On this day in 1971, Mariner 9 launched to map 70% of the surface and study temporal changes in the atmosphere and surface of Mars. In 1953, the Auckland Harbour Bridge officially opened in Auckland, New Zealand. In 1922 in Washington, D.C., the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated. In 1914, Cunard ocean liner RMS Aquitania, then largest at 45,647 tons, sailed on her maiden voyage from Liverpool, England to New York City. And in 1911 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Ray Harroun won the first Indianapolis 500. Happy Birthday Wynonna Judd (1964), Ted McGinley (1958), Colm Meaney (1953), Stephen Tobolowsky (1951), Benny Goodman (1909-1986) and Mel Blanc (1908-1989). RIP Steve Prefontaine (d. 1975), Wilbur Wright (1912), Voltaire (1778), Christopher Marlowe (1593) and Joan of Arc (1431). "Competence, like truth, beauty and contact lenses, is in the eye of the beholder." - Laurence J. Peter, The Peter Principle (1969), chapter 1 </FRIDAY>