On This Day In History
October 8th
1480 Great Stand on the Ugra river: Standoff between forces of Akhmat Khan, Khan of the Great Horde and Ivan III, Grand Prince of all Rus. Ends with a Tatar-Mongol retreat, leading to the disintegration of the Horde.
1769 Captain James Cook lands in New Zealand at Poverty Bay on the East Coast of the North Island
1856 The Second Opium War or second Anglo-Chinese War: begins with the Arrow Incident on the Pearl River
1915 Battle of Loos on WWI Western Front ends, German forces contain British attack (85,000 casualties)
1917 Leon Trotsky named chairman of the Petrograd Soviet as Bolsheviks gain control
1945 Microwave oven patented by US inventor Percy Spencer
2001 US President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security
Did You Know?
Kenyan Wangari Maathai is the first African woman to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for "her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace"
Today in History in 2004
Would You Believe?
Forest fire destroys Peshtigo, Wisconsin, killing between 1,200 and 2,500 people, making it then the deadliest wildfire in recorded history
Today in History in 1871
This day 149 years ago - 8 October 1871 - the Great Chicago Fire started in the barn of Irish immigrants Patrick and Catherine O'Leary.
It was incorrectly claimed that Catherine had been milking a cow when it knocked over a lamp.
Catherine, and the cow, were exonerated in 1997. pic.twitter.com/PD9SljnHhQ
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) October 8, 2020
This day 45 years ago - 8 October 1974 - Seán MacBride became the first Irish person to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
In their presentation speech, the Nobel Committee singled out MacBride's “dominant role” in the creation of the European Convention on Human Rights. pic.twitter.com/85lKypG6Zr
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) October 8, 2019
#OTD in 1952, at the Harrow and Wealdstone train crash, Lt. Abbie Sweetwine, a Black American nurse, marked patients with her lipstick to indicate treatment given/needed: an early use of triage in civilian life. She became known as The Angel of Platform 6. https://t.co/fUz0PylyBi pic.twitter.com/Z5Z9xg74qG
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) October 8, 2022
On this day in 1953, a Birmingham police commissioner banned an interracial All-Star baseball game organized by Jackie Robinson since it was a "mixed athletic event." To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/ghkK27X7sN
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) October 8, 2022
19 October 1781. British General, Charles Cornwallis, surrendered his army of 8,000 men to General George Washington at Yorktown, giving up any chance of winning the on-going American War of Independence. pic.twitter.com/jnnIBqgS7B
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
8 October 1952. The horrific Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash, in London, killed 112 people. An overnight express train from Perth crashed at speed into the rear of a local passenger train standing at a platform at the station. It’s the worst peacetime rail crash in the UK. pic.twitter.com/N96WGnB9yo
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
8 October 1965. London’s Post Office Tower was opened. It was designed by the architects, Eric Bedford and G. R. Yeats. At 189 metres high, the Post Office Tower loomed over every other building in the capital when it opened. pic.twitter.com/xAT6xuBTc5
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
8 October 1967, Clement Attlee died (aged 84). As Labour Prime Minister from 1945 to 1951, his governments introduced a range of social and economic reforms that transformed Britain. With Churchill concentrating on military matters, Attlee had led domestic policy since 1940. pic.twitter.com/2nO2L42BPG
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
8 October 1967. Communist Guerrilla leader, Che Guevara, and his troops were attacked in Bolivia by a special detachment of the Bolivian army. Guevara, was wounded in the attack and then captured. pic.twitter.com/S3Z1oMX68l
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
8 October 1992. Willy Brandt, died (aged 78). He was Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), from 1969 to 1974, and the first Social Democratic Chancellor since 1930. He was awarded the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize for assisting European cooperation. pic.twitter.com/Ka7LgLFLya
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
8 October 2015. Jürgen Klopp agreed a 3-year deal to become Liverpool’s new manager, replacing Brendan Rodgers. In 2020, the became first German to manage English top division football champions. pic.twitter.com/6ywgndl1mk
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
8 October 2015. Scottish singer-songwriter, Jim Diamond, died (aged 64). His heyday was in the 1980s when he had a UK No.1 hit with, I Should Have Known Better. pic.twitter.com/bkXVcOfOAP
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 8, 2022
October 9th
768 Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I are crowned Kings of The Franks
1000 Leif Ericson discovers "Vinland" (possibly L'Anse aux Meadows, Canada) reputedly becoming first European to reach North America
1446 The Hangul (Korean) alphabet is first published in Korea by King Sejong the Great
1831 Ioannis Kapodistrias, first Head of State of modern Greece, assassinated in Nafplion
1941 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt approves an atomic program that would become the Manhattan Project
2006 North Korea conducts its first nuclear test, with an estimated yield of between 0.4-2 kilotons
Did You Know?
American inventor Isaac Singer patents sewing machine motor
Today in History in 1855
Would You Believe?
Vajont Dam disaster, landslide creates 50 million cubic metre wave killing around 2,000 in the Piave Valley in Northern Italy
Today in History in 1963
This day 174 years ago – 9 October 1845 – abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass spoke in Waterford City Hall.
A plaque was unveiled in the city in 2013 by Mayor John Cummins, who described Douglass as “a believer in non-violence and a passionate advocate of reform.” pic.twitter.com/qQv2BAanYd
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) October 9, 2019
This day 51 years ago - 9 October 1968 - 2,000 students from Queen's University Belfast began a march, but were stopped because of a counter-demonstration led by Ian Paisley.
After a majority of students returned to the university campus, the group People's Democracy was formed. pic.twitter.com/WPdo2HABFp
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) October 9, 2019
This day 41 years ago - 9 October 1979 - Cork woman Josie Airey won the case she had brought to the European Court of Human Rights.
Airey had been denied free legal aid to seek a separation from her violent husband.
She was represented by future President Mary Robinson. pic.twitter.com/BWffPtHfDv
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) October 9, 2020
Happy Birthday to Mary Ann Shadd, born #OTD in 1823! The 1st Black female newspaper publisher in N America, Shadd founded & edited The Provincial Freeman. She also established a racially integrated school for Black refugees & campaigned for women's rights. https://t.co/7XJtLYPFGm pic.twitter.com/vralBLA7nO
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) October 9, 2022