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Historical People and Events for October
 

by John T. Marck

 

October 1

The first World Series Baseball game put on display at the Library of Congress, 1944

October 2

The five-day work week was officially sanctioned by the American Federation of Labor, 1933

Australians seized Finschhafen, New Guinea, 1903

Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile, 1908

President James Carter was born in Plains, Georgia, 1924

The Declaration of Independence, and other historic documents that had been sent away from Washington, D.C. in December 1941 for safekeeping, were returned and g World War II, 1943

"Peanuts" comic strip debuted, 1950

The "Twilight Zone" first premiered on television, 1959

Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as an Associate Justice of U.S. Supreme Court, the first black to this position, 1967

October 3

George Washington proclaimed the first National Thanksgiving, 1789

President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day, 1863

The first woman U.S. senator, Mrs. W.H. Felton, age 87 of Cartersville, Georgia, was appointed by Governor Thomas W. Hardwick of Georgia, to the seat vacated by the death of Senator Thomas E. Watson. Voters chose a successor that November, 1922

The play, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, opened in Washington, D.C., 1938

Stop The World - I Want To Get Off opened on Broadway at the Shubert Theatre, 1962

The "End" of the Berlin Wall occurred, 1990

October 4

First Lady Eliza Johnson was born Eliza McCardle in Leesburg, Virginia, 1810

President Rutherford B. Hayes was born in Delaware, Ohio, 1822

Construction of the ironclad ship, the Monitor, was authorized by the U.S. Navy, 1861

The first solicitor general, Benjamin Helm Bristow, was appointed by President Ulysses S. Grant, 1870

Germany requested armistice during World War I, 1918

October 5

President Chester A. Arthur was born in Fairfield, Vermont, 1830

The Dalton gang was killed while robbing two banks in Coffeyville, Kansas, 1892

The first radio broadcast of the World Series occurred, 1921

The first nonstop flight across the Pacific Ocean was completed by Hugh Herndon and Clyde Pangborn, who flew from Sabishiro, Japan to Wenatchee, Washington, a distance of 4860 miles, in 41 hours, 13 minutes, 1932

The Beatles first hit song, "Love Me Do," was first released in the United Kingdom, 1962,

October 6

The American Pharmaceutical Association, the first nationwide organization of its type, was founded in Philadelphia, 1853

The sanctioning of polygamy was discontinued by the Mormon Church, 1891

Al Jolson starred in The Jazz Singer, the first motion picture using the sound-on-film process, 1927

Investigation began concerning rigged television game shows, 1956

The first woman university president in the United States, Hannah H. Gray, was inaugurated at the University of Chicago, 1978

Anwar Sadat was assassinated, 1981

October 7

The first Colonial Congress met, 1765

Writer/Poet Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore, Maryland, 1849

The first practical folding machine to fold book and newspaper sheets was patented by Cyrus Chambers, Jr., a Pennsylvania inventor, 1857

The aircraft carrier, U.S.S. Saratoga, the world's most powerful warship, was launched at the Brooklyn, New York Navy Yard, 1955

The Motion Picture Association of America adopted film ratings, 1968

Cats, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theater in New York City, 1982

October 8

A telegraph line opened from Los Angeles to San Francisco, 1860

Franklin Pierce, fourteenth President of the United States, died at the age of 64 in Concord, New Hampshire, 1869

Bruno Hauptmann was indicted on murder charges in the death of the infant son of Charles Lindbergh, 1934

An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May opened at the St. James Theater in New York City; written and performed by Nichols and May, 1960

October 9

Leif Ericson discovered Vinland, 1000

Roger Williams was banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1635

The Washington Monument opened to the public, 1888

The Iceman Cometh, a play by Eugene O'Neill, opened at the Martin Beck Theatre in New York City, 1946

October 10

First Lady Martha Randolph died, 1836

The United States Naval Academy opened in Annapolis, Maryland. It combined at one site a group of schools previously located in the port cities of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Norfolk, 1845

The waterway across the Isthmus of Panama was completed when the Gamboa Dike was blown up. President Woodrow Wilson set off the explosion by pressing an electric button at the White House, 1914

"Porgy & Bess" opened on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre, running for 16 weeks, followed by a three month road tour, 1935

The first passenger service circling the globe was announced by Pan American World Airways, 1959

Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned, 1973

October 11

The first steam-powered ferryboat, "Juliana" began operation, 1811

First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York, 1884

Kathy Sullivan was the first woman to walk in space this day, 1984

October 12

Columbus arrived with expedition in the present-day Bahamas, (Old Style calendar; Oct.21, New Style), 1492

The first celebration of Columbus Day in America was held in New York City, 1792

General Robert Edward Lee died in Virginia, 1870

Alcatraz became a federal prison, 1933

Jesus Christ Superstar, a rock opera by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber opened on Broadway at the Mark Hellinger Theater, 1971

October 13

Roman emperor Claudius I died, A.D. 54

A naval force was established by the Continental Congress when it authorized construction of two warships, increasing the number to four on October 30; 1775

President Dwight David Eisenhower was born in Denison, Texas, 1890

Italy declared war on Germany. The new Italian government was headed by Pietro Badaglio. Mussolini, who had been arrested, was rescued by German commandos led by Colonel Otto Skorzeny. Mussolini then formed a new fascist government in northern Italy, 1943

Germans launched the first U-bombs against Antwerp, 1944

The first supersonic bomber, the B58, was ordered into production by the U.S. Air Force, 1954

October 14

Theodore Roosevelt was shot from a distance of six feet and wounded, while leaving a hotel in Milwaukee, Wisconsin during his campaign tour. The bullet struck a bulky manuscript in his coat pocket, then entered his chest. Despite the wound, Roosevelt insisted on delivering his speech before going to the hospital, 1912

The first mechanical switchboard was installed in the New York City telephone system, and the exchange was called "Pennsylvania," 1923

German Field Marshall Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution for conspiring against Hitler, 1944

How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying opened on Broadway at the Forty-Sixth Street Theatre, 1961

October 15

First Lady Edith Wilson was born Edith Bolling in Wytheville, Virginia, 1872

The Edison Electric Light Company was founded at 65 Fifth Avenue, New York, 1878

The first American fishing journal, the American Angler, was published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1881

Nazi War Criminal Hermann Goering, one of the principal leaders in the Holocaust, poisoned himself hours before he was to have been executed, 1945

"I Love Lucy" premiered on CBS-TV, 1951

October 16

Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded, 1793

The Tremont Hotel in Boston, Massachusetts, the first luxurious hotel in America, opened its doors with a dollar-a-plate dinner, attended by Daniel Webster and Edward Everett. This 170-room hotel offered many first-time luxuries and conveniences such as private bedrooms with door locks, soap and a pitcher of water in each room, indoor toilets (eight water closets), menus in the dining room, room clerks, and bellboys. Many architects in the future used the Tremont as a model for other luxury hotels, 1829

Anesthesia was given its first public demonstration before other doctors by William T.G. Morton, a Boston dentist. Morton administered sulfuric ether during an operation performed by John Collins Warren at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Earlier on September 30, Morton had painlessly removed an ulcerated tooth from a patient anesthetized by ether, 1847

John Brown seized the Federal Armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia), 1859

The first American objects launched into space were two aluminum pellets lofted by the U.S. Air Force, 1958

The U.S. Senate confirmed Clarence Thomas to the U.S. Supreme Court, 1991

October 17

Columbus sighted the isle of San Salvador, 1492

The Chesapeake and Delaware Canal was formally opened, linking the Delaware River and the Chesapeake Bay. The canal is fourteen miles long and cost $2,250,000; 1829

Al Capone convicted of income-tax evasion, 1931

President James Carter signed a bill restoring U.S. citizenship to Jefferson Davis and Robert E. Lee, 1978

A bill creating the Department of Education was signed by President James Carter, 1978

The San Francisco Bay area earthquake occurred, 1989

October 18

The Maryland - Pennsylvania boundary, the Mason-Dixon line was finalized, 1767

Alaska's flag was first raised, 1867

The sand blaster was patented, 1870

Thomas Alva Edison died at the age of 84 at Glenmont, his West Orange, New Jersey home. At 9:59 p.m., Eastern Standard Time, all nonessential lights in the United States were extinguished for one minute in his memory, 1932

First Lady Bess Truman died, 1982

October 19

The Hundred Years War ended, 1453

The ship "Peggy Stewart" was burned at Annapolis, Maryland, 1774

General Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, 1781

The Miracle Worker, a play by William Gibson, opened at the Playhouse in New York City, with Anne Bancroft playing the leading role as Anne Sullivan Macy, Helen Keller's childhood teacher, 1959

Jacqueline (Mrs. John F.) Kennedy married Aristotle Onassis in a private ceremony of his island of Skorpios, 1968

Look magazine ceased publication due to increasing postal rates, 1971

The Concorde SST made its first flight from France to Kennedy Airport in New York, 1978 (The Concorde SSThad already begun flights to Washington, D.C., in May, 1978)

October 20

The United States Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase, 1803

General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines, 1944

President Herbert Hoover died in New York City, 1964

October 21

The Battle of Trafalgar began, 1805

Thomas Edison invented the working electric light,1879

The first transatlantic radio telephone was made, 1915

A new typewriting speed record was established by Margaret B. Owen in New York City, when she typed 170 words a minute with no errors, 1918

Aachen surrendered during World War II, 1944

The Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, opened, and is the only building in New York City designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, 1959

October 22

Sam Houston was sworn as the first president of the Republic of Texas, 1836

Airplanes were first used on battlegrounds, 1911

The Battle of Leyte Gulf occurred, 1944

The United States allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to go to New York for medical reasons, which precipitated hostage crisis, 1979

October 23

Blanche Scott, was the first woman to solo in an airplane, 1910

The first horseshoe pitching contest was held, 1915

Twenty-five thousand women marched in New York City demanding the right to vote, 1915

The British counteroffensive at El Alamein occurred during World War II, 1942

October 24

A patent was issued for the safety match, 1826

The first Pony Express ride ended, 1861

Nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time in Wilmington, Delaware, 1939

The 40-hour workweek, part of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, went into effect, 1940

October 25

The "Charge of Light Brigade" occurred during the Crimean War, 1854

First Lady Caroline Harrison died in Washington, D.C., of Typhoid fever, 1892

The United States invaded Grenada, 1983

October 26

The Erie Canal was opened, 1825

First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton was born Hillary Rodham in Chicago, Illinois, 1947

A minimum wage bill was signed by President Harry S. Truman, raising the minimum wage in certain industries engaged in interstate commerce from 40 cents to 75 cents, 1950

The International Atomic Energy Agency was established, 1956

October 27

The Federalist Papers first appeared in a New York newspaper, 1787

President Theodore Roosevelt was born in New York City, 1858

Dupont developed Nylon, 1938

October 28

Harvard College was founded, 1636

First Lady Abigail Adams died in Quincy, Massachusetts after suffering a stroke, 1818

The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland, 1886

The Volstead Act or National Prohibition Act was passed by Congress over President's Wilson's veto. The act defined as intoxicating liquor any beverage containing at least one-half of 1% alcohol and provided for enforcement of the provisions of the Eighteenth Amendment, 1919

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri, "known as the "Gateway to the West," constructed in steel by Eero Saarinen, was completed. The 630-foot parabolic arch commemorated the Louisiana Purchase and the city's role in westward expansion, 1965

October 29

Sir Walter Raleigh was executed in London, 1618

The New York Stock Market crash occurred, 1929

First Lady Frances Cleveland died in Baltimore, Maryland, 1947

"Hair" opened on Broadway, 1967

October 30

President John Adams was born at Braintree (Quincy) Massachusetts, 1735

George Washington established the U.S. Cavalry, 1776

Orson Welles performed his, "War of the Worlds" radio broadcast, based on the novel by H.G. Wells, which caused widespread panic when listeners took as true the realistically performed news reports of an invasion from Mars, 1938

The U.S. Government announced the end of shoe rationing, 1945

October 31

General Winfield Scott, the greatest U.S. military commander since the War of 1812, retired as commander-in-chief of the Army at the age of 75, 1861

Nevada entered the Union, 1864 (36th)

Mrs. William Waldorf Astor, wife of the British financier and publisher, died at the age of 78. Her death marked the end of the old-style society in New York City, 1909

Magician Harry Houdini died in Detroit, Michigan, 1926

The Battle of Britain ended, 1940

Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two Sikh security guards, 1984

 

Copyright © 1993-2022 by John T. Marck. All Rights Reserved. This article and their accompanying pictures, photographs, and line art, may not be resold, reprinted, or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from the author.