Skylab blasts off into orbit
The United States’ first space station crashed back to Earth on July 11, 1979, four years ahead of schedule. In its six years of service, the laboratory was used for many biomedical and technological experiments.

The Red Army Faction (RAF) begins operations
The German left-wing activist group grew out of the peace and anti-imperialist movement of the 1960s. In reaction to the violent oppression by the German state, they later began operating as a terrorist cell and are responsible for several murders.

Israel becomes an independent state
The announcement by Prime Minister, David Ben-Gurion, triggered a 10-month armed conflict known as the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. It started the day after the proclamation as troops of Egypt, Syria, Transjordan and Iraq invaded the young nation.

The first smallpox vaccination is administered
The British physician, Edward Jenner, successfully inoculated an 8-year-old smallpox patient using material from a cowpox lesion. The word “vaccine” is derived from the Latin word for cow (vacca).