouse to the European Space Consortium.

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1747 April [Earth] America was also able to secure the contract for one of the heavy lift rockets for the Mars Project. It was a form of the Zeus rocket that had been used on the Thor Lunar program. Only this new rocket would be much more powerful, providing a 47% increase in lifting capacity. The new designation became the Jupiter Rocket.

July [Earth] George Herbal piloted the first commercial manned spaceflight from Powell's Mountain, Los Angeles, California. His vehicle reached an altitude of 70 miles and later splashed down as planned in the Pacific Ocean.

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1748 October [Earth] The first Space-Sea flight tock place at Powell's Mountain, Los Angeles, California. The Space-Sea flight package combines a brief space flight and a glass bottom boat view of the California Pacific after the vehicle had splashed down.

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1749 August [Earth] Carne and Abram Billings (credited for developing the Hector and Nicodemus electric thought patterns that control mechanical workers) were born in grand ridge Illinois. 1750 March [Earth] Mockups of the European Space Consortium's Mars Lander segments went on display at their facility in Madrid Spain. One module was the Earth return vehicle and the other was the 2 story Mars habitation module.

1751 April [Earth] Adalberto Santos Rodriguez commandeered a passenger space-sea vehicle to escape a powerful Argentinean family perusing him. He sailed the vehicle to the Hawaiian island of Kawai to begin a new life.

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1755 August [Moon] Just as Mark Allen predicted 10 years earlier, the first perminant Lunar settlement was founded in the Copernicus crater using his habitation modules. His customers came from all over the world. The biggest customer was Russia. The site later became Copernicus City.

1757 November [Earth] To the shock of the family, Burges Hillderon (the pioneer who developed off-world resorts) dropped out of collage to pursue the sport of Wheel Rocket Racing. 1760 August [Earth] On August 20th 1760 a Jupiter rocket lifted off from Florida carrying Calico 1A, the first segment of the Calico settlement series.

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1761 February [Mars] On February 24th 1761 Calico 1A, the first Mars project module (carrying the Earth return vehicle) landed north east of Valles Marineris on a high plateau overlooking Nanedi Vallis.

September [Earth] On September 6th 1761, ESC got the signal it had been waiting for. The Earth return rocket on Mars was fully fueled and operational. The doorway to Mars was open. October [Earth] On October 6th 1761 (and on the 36 anniversary of the first Moon Landing) Calico 1B, carrying the first manned expedition to Mars, lifted off from Florida. December [Space] On route to Mars, Calico 1B and the upper stage of the Jupiter rocket were spinning around each other connected by a mile long tether. This simulated an artificial gravity equivalent to Mars. During the voyage the crew often suited up and lad out on Calico 1B's aero breaking dish, looking up at the stars passing slowly over head. They called it "Star Bathing".

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1762 March [Earth] The "Hillderon Classic" Wheel Rocket Race ran for the first time on a course that ran from Houston to Dallas. The fact that Burges Hillderon was in the race was an advertising boom for the Hillderon Resort Corporation.

April [Mars] On April 25th 1762, Calico 1B reached Mars landing 500 yards from Calico 1A. It marked the first day of the first human tour on Mars. Because his book ignited the greatest voyage in human history Zephfram Spears was given the honor of being the first person to set foot on Mars. His words “And So It Begins” were heard all over a world that had paused to observe humanities first steps on another planet.

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1762 July [Mars] On July 13th the crew of Calico 1 had set up a drilling rig down on the floor of Nanedi Vallis. Water was discovered and in that water was living Martian microbes. At the time, it was considered one of the most significant discoveries in human history.

November [Mars] The discovery of water opened the way for the Calico's next experiment, the inflatable Greenhouse. As it turned out, plants from Earth thrived in Martian soil. Often at night members of the crew would go into the Greenhouse and lay out under the light of Jupiter.

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1762 December [Mars] Approximately the same time the Calico Greenhouse was being built, another experiment was underway called the Home Builder. It involved mixing Martian soil with a catalyst brought from Earth to form bricks. It worked so well that the Calico crew built a small pressurized dwelling they called The House of Mars.

By the end of 1762 Calico was declared a settlement even though it only had a population of six.

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1763 January [Mars] On January 12th 1763 Calico 2A (an un-manned, un-fueled Earth Return vehicle) landed with in half mile of 1A & B. This time there was a crew on Mars to make sure its systems were working properly. The first Martian settlement was beginning to form. From this point on at least 1 manned or unmanned segment would be sent from Earth. The human expansion to Mars had begun.

September [Mars] The settlement of Calico was bombarded by a meteor shower. Because of damage to the carbon scrubber units, only 5 could return to Earth. Zephfram Spears chose to stay behind. October [Mars] Having won at drawing straws, Zephfram Spears chose to take the place of the crew member who lost. Just before the launch of Calico 1's Earth return vehicle, Spears returned to Calico to see his crewmates depart for Earth. He was now alone on Mars, or so everyone thought.

1764 March [Earth] Conner Hillderon announced he was stepping down as the chairmen of the board. His sons Bradley and Jackson would take over the Hillderon Resort Empire.

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1764 May [Mars] The second manned segment, Calico 2B landed on May 23rd 1764. They found the Calico settlement in good condition. Even though most of the plants in the Greenhouse had died from neglect, the house itself could easily be brought back with a little maintenance and new seeds. Spears was nowhere to be found. The rover was missing. It was later recovered on the valley floor several miles south. A single set of foot prints lead away from it heading up the grand river bank. Then about half way us the tracks ended, but two new sets appeared. July [Mars] On July 3rd the crew of Calico 2 used a ground piercing sensor where the set of foot prints ended. What they found shocked the world. It was the body of Zephfram Spears, and he had been buried in a manner similar to that of the kings of ancient Egypt. After the exam his body was returned to the resting place where it was first discovered. In honor of Spears memory the crew built a small memorial over the site. The stone read simply” ZEPHFRAM SPEARS – THE FIRST MARTIAN” “BORN: MAY 16th 1705, EARTH” “DIED: OCTOBER 5TH 1763, MARS” The crew was sworn to secrecy regarding Spears discovery and the actual location of his body. The official story was his body was returned to Earth and buried in a small mausoleum on Mars hill, Arizona.

1766 June [Earth] On June 10th 1766 Burges Hillderon made history by winning the Carter Crown in racing. He was only the 3rd person to do so. Most of the biggest names in the racing world were known to stay at the Hillderon, but after Burges victory Bradley and Jackson Hillderon began construction of the Carter Crown penthouse at the Hillderon Towers in Los Vegas.

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1768 June [Earth] The Hillderon Carter Town penthouse completed on June 16th 1768. The demand for it was so high only Royalty could afford to stay there. And it was booked solid for years in advance. In the years that followed it became known as the Cloud Castle.

1769 March [Earth] On March 7th Conner Hillderon (founder of the Hillderon Resort Corporation) passed away. In honor of his memory a statue of him was dedicated in Dallas Texas. September [Earth] On September 3rd when both Bradley and Jackson Hillderon were killed in an airship crash while returning to America from Europe. 1770 August [Earth] In a business gambol Burges Hillderon was granted temporary control of the Hillderon Resort Corporation on the condition that he could grow the company by not less than 15% in one year's time.

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1772 January [Moon] On January 7th 1772 Burges Hillderon’s first off-world hotel (The Copernicus Hillderon) opened on the Moon. A large portion of it consisted of Mars Project hardware that had been modified. For the first time commercial lunar visitors could enjoy off-world luxury scarcely dreamed of just a few years earlier. Shortly after the success of the hotel, Burges Hillderon officially had control of the Hillderon Resort Corporation.

March [Moon] To ensure guest Travel between the Earth and Moon would be up to standard, Burges Hillderon commissioned a transport that was worthy of the Hillderon name. For his guests, the journey was part of the Hillderon Resort experience.

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1773 February [Moon] Burges Hillderon believed for off-world Hill hotels to be successful, they would need to provide attractions to encourage visitors. The best example on Earth of that was Los Vegas. Burges assembled a special team to brainstorm ideas for low gravity sports. They later became known as the OWSC or “Off World Sports Committee”. The first and perhaps the most obvious sport they came up with was lunar golf. The course was actually a series if islands, consisting mainly of artificial; grass, trees, greens, and tee off areas. The new twist caught on as hoped, but back on Earth the Lunar course was said to have the most brutal sand traps of any course in existence. It opened in 1773.

1774 April [Moon] The Copernicus Hillderon was very successful. Like his Grandfather, Burges Hillderon was able to have his lunar hotel be the official layover for the space sailors in the Lunar Regatta. In 1774 one of the Lunar Regatta’s became known as the Hillderon Classic.

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1775 March [Earth] Carne Billings (credited for developing the Hector electric thought pattern used to control mechanical workers) was killed in a devastating lab fire that destroyed all the mechanical worker prototypes he was working on. 1775 September [Earth] Abram Billings (credited for developing the Nicodemus electric thought pattern used to control mechanical workers) was killed in a devastating lab fire that destroyed all but one of the mechanical worker prototypes he was working on. 1776 April [Earth] The Echemax Company produced its first line of mechanical worker that used the Hector electric thought system.

1779 March [Mars] Construction began on the first Hillderon Resort on Mars at a site overlooking the Mariner Valley. 1783 February [Moon] When the Lunar soil was sifted Copernicus Hillderon Golf Course for the first time sense it opened 10 years earlier 3,267,523 golf balls were recovered.

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1784 February [Mars] The Mariner Hillderon Resort opened. It was the first Hillderon resort on Mars. It’s most unique feature was The Mariner Grand Falls. It was an enclosed waterfall system that was actually a water purification system. Water, pumped from the planets interior was purified on a grand scale. Only in this case, Burges Hillderon had an idea where his guests could become part of the process and have the thrill of a lifetime. With a vertical length just under three miles, the falls were the longest known in existence. It was a good example showing the possibilities of off-world recreation. The low gravity of Mars made it all possible. Not long after the falls opened, a new thrill sport was born, Fall Riding.

November [Mars] On the crest of Olympus Mons, Construction of the second Hillderon Resort Began. For this site Burges Hillderon chose architect Polo Solari, the famous architect who was responsible for areas on Barcelona Spain.

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1785 January [Mars] When news got out of a Hillderon resort going up at Olympus Mons, transportation entrepreneur Markus Wellborn who founded the Mars Sky Cruise Line approached Hillderon with a proposal to have his latest Sky Cruise route end at the new resort. Hillderon liked the idea and Wellborn began construction. 1787 August [Mars] Construction began on the Olympus Mons Park project. It was a grand plan to enclose the entire crater under glass. Once pressurized and protected from the harmful rays of the sun, the area would become one of the largest on Mars where people would not require protective suits. 1789 November [Mars] The Hillderon Olympus Mons resort was completed. Because of its altitude proximity an observatory and planetarium was planned, but Hillderon wanted an underwater reef built in to the Mars observation dome instead. It became known as the Star Reef. After the success of the Mariner Falls he wanted a major water feature in all of his Mars based hotels. Hillderon felt Mars was desert planet. Based on his own personal vacation experiences in Arizona, the desert was best enjoyed from in an oases type of environment, that meant water had to be present in some form. In the Star Reef, guests could overlook Mars from the edge of space while in an underwater environment.

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1790 May [Mars] The Star Reef at the Hillderon Olympus Mons turned out to be a complete disaster. A month after opening , the water heating system failed and the reef became a solid block of ice. The papers had a field day. The Olympus Hillderon was said to be the only hotel in existence that had its own miniature north pole. After only six months the Star Reef was removed and replaced by tropical observation dome complete with palm trees. The North Pole incident (as it later came to be called) was something of a image disaster for Hillderon. July [Mars] The Olympus Mons North Pole image disaster didn't last long for Hillderon. When the 400 mile long Sky Cruise opened, it quickly became a popular guest attraction. The Mars Sky Cruise was similar to a mountain gondola ride on Earth except here on Mars the gondola was more like a privet luxury schooner. A one way trip took a full day (24 hours and 30 minutes), and the passengers rode in absolute luxury. The schooner they rode in was the approximate size of a three story house.

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1794 August [Mars] One of the grandest environmental Martian developments was completed with the Olympus Mons creator was enclosed and pressurized. The Hillderon Olympus Mons Resort's edge of the park location would make it one of most valuable properties anywhere. The hotel was now in a very unique location because when the Olympus Park Project started, no structures of any kind were permitted on the creator rim. The Olympus Hillderon grandfathered in and was allowed to stay.

1797 September [Earth] John Leeland (founder of the Leeland Airship Company) was born in Boston Massachusetts, America. 1798 December [Earth] Margret Dana (invented Centrifugal Drive) was born in Swansea Wales.