NASA launched the first-ever active repeater communications satellite.
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The online dictionary, Merriam-Webster, stated their most searched word of the year was 'Feminism.'
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug was released in theaters in the US.
The English transport ship Duke William sank in the North Atlantic, killing over 360 people.
Sir Francis Drake set sail from England on a circumnavigation of the world.
The Beatles signed on with their first formal manager, Brian Epstein.