Today in History: October

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1	1800 - France gained Louisiana from Spain in the Treaty of San Ildefonso. 1908 - The Ford Model-T car premiered on the market. 1971 - Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida.

2	1958 - Guinea became independent.

3	1929 - Yugoslavia became the new name of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. 1990 - Germany reunified.

4	1957 - The Sputnik satellite was launched by the Soviet Union.

5	1877 - Surrender of Chief Joseph to the U.S. Army 1910 - Portugal became a republic.

6	1927 - World's First Full-Length Sound Film,The Jazz Singer Starring Al Jolson, Released 1973 - Start of the Yom Kippur War

7	1765 - First Meeting of the Stamp Act Congress 1949 - Formation of East Germany

8	1871 - Start of the Great Fire of Chicago

9	1635 - Roger Williams Banished from Massachusetts Bay Colony 1967 - Execution of Che Guevara in Bolivia

10	1845 - Opening of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland 1911 - Qing (Manchu) Dynasty Overthrown in China 1970 - Fiji Independent 2001 - Representative Nancy Pelosi (Democrat, California) Became Minority Whip

11	1899 - Start of South Africa's Boer War 1962 - Pope John XXIII Convened the First Session of Vatican II

12	1492 - Bahamas Reached by Christopher Columbus 2000 - Terrorist Attack of the U.S.S. Cole in Yemen

13	1792 - White House Cornerstone Laid 1943 - Italy Declared War on Germany (World War II)

14	1066 - Battle of Hastings in the Norman Conquest of England 1947 - Charles "Chuck" Yeager Traveled Faster Than the Speed of Sound 1964 - Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

15	1914 - Congress Passed the Clayton Antitrust Act 1951 - Television Premiere of I Love Lucy 1966 - Creation of the U.S. Department of Transportation 1993 - F.W. de Klerk and Nelson Mandela Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

16	1793 - Marie Antoinette Guillotined in Paris, France 1916 - First Birth-Control Clinic Opened by Margaret Sanger in New York City

17	1777 - Surrender of British General Burgoyne (American Revolutionary War) 1979 - Mother Theresa of Calcutta Awarded Nobel Peace Prize

18	1685 - Edict of Nantes Revoked by Louis XIV 1767 - Mason-Dixon Line Established 1867 - United States Acquired Alaska

19	1781 - Surrender of British General Cornwallis (American Revolutionary War)

20	1803 - Louisiana Purchase Ratified by the Senate 1968 - Marriage of Jacqueline Bouvier-Kennedy and Aristotle Onassis

21	1797 - Launching of the U.S.S. Constitution, Also Known As "Old Ironsides" 1805 - The Battle of Trafalgar was fought off the coast of Spain. 1959 - Opening of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City

22	1836 - Sam Houston Became the First President of Texas

23	1915 - 25,000-Strong Suffragette March in New York City 1946 - First Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York

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1648 - Signing of the Peace of Westphalia 1931 - Opening of the George Washington Bridge between New Jersey and New York 1940 - Start of the 40-Hour Work Week, Mandated under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 1945 - Official Start of the United Nations 2005 - Death of Civil Rights Activist Rosa Parks

25	1415 - Battle of Agincourt 1760 - Coronation of Great Britain's George III 1983 - United States Invasion of Grenada

26	1825 - Opening of the Erie Canal 1881 - Shoot-Out at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona, Involving Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp

27	1787 - Publication of the First of the Federalist Papers 1904 - Opening of the New York City Subway (IRT)

28	1793 - Patent Granted for Eli Whitney's Cotton Gin 1886 - Dedication of the Statue of Liberty 1919 - Volstead Act (National Prohibition Act) Passed by Congress 1940 - Invasion of Greece by Italy (World War II)

29	1682 - Arrival of William Penn in Pennsylvania 1923 - Turkey Proclaimed a Republic 1929 - "Black Tuesday" Stock Market Crash (Great Depression) 1966 - Founding of the National Organization for Women (NOW)

30	1534 - Henry VIII Became Head of the English Church When Parliament Passed the Act of Supremacy 1938 - Orson Welles Broadcast of The War of the Worlds 1953 - General George C. Marshall Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize

31	1517 - Martin Luther sparked the Protestant Reformation by posting his 95 Theses. 1864 - Nevada became a U.S. state. HALLOWEEN

October is marked by numerous significant historical events. On October 1, 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the founding of the People's Republic of China, a pivotal moment in 20th-century history that reshaped global geopolitics. The Cuban Missile Crisis, one of the most critical Cold War confrontations, began on October 16, 1962, when U.S. reconnaissance discovered Soviet missiles in Cuba, bringing the world to the brink of nuclear war. In the realm of exploration, October 12, 1492, is celebrated as the day Christopher Columbus first arrived in the Americas, an event that dramatically altered the course of history. On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite, igniting the space race and marking a significant advancement in space exploration. Additionally, October 31 is widely celebrated as Halloween, a cultural event with origins in ancient Celtic festivals. Another notable event is the signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on October 10, 1996, aiming to end nuclear explosions for testing purposes. These events highlight October as a month rich in historical milestones that have had lasting impacts on global history and culture.

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