This Week in History

October 5

1786: The so-called Pumpkin Flood on the Susquehanna and Delaware rivers washed away most of the pumpkin crop.

1877: Chief Joseph surrendered his Nez Perce band to Gen. Nelson A. Miles in Montana near the Canadian border.

1955: Disneyland Hotel opened to the public in Anaheim, Calif.

1962: Dr. No, the first in the James Bond film series, was released in the United Kingdom. The Beatles’ first single, “Love Me Do,” backed with “P.S. I Love You,” was released, also in the United Kingdom.

1983: Tupperware inventor Earl Tupper, 76, died on his private island estate near Costa Rica. (Tupper had moved to Costa Rica and renounced his U.S. citizenship to avoid paying taxes.)

1986: The Sunday Times in London revealed for the first time that Israel has a secret nuclear arsenal, in a story by  Mordechai Vanunu.

October 6

1683: German immigrants founded Germantown in the colony of Pennsylvania, becoming the first major immigration of German people to America.

1981: Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat was assassinated in Cairo by members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad.

October 7

1477: Uppsala University, the oldest university in Sweden, opened.

1763: King George III of Great Britain issued the British Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing aboriginal lands in North America north and west of the Allegheny Mountains to white settlements.

1826: The Granite Railway, from Quincy to Milton, Mass., began operating as the first chartered railway in the U.S.

1868: Cornell University opened in Ithaca, N.Y., with 412 students.

1914: Born this day: English actress Sarah Churchill (Royal Wedding, died 1982), and singer and actor  Alfred Drake (Oklahoma!, Trading Places, died 1992).

1933: Five French airline companies merged to form Air France.

1959: USSR probe Luna 3 transmitted the first ever photographs of the far side of the Moon. Born this day: actor Dylan Baker (Planes, Trains and Automobiles), and Simon Cowell (creator of The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent).

October 8

1869: Franklin Pierce, 14th U.S. president, died in Concord, N.H. Pierce is regarded by historians as one of the least known and most historically obscure presidents.

1871: A forest fire in Wisconsin killed 1,200 people. On the same day, the Great Chicago Fire destroyed 18,000 buildings.

1921: The first live radio broadcast of a football game occurred over KDKA at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh.

2001: President George W. Bush announced the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.

October 9

1701: The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later Yale) was founded in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

1824: Slavery was abolished in Costa Rica.

1855: Inventor Joshua Stoddard (1814-1902) received a patent for a calliope used on river boats.

1907: Las Cruces, New Mexico, was incorporated.

1941: Born this day: C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb, and U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss.

1963: Over 2,000 people were killed in northeast Italy when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam caused an 820-foot-high wave of water to overtop it.

1995: An Amtrak Sunset Limited train on Southern Pacific Railroad tracks was derailed near Palo Verde, Ariz., by saboteurs calling themselves “Sons of the Gestapo.“ One man was killed, and 78 people were injured. The saboteurs were never caught.

October 10

1845: The Naval School (later renamed the United States Naval Academy) opened in Annapolis, Md., with 50 midshipman students and seven professors.

1911: Whisky distiller Jack Daniel died from blood poisoning as a result of an infection in one of his toes. (The toe had become infected after he injured it while kicking his safe in anger because he could not remember the combination.)

1971: The reassembled London Bridge officially opened in Lake Havasu City, Ariz. Robert McCulloch had bought the bridge from the British government in 1962 for $2.46 million. He had it disassembled and moved by ships and trucks to Arizona.

1973: U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew resigned after being charged with federal income tax evasion.

October 11

1793: Yellow fever broke out in Philadelphia, killing 100 people the first day. (The epidemic ultimately killed over 5,000 people in about three weeks.)

1809: Meriwether Lewis of Lewis and Clark fame committed suicide in Tennessee by shooting himself twice and then cutting himself from head to foot with a razor. He was 35.

1890: The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, D.C.

1947: Born this day: musicians Al Atkins (Judas Priest), and George McCorkle (The Marshall Tucker Band, died 2007).

1961: Air Force pilot Robert Michael White piloted the X-15 rocket jet to 215,000 feet, setting a record.

1976: George Washington was promoted posthumously to General of the Armies of the United States in a law passed by Congress and signed by President Gerald R. Ford.

2001: The Polaroid Corporation filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

 

ON THIS DAY… SEPTEMBER 28 – OCTOBER 4

October 5 – NATIONAL COFFEE WITH A COP DAY

This day is very important for the community because it fosters relations between civilians and their police officers.

October 6 – NATIONAL NOODLEDAY
Can you believe that noodles have been around for over 4,000 years? Noodles are popular all over the world and range in many shapes

October 7 – YOU MATTER TO ME DAY
 If you haven’t been open to your loved ones in recent times, use this day as an opportunity to tell them how much they matter to you.

October 8 – NATIONAL CHESS DAY
This day commemorates the day that changed how America traveled on its roads. 

October  9 – WORLD POST DAY

Mail carrier services have been in existence since ancient times. World Post Day marks the anniversary of the establishment of the Universal Postal Union

October 10 – NATIONAL
CAKE DECORATING DAY

 With holiday dessert buffets coming up soon, National Cake Decorating Day is the perfect time to practice your technique.

October 11-NATIONAL FACE YOUR FEARS DAY this day is an opportunity to step out and overcome things that are holding you back.