2 things science and human progress accomplished on this date.
1891
Frederick Banting, co-discoverer of insulin, is born
Frederick Banting was born on a farm near Alliston, Ontario. His idea for extracting insulin, tested with Charles Best in Toronto, turned diabetes from a death sentence into a condition people could live with. His birthday is now marked each year as World Diabetes Day.
NASA's Mariner 9 slipped into orbit around Mars, the first craft ever to circle a planet other than Earth. It waited out a global dust storm, then mapped almost the whole surface, revealing giant volcanoes and a canyon system that dwarfs any on Earth.