October 26
1776: Benjamin Franklin (1706-1791) departed from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.
1825: The Erie Canal opened, connecting the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River at Albany, N.Y.
1881: The Gunfight at the O.K. Corral took place in Tombstone, Ariz., and became the most famous 30-second shootout in American history.
1958: Pan American Airways made the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France.
1965: John Lennon (1940-1980) created a worldwide furor when he declared, “We [the Beatles] are more popular than Jesus Christ right now.”
October 27
1682: Philadelphia, Pa., was founded.
1787: New York newspapers began publishing the Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton (1755-1804), James Madison (1751-1836) and John Jay (1745-1829), calling for ratification of the U.S. Constitution.
1904: The first subway opened in New York City.
1946: The first commercially sponsored TV show, Geographically Speaking sponsored by Bristol-Myers, was broadcast. It was cancelled 35 days later.
1954: Benjamin O. Davis Jr. (1912-2002) became the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.
1964: Ronald Reagan (1911-2004) delivered a speech on behalf of Republican candidate for president, Barry Goldwater (1909-1998), launching his (Reagan’s) political career.
2011: A 16-foot-long Burmese python was captured in the Everglades.
October 28
1886: The Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States commemorating the Franco-American alliance during the American Revolution, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland (1837-1908).
1942: The Alaska Highway (Alcan Highway), connecting Dawson Creek, British Columbia, to Fairbanks, Alaska, was completed.
1965: The Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-tall parabolic arch made of steel as part of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Mo., was completed.
October 29
1863: The International Red Cross was formed by 18 countries meeting in Geneva, Switzerland.
1929: The New York Stock Exchange crashed, signaling the start of the Great Depression.
1954: Hudson Motor Co. and Nash-Kelvinator Corp. merged to form American Motors Corporation. (AMC went out of business in 1987.)
1960: Cassius Clay (born 1942, took the name Muhammad Ali in 1964) won his first professional fight, in Louisville, Ky.
1991: NASA’s Galileo spacecraft made its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.
October 30
1864: Four prospectors founded Helena, Mont., after discovering gold at “Last Chance Gulch.”
1938: Orson Welles (1915-1985) caused a nationwide panic with his radio broadcast of War of the Worlds, a realistic dramatization of an invasion from Mars. Welles was 23 at the time.
1963: The first Lamborghini car debuted in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.
1974: Major League Baseball player Nolan Ryan (born 1947) threw the fastest recorded pitch, 100.9 mph, while on the California Angels.
1985: Space Shuttle Challenger lifted off for its final successful mission. (It exploded during takeoff on Jan. 28, 1986.)
October 31
1864: Nevada became the 36th state.
1892: The Sherlock Holmes detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1859-1930) were published for the first time in book form as a collection of short stories. They had been published only in magazines.
1913: The Lincoln Highway was dedicated, becoming the first automobile highway across the United States. The 3,389-mile-long highway connects Times Square, New York City, to Lincoln Park, San Francisco.
1923: This was the first of 160 consecutive days of at least 100 degrees Fahrenheit at Marble Bar, Australia.
1941: Mount Rushmore was completed after 14 years of work by sculptor Gutzon Borglum (1867-1941) and his son Lincoln Borglum (1912-1986).
2011: The global population of humans reached seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.
November 1
996: The name “Austria” first appeared in print, in a deed, issued by Emperor Otto III (980-1002) to the Bishop of Freising (age unknown).
1800: John Adams (1735-1826) became the first president of the United States to live in the Executive Mansion (later renamed the White House).
1859: The lighthouse at Cape Lookout, N.C., was lit for the first time. (It still stands today, and is visible for about 19 miles in good conditions.)
1915: Parris Island, near Beaufort, S.C., was officially designated a U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
1957: The Mackinac Bridge connecting Michigan’s upper and lower peninsulas opened for the first time.
1959: Goaltender Jacques Plante (1929-1986) of the Montreal Canadiens wore a protective mask for the first time in a National Hockey League game.
1960: U.S. presidential candidate John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) announced his idea of the Peace Corps during a speech in Ann Arbor, Mich.
1968: The Motion Picture Association of America introduced its film rating system, with the ratings G, M, R, and X.
1982: Honda became the first Asian automobile company to build cars in the United States with the opening of its factory in Marysville, Ohio. The Honda Accord became the first car produced there.
2001: The National Weather Service revised the winter wind-chill index, making it “colder.”
ON THIS DAY… OCTOBER 26 – NOVEMBER 1
October 26 – NATIONAL PUMPKIN DAY
Did you know that pumpkins are loaded with fiber, potassium, and vitamin C?
October 27 – NATIONAL BLACK CAT DAY
In the lead up to Halloween, this day provides the chance for feline fans to show off their love for this iconic
animal.
October 28 – NATIONAL
CHOCOLATE DAY
This day is nothing short of a special tribute to mankind’s greatest culinary invention. (Sorry, pizza.)
October 29 – NATIONAL OATMEAL DAY
With all the ways to eat and use oatmeal, it’s no wonder we had to dedicate a whole day to it!
October 30 – NATIONAL CANDY CORN DAY
Whether you grab some from your kitchen table or eat small packets, candy corn returns every year and it’s not going
anywhere.
October 31 – HALLOWEEN
This day is undoubtedly the creepiest, most ghostly holiday of them all.
November 1- SCENTED CANDLE DAY
Take a calming bath and light a few candles to calm the jittery energy.