I've assembled a list of calendar dates corresponding to "anniversaries" of potential interest to solar physicists. This almanac could be used for planning commemorative meetings or talks, as fodder for coffee-break discussions, or simply to keep us in touch with our rich history.
Being the product of a relatively brief set of Web searches, this list is probably sorely incomplete. Suggestions, comments, or corrections are welcomed, but I reserve the right to limit the list to events that seem to be of a sufficiently wide interest to the AAS SPD Division.
January 6 SMEI launched (2003) January 15 Helios 2 launched (1976) January 22 OSO-5 launched (1969) January 26 Birthday of Leo Goldberg (1913) January 29 Birthday of Sydney Chapman (1888) January 31 Explorer 1 launched (1958) February 3 OSO-2 launched (1965) February 5 RHESSI launched (2002) February 11 Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) launched (2010) February 12 Birthday of Marcel Minnaert (1893) February 14 SMM (Solar Maximum Mission) launched (1980) February 15 Birthday of Galileo Galilei (1564) February 21 Hinotori launched (1981) February 22 Birthday of Pierre Jules César Janssen (1824) February 24 SOLWIND (P78-1) launched (1979) February 27 Birthday of Bernard Lyot (1897) March 2 CORONAS-I launched (1994) March 6 Birthday of Joseph von Fraunhofer (1787) March 7 OSO-1 launched (1962) March 8 OSO-3 launched (1967) March 13 Birthday of Ludwig Biermann (1907) April 1 TRACE launched (1998) April 11 Spartan 201-01 deployed by Shuttle Discovery (1993) April 11 First light of the Snow Solar Telescope on Mt. Wilson (1904) April 12 Birthday of Edward Walter Maunder (1851) April 13 First flight of a rocket-borne ultraviolet coronagraph spectrometer (1979) April 14 Birthday of Annie Scott Dill Maunder, nee Russell (1868) May 14 Skylab launched (1973) May 17 Birthday of J. Norman Lockyer (1836) May 25 Birthday of Pieter Zeeman (1865) May 26 Birthday of Richard Carrington (1826) May 30 Birthday of Hannes Alfven (1908) June 10 Birthday of Eugene Parker (1927) June 18 Birthday of Angelo Secchi (1818) June 21 OSO-8 launched (1975) June 26 Birthday of Lyman Spitzer, Jr. (1914) June 26 First light of the 60-Foot Solar Tower Telescope on Mt. Wilson (1908) June 27 IRIS launched (2013) June 29 Birthday of George Ellery Hale (1868) July 7 Birthday of Rudolf Wolf (1816) July 31 CORONAS-F launched (2001) August 3 Birthday of George Francis FitzGerald (1851) August 8 Genesis launched (2001) August 9 OSO-6 launched (1969) August 12 ISEE-3/ICE launched (1978) August 25 ACE launched (1997) August 27 Mariner 2 launched (1962) August 30 Yohkoh launched (1991) September 10 Birthday of Robert Leighton (1919) September 12 UARS launched from Shuttle Discovery (1991) September 13 Birthday of Horace Welcome Babcock (1912) September 23 Hinode (Solar-B) launched (2006) October 6 Ulysses launched from Shuttle Discovery (1990) October 18 OSO-4 launched (1967) October 22 ISEE-1 and ISEE-2 launched (1977) October 23 Birthday of Gustav Spörer (1822) October 25 Birthday of Henry Norris Russell (1877) October 25 Birthday of Samuel Heinrich Schwabe (1789) October 25 STEREO launched (2006) October 26 IMP-8 launched (1973) November 1 Spartan 201-05 deployed by Shuttle Discovery (1998) November 1 WIND launched (1994) November 2 Dedication of the McMath Solar Telescope on Kitt Peak (1962) December 2 SOHO launched (1995) December 8 First drawing of a sunspot, from the Chronicles of John of Worcester (1128) December 10 Helios 1 launched (1974) December 13 Birthday of Kristian Birkeland (1867)