Today in History - July 19: US pilot flies to space in a plane
Joseph Walker became the first US civilian to go to space on July 19, 1963.
But Walker was not in a conventional spacecraft but piloting an experimental plane.
Walker took the X-15 to an altitude of 106km above the surface of the Earth, reaching a speed of 5971km/h.
While so far above the Earth, he entered weightlessness for three to five minutes.
On re-entering the Earth's atmosphere, the plane reached a heat of 650 degrees in some places.
King of Mali Mansa Musa arrived in Cairo on July 19, 1321.
Perhaps the richest man to have ever lived, Musa's profligacy crashed the Egyptian economy during his stay.
Musa handed out gold everywhere he went, and the devout Muslim built a mosque every Friday.
The influx of gold created so much hyperinflation that it took years for the Egyptian economy to recover.
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