On This Day In History
21 October 1833. Alfred Nobel, who invented dynamite, was born in Stockholm, Sweden. After reading a newspaper article condemning him for profiting from the sales of arms, he decided to bequeath his fortune to institute the Nobel Prizes each year. pic.twitter.com/AHteeGwU0D
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 21, 2022
21 October 1944. Model, Mandy Rice-Davies, was born in Llanelli, Wales. She gained notoriety for her involvement in the Profumo Sex Scandal of 1963. When told Lord Astor had denied having sex with her, she famously replied: “He would (say that) wouldn’t he?” pic.twitter.com/5r7fALf0OL
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 21, 2022
21 October 1944. Aachen became the first German city to fall to the Allies in WW2, after US troops occupied it after a 19-day urban battle. It was the longest city fight of the war for the western Allies. pic.twitter.com/VKSMxDfI2c
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 21, 2022
21 October 1945. Women were allowed to vote in France for the first time in national elections. pic.twitter.com/NL238DH56o
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 21, 2022
21 October 1966. A coal heap collapsed onto a school in the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, 116 of them were children. The tragedy was one of the worst UK mining disasters and it was completely avoidable. pic.twitter.com/XOTYyhXq8H
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 21, 2022
21 October 2020. Frank Bough died (aged 87). He was best known as presenter of BBC sports and current affairs shows including, Grandstand, Nationwide, and Breakfast Time. His TV career was irreparably damaged by press allegations of cocaine use and attending sex orgies. pic.twitter.com/6vQKKyyPUl
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 21, 2022
A brief summary of the 1966 Aberfan Disaster pic.twitter.com/GSK9VRB7fU
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 21, 2022
October 22nd
1633 Battle of Liaoluo Bay: Dutch East India Company defeated by Chinese Ming naval forces in southern Fujian sea
1721 Tsar Peter the Great becomes "All-Russian Imperator"
1879 Thomas Edison perfects carbonized cotton filament light bulb
1884 International Meridian Conference in Washington, D.C. adopts Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) worldwide, creating 24 international time zones with longitude zero at the Greenwich meridian
1907 Panic of 1907: A run on Knickerbocker Trust Company stock leads to US wide run on banks
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis: US President John F. Kennedy addresses TV about Russian missile bases in Cuba and imposes a naval blockade on Cuba, beginning the missile crisis
Did You Know?
World's first car dealer opens in London
Today in History in 1897
Would You Believe?
In Paris an express train overruns a buffer stop, crosses more than 30 meters of concourse before plummeting through a window at Gare Montparnasse
Today in History in 1895
This day 138 years ago - 22 October 1882 - nine women were awarded degrees from the Royal University of Ireland.
They were the first women in either Ireland or Great Britain to receive degrees.
They became known as the Nine Graces.
Six had studied at Alexandra College, Dublin. pic.twitter.com/xE9SCJMIF4
— This Day in Irish History (@ThisDayIrish) October 22, 2020
In 1948, Marie Maynard Daly became the first African-American woman with a PhD in Chemistry. In her later research she made a major contribution to the understanding of heart attacks by identifying a relationship between cholesterol and clogged arteries. https://t.co/pAo17A59xi pic.twitter.com/qOzEXTxw9F
— On This Day She (@OnThisDayShe) October 22, 2022
On this day in 1909, a white mob tried to lynch a Black man near the U.S. Capitol, dispersing only after police promised to hand over the man to the mob the next day. To overcome racial inequality, we must confront our history. https://t.co/L8NctAhzwk
— Equal Justice Initiative (@eji_org) October 22, 2022
22 October 1707. Four Royal Navy ships ran aground near Isles of Scilly, with 1,550 sailors drowned, in one of worst British maritime disasters. It was due to ships navigators inability to calculate their positions, errors in the available map charts and inadequate compasses. pic.twitter.com/cE4ie0qUFr
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022
22 October 1797. Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute jump from a basket below a hot air balloon at 3,000 feet above Parc Monceau in Paris. He survived a harsh landing. The frameless parachute he used was seven metres across and was his own invention. pic.twitter.com/91Lko3KU1U
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022
22 October 1844. French acting legend, Sarah Bernhardt, was born in Paris. She starred in some of the most popular French plays of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, appeared in theatrical tours around the world, and was one of the first actresses to make sound recordings. pic.twitter.com/6M3ZSwsalZ
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022
22 October 1877. An explosion at Blantyre mine in Scotland killed 207 miners, including a boy aged just 11. It’s thought firedamp in the pit was ignited by a naked flame and caused the huge explosion. It’s Scotland’s worst mining disaster. pic.twitter.com/q3NuQxVqaE
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022
22 October 1883. The Metropolitan Opera House held its grand opening in New York City, USA. The first season opened with a performance of Charles Gounod’s Faust, starring the Swedish soprano, Christina Nilsson. pic.twitter.com/awlThKBVZO
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022
22 October 1910. Dr Hawley Crippen was convicted of killing his wife, Cora (Belle Elmore), and sentenced to death. He tried to escape by ship to Canada with lover, Ethel Le Neve, but was caught by the captain of SS Montrose who recognised him after being alerted by a telegraph. pic.twitter.com/EBqS3rQDiX
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022
22 October 1920. Psychologist, Timothy Leary, was born in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA. He thought LSD had the potential for therapeutic use in psychiatry. He used LSD himself and thought it helped mind expansion. He popularised the catchphrase “turn on, tune in, drop out”. pic.twitter.com/HbFJuNb7qN
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022
22 October 1923. Manchester City goalkeeping legend, Bert Trautmann, was born in Bremen, Germany. He played for Man City between 1949 to 1964, making 508 League appearances. He famously played on in the 1956 FA Cup Final despite breaking his neck during the match (pictured). pic.twitter.com/5oQgLbBIvs
— Prof. Frank McDonough (@FXMC1957) October 22, 2022