On This Day In History
October 25th
1415 Battle of Agincourt: Henry V‘s forces defeat larger French army and the longbow defeats the armoured knight
1854 The infamous “Charge of the Light Brigade” during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War results in over 100 killed
1962 US Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson demands USSR UN rep Valerian Zorin answer regarding Cuban missile bases saying “I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over”
1971 United Nations votes to expel the Chinese Nationalist ruled Taiwan and admit the Communist People’s Republic of China
2017 Chinese Premier Xi Jinping unveils his new ruling council in the Great Hall of the People, none of the five are young enough to succeed him
Did You Know?
Dutch East India Company ship “The Eendracht” discovers Dirk-Hartog Island, Australia
Today in History in 1616
Would You Believe?
American Archbishop of Dubuque (Iowa), Francis J. L. Beckman, denounces Swing music as “a degenerated musical system… turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people”, warning that it leads down a “primrose path to hell”.
Today in History in 1938
October 26th
1850 Robert McClure sights the fabled Northwest Passage for the first time (from Banks Island towards Melville Island)
1861 Pony Express (Missouri to California) ends after 19 months
1863 International conference begins in Geneva aimed at improving medical conditions on battlefields – beginning of the Red Cross
1977 Last natural case of smallpox discovered in Merca district, Somalia. Considered the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination
2019 Raid by US Special Forces kills ISIS founder Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in Syria
Did You Know?
Gunfight at the OK Corral: The most famous shootout in the Wild West occurs, between lawmen (including Wyatt Earp) and the Cowboys, with Tom and Frank McLaury and Billy Clanton killed
Today in History in 1881
Would You Believe?
First recorded use of “getaway car” occurs after holding up a shop in Paris
Today in History in 1901
October 27th
312 Roman Emperor Constantine the Great is said to have received his famous Vision of the Cross
1795 Pinckney’s Treaty [Treaty of San Lorenzo] signed by Spain and US, establishing the southern boundary of the US and giving Americans right to navigate the Mississippi River
1962 Black Saturday during the Cuban Missile Crisis: An American spy plane is shot down over Cuba and the navy drops warning depth charges on Soviet submarines
1982 China announces its population has reached 1 billion plus people
1986 British government deregulates financial markets in a “Big Bang”, enhancing London’s status as a financial capital while increasing income inequality
Did You Know?
DuPont announces its new synthetic polyamide fiber will be called “nylon”
Today in History in 1938
Would You Believe?
First section of New York subway – Lower Manhattan to Broadway Harlem, opened by Interborough Rapid Transit (IRT), fare one nickel
Today in History in 1904
October 28th
1492 Christopher Columbus sights Cuba and claims it for Spain under the name “Juana”
1538 The first university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is established on Hispaniola
1746 Peruvian cities of Lima and Callao demolished by earthquake, 18,000 die
1904 St Louis police try a new investigation method – fingerprints
1919 Volstead Act passed by US Congress, establishing prohibition, despite President Woodrow Wilson‘s veto
1924 Miner M.de Bruin discovers the infant fossil skull, “Taung child” in a lime quarry in Taung, South Africa. Paleoanthropologist Raymond Dart identifies the fossil as a new hominin species, Australopithecus africanus.
Did You Know?
Statue of Liberty dedicated by US President Grover Cleveland, celebrated by first confetti (ticker tape) parade in New York City
Today in History in 1886
Would You Believe?
Research indicating Plague dates back to the Bronze age in skeletons 5,783 years old, published by University of Copenhagen team in “Cell”
Today in History in 2015
October 29th
539 BC King Cyrus “the Great” of Persia marches into Babylon, freeing Jewish captives and allowing them to return home
1268 Conradin, the last legitimate male heir of the German Hohenstaufen dynasty of Kings and Holy Roman Emperors, is executed with Frederick I, Margrave of Baden by Charles I of Sicily
1665 Battle of Mbwila [Ambuila]: Portuguese defeat forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitate King Antonio I of Kongo / Nvita a Nkanga
1929 “Black Tuesday” Wall Street Stock Market crashes triggering the “Great Depression”
2015 China announces the end of their one-child policy after 35 years
Did You Know?
English adventurer, writer and courtier Walter Raleigh is beheaded for allegedly conspiring against King James I of England
Today in History in 1618
Would You Believe?
En route Adana to Ankara, Turkish Airlines flight with crew of 6 and 33 passengers hijacked by Kurdish militant, orders pilot fly to Switzerland. Pilot lands in Ankara tricking hijacker he was landing in Sofia to refuel.
Today in History in 1998
October 30th
1340 Battle of Rio Salado (or Tarifa): King Afonso IV of Portugal and King Alfonso XI of Castile defeat Sultan Abu al-Hasan ‘Ali of Morocco and Yusuf I of Granada, last Marīnids invasion of Iberian Peninsula
1899 Battle of Ladysmith, Natal: Boers defeat the British, leading to the Siege of Ladysmith
1905 “October Manifesto” Russian Tsar Nicholas II grants civil liberties and accepts the first Duma (Parliament)
1917 British government gives final approval to Balfour Declaration
1973 The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time
Did You Know?
Soviet Union tests a 58 megaton hydrogen bomb named Tsar Bomba, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated
Today in History in 1961
Would You Believe?
A radio broadcast of H. G. Wells “The War of the Worlds”, narrated by Orson Welles, allegedly causes a mass panic
Today in History in 1938
October 31st
1517 Martin Luther sends his 95 Theses to Albrecht von Brandenburg, the Archbishop of Mainz, precipitating The Protestant Reformation
1541 Michelangelo Buonarroti finishes painting “The Last Judgement” in the Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
1876 Great Backerganj Cyclone of 1876 ravages British India (Modern-day Bangladesh), over 200,000 killed
1918 Spanish Flu kills 21,000 people in the US in a single week
2011 The world population reaches 7 billion inhabitants according to the United Nations