On This Day In History
#OTD in 690 CE, Wu Zetian (former consort and dowager) took control of China in her own right, and began an astonishing 15-year rule. Well educated and shrewd, she reformed the civil service, changed power structures and expanded the Chinese empire. https://t.co/QcqTbxaRoP
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) October 16, 2022
On this day in 1968, Black Olympic medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos faced death threats and expulsion for protesting racial inequality. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/GkdyfxAm5Z
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) October 16, 2022
16 October 1555. The English Protestant bishops, Hugh Latimer and Nicholas Ridley, were burnt at the stake, for heresy, outside Balliol College, Oxford. Their execution was part of the persecution of Protestants by Mary I, after she restored Catholicism during her brief reign. pic.twitter.com/wCxbNiEE92
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1793. The Queen of France, Marie Antoinette (aged 37), the wife of Louis XVI, was executed by guillotine in Paris for treason. Her last words were recorded as: “Pardon me, sir, I did not do it on purpose”, after she accidentally stepped on her executioner’s shoe. pic.twitter.com/osSMwbztU7
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1803. Robert Stephenson was born in Willington Quay, Northumberland. He was the only son of George Stephenson, known as the “Father of Railways”. He built on the achievements of his father, and has been called “the greatest engineer of the 19th century”. pic.twitter.com/uN9he75MVj
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1834. The original Houses of Parliament were almost completely destroyed by fire. The blaze was caused by the burning of small wooden tally sticks, which had previously been used as part of the accounting procedures of the Exchequer. pic.twitter.com/geuo8WgpE0
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1869. Girton College, Cambridge, was founded by Emily Davies and Barbara Bodichon. It was the UK’s first residential institution offering university-level education, but not degrees, for women. Girton did not become an official Cambridge college until 27 April 1948. pic.twitter.com/BHQS1EjEk9
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1902. The first Borstal (a juvenile detention centre), was opened in the village of Borstal, near Rochester, in Kent. It was designed to separate young offenders from the influence of older habitual criminals in prisons. Borstals were officially abolished in 1982. pic.twitter.com/tdp45zj7Dr
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1920. Gordon Richards, 26 times a champion Flat jockey, had his first ride at Lingfield Park. By the time of his retirement as a jockey, he had ridden a record 4,870 winners, and was the first jockey to be knighted. pic.twitter.com/tvKQqD7TxG
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1946. The executions of 10 leading Nazi war criminals (Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Alfred Jodl, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachim von Ribbentrop, Alfred Rosenberg, Fritz Sauckel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, and Julius Streicher), were carried out in Nuremberg. pic.twitter.com/7zYDM5aE82
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1963. Lee Harvey Oswald was interviewed and given a job as a book stacker at the Texas School Book Depository, located at 411 Elm Street, in the west of downtown Dallas, Texas, USA. The fatal shots that killed JFK were fired from the 6th floor of this building. pic.twitter.com/Qwn1eSdlbf
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 1984. South African bishop, Desmond Tutu, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to South Africa’s brutal apartheid regime. Tutu was saluted by the Nobel Committee for his clear views and his fearless non-violent stance. pic.twitter.com/PMBuk6HHY9
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
16 October 2017. Popular comedian, Sean Hughes, died (aged 51). He starred in Channel 4 show, Sean’s Show, and was a regular team captain on the BBC 2 pop panel game, Never Mind the Buzzcocks. pic.twitter.com/qRUKinvscn
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
PHOTO OF THE DAY: A couple embrace near the Arc de Triomphe in Paris (1960). pic.twitter.com/jOT15fHhr9
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 16, 2022
October 17th
1854 French and British forces bombard Sevastopol for the first time during the Crimean War
1907 Guglielmo Marconi’s company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada and Clifden, Ireland
1943 Burma railway completed, built by Allied POWs and Asian laborers for use of the Japanese army
1973 OPEC oil ministers use oil as an economic weapon in the Arab-Israeli War, mandating a cut in exports and recommending an embargo against unfriendly states [1]
2017 Islamic State headquarters Raqqa declared under full control of US-led alliance by Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) spokesman Talal Sello after 4 months of fighting
Did You Know?
The United States population reaches 300 million
Today in History in 2006
Would You Believe?
Chicago declared the 'rattiest city' in America for the sixth year in a row by pest control service Orkin
Today in History in 2020
This day 113 years ago - 17 October 1907 - the first commercial transatlantic message was transmitted from Guglielmo Marconi's wireless telegraphy station in Clifden, Co Galway, to Glace Bay, Nova Scotia.
This has been described as “a defining event in world communication.” pic.twitter.com/FO0s9h8ClS
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) October 17, 2020
#OTD in 1912, Wilhelmine Kekelaokalaninui Widemann Dowsett held the inaugural meeting of the National Women's Equal Suffrage Association of Hawaii (WESAH). Dowsett united Native Hawaiian, White & Asian women in the movement: 'We are working all together'. https://t.co/70WzUdfcbG pic.twitter.com/KqqlgoJP3b
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) October 17, 2022
On this day in 1871, rampant KKK violence forced President Grant to declare martial law in South Carolina. Many affluent Klan members fled the jurisdiction to avoid arrest. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/Mv182WYksY
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) October 17, 2022
17 October 1091. The first recorded tornado struck London. The wooden London Bridge was completely demolished, and over 600 houses were destroyed. pic.twitter.com/SePCms5pN9
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 17, 2022