Today in History

9th October

1779 A group of English textile workers in Manchester rebelled against the introduction of machinery which threatened their skilled craft. This was the first of many Luddite riots to take place. The word ‘Luddites’ refers to British weavers and textile workers who objected to the introduction of mechanised looms and knitting frames.

1799 The sinking of HMS Lutine off the coast of Holland, with the loss of 240 men. The ship's bell was salvaged from the wreck and was later presented to shipping insurers Lloyds of London. The Lutine Bell has been rung ever since to mark a marine disaster.

1955 Three armed men raided a Turkish bath in London, but the well heeled customers were wearing very little clothing, and the robbers' total haul was only £7.

1962 Uganda proclaimed its independence from Britain.
 
On This Day In History, October 10th

2010 The Country of Netherlands Antilles is Dissolved
The Caribbean Dutch dependency, also sometimes known as the Dutch Antilles, was formed in 1954. The dissolution came after a series of referendums to become independent states within the Kingdom of the Netherlands were passed on the Islands of Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, and Saba.

1970 Fijian independence
The South Pacific Ocean island country had been ruled by the British since 1874. Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara became the first prime minister of independent Fiji.

1967 Outer Space Treaty is Enforced
Also known as the Treaty on Principles Governing the Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, it regulated the exploration and use of outer space and created the field of international space law. The treaty declared that outer space and all celestial bodies were the common heritage of mankind and could not be claimed by any one nation.

1964 The Tokyo Summer Olympics Begin
93 countries participated in the first Olympics to be held in Asia. As a tribute to the horrors of the Second World War, Yoshinori Sakai, who was born in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, the day an atomic bomb destroyed the city, was chosen as the torchbearer to light the Olympic flame during the opening. The Tokyo Olympics was also the first Olympic Games that used satellites - Syncom 3 in the United States and Relay 1 in Europe - to telecast the games. Some of the games were also broadcast in colour for the first time.

1933 United Airlines Boeing 247 explosion
In one of the oldest unsolved cases in aviation history, the airplane which was flying from Newark, New Jersey to Oakland California exploded mid-air and crashed near Chesterton, Indiana. All 7 passengers and crew members died in the incident. To this day, it is not known what and who caused the explosion.
 

Births On This Day, October 10th 🎂

1979 Mýa
American singer-songwriter, producer, dancer, actress

1969 Brett Favre
American football player

1930 Harold Pinter
English playwright, screenwriter, director, actor, Nobel Prize laureate

1861 Fridtjof Nansen
Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate

1813 Giuseppe Verdi
Italian composer

Deaths On This Day, October 10th 🪦

2010 Solomon Burke
American singer-songwriter

2009 Stephen Gately
Irish singer-songwriter, dancer, actor

2004 Christopher Reeve
American actor

1985 Orson Welles
American actor, director, producer, screenwriter

1875 Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Russian poet, author, playwright
 
10th October

680 Caliph Yazid kills his rival Hussein at Karbala. Hussein's martyrdom makes the city holy to Shiites.

1961 Following a volcanic eruption, the entire population of the South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha was evacuated to Britain.

1970: Canadian minister seized by gunmen. Quebec's Labour and Immigration Minister, Pierre Laporte, was kidnapped. Laporte was abducted by members of the Front de Libération du Québec Chénier cell while he was outside playing football with a nephew on his front lawn. Armed with guns, FLQ members pulled up to Laporte's home on Montreal's south shore and forced him into the backseat of their car.

1975 Elizabeth Taylor got married for the 6th time. She re-married British actor Richard Burton at a remote location in Botswana. They divorced the following year.

1996 A Scottish fisherman found a message in a bottle. It had been thrown in the North Sea in 1914 to chart the currents.
 
1865
John Wesley Hyatt patents the billiard ball made from cellulose nitrate in Albany, NY
1903
British suffragette, Emmeline Pankhurst forms Women's Social and political Union to fight for women's rights in Britain
1933
Proctor&Gamble's 1st synthetic detergent' Dreft' goes on sale
1957
a fire at Windcastle nuclear plant in Cambridge, England becomes the world's 1st major nuclear accident
1973
U.S. Vice President, Spiro Agnew resigns after pleading no contest in allegations of tax fraud
2009
After being closed for nearly 200 yrs,Armenia&Turkey sign documents in Zurich to open their borders
 
On This Day In History, October 11th

2000 100th Mission of NASA’s Space Shuttle Program
Also known as the Space Transportation System or STS, the program was the first in the world to employ reusable spacecraft to take people into outer space. The first flight of the space shuttle fleet, which included Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour took place on April 12, 1981. The 100th flight was on space shuttle Discovery and the mission was designated STS-92. It was the 30th time Discovery had flown into space.

1984 First American Woman to walk in Space
Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan undertook a 3.5-hour long spacewalk with fellow astronaut David Leestma while on the Space Shuttle Challenger mission STS-41-G. The spacewalk was performed to demonstrate the possibility of refuelling a satellite. STS-41-G was the first flight mission to carry two women astronauts - Sullivan and Sally Ride.

1975 The First Episode of Saturday Night Live Airs
A popular sketch comedy show, SNL, as it is popularly known, was initially called NBC's Saturday Night, and it was created and produced by Lorne Michaels. The original cast members of the show, which usually opens with the slogan “Live from New York, it's Saturday Night!”, included Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, and Chevy Chase.

1911 Wuchang Uprising
The Wuchang Uprising occurred in Wuchang, China, leading to the fall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China. This day is celebrated as an important holiday in Taiwan.

1899 Second Boer War Begins
The almost 3-year long conflict was fought between British and Irish troops and the Boers from the Transvaal and Orange Free State. The war began as a result of disagreements between the two sides over the ownership of gold and diamond mines in the region. The two countries were annexed by the British at the end of the war in May 1902. The word Boer is the Afrikaans word for farmer and it was used at that time to refer to Afrikaans-speaking settlers in the region.
 
Births On This Day, October 11th 🎂

1989 Michelle Wie
American golfer

1942 Amitabh Bachchan
Indian actor

1937 Bobby Charlton
English footballer

1884 Eleanor Roosevelt
American politician, humanitarian, 34th First Lady of the United States

1739 Grigory Potemkin
Russian military leader, politician

Deaths On This Day, October 11th 🪦

2008 Jörg Haider
Austrian politician, Governor of Carinthia

2004 Keith Miller
Australian cricketer, pilot

1963 Édith Piaf
French singer-songwriter, actress

1896 Anton Bruckner
Austrian composer

1531 Huldrych Zwingli
Swiss pastor, theologian
 
1881
David Houston patents roll film for cameras
1929
JC Penney opens dept store in Milford, Delaware making it a nationwide company in all 48 U.S. states
1950
FCC{Federal Communications Commission} issues its 1st license to broadcast in color to CBS
1975
Saturday Night Live{SNL} created by TV producer, Lorne Michaels debuts on NBC The 1st host, comedian, George Carlin. The original cast members known as' Not Ready For Prime Time Players:
Chevy Chase{he left after 1st yr}, Jane Curtin, Gildna Radner, Dan Aykroyd,John Belushi, Garrett Morris, Laraine Newman
2002
Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to ex U.S. President, Jimmy Carter for his untiring efforts to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts,and to promote economic and social development
2018
the world's new longest flight flies from Singapore to Newark Airport in New Jersey,took 17 hrs, 52 min
 
Oct 12th:
1901
Pres Theodore Roosevelt renames the 'Executive Mansion' to 'The White House'
1931
Christ the Redeemer statue opens standing 98ft{30 meters} on top of Mt Corcovado overlooking Rio de Janerio
1960
at the United Nations General Assembly session, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe on his desk
1979
Typhoon Tip becomes the most intense tropical cyclone ever recorded,peak sustained winds at 190mph
1999
the 6th billion living human in the world is born. Adnan Melvic was born in Sarajevo,Bosnia-Herzegovina
2019
California becomes the 1st state to pass a law banning the sale&manufacture of new fur products
 
On This Day In History, October 13th

2012 Mauritanian President injured
Mauritanian President Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz was shot at and injured. Oficial reports suggest that he was mistakenly shot by the military.

2010 Chilean Miners Rescued
The last of the miners trapped in the San José copper-gold mine in Copiapó, Chile, were rescued after 69 days. The ordeal began on August 5, 2010, when the walls of the 121-year-old mine collapsed and trapped 33 miners. All of the miners were rescued safely by the Chilean government with the help of the international community.

1958 Paddington Bear Makes His Debut
The popular children’s literature character first appeared in English author Michael Bond's illustrated book, A Bear Called Paddington. Paddington is a polite Peruvian spectacle bear with a special fondness for marmalade. The success of the first book was followed by 20 more books featuring the lovable bear and a successful toy franchise.

1792 Construction of the White House Begins
The office and residence of the President of the United States was designed by Irish architect James Hoban. It took 8 years for it to become livable and President John Adams became the first president to occupy the building on November 1, 1800.

1773 First Spiral Galaxy Discovered
French astronomer, Charles Messier, discovered the Whirlpool Galaxy. Also known as Messier 51a, the galaxy is about 30 million light-years from Earth. A spiral galaxy is a type of galaxy where stars, gasses, and other cosmic dust particles rotate or revolve in a spiral around a central bulge. Astronomers think that the bulge consists of a black hole.
 
Births On This Day, October 13th 🎂

1982 Ian Thorpe
Australian swimmer

1973 Matt Hughes
American mixed martial artist

1971 Sacha Baron Cohen
English comedian, actor, screenwriter

1941 Paul Simon
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer

1925 Margaret Thatcher
English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

Deaths On This Day, October 13th 🪦

1987 Kishore Kumar
Indian singer, actor

1911 Sister Nivedita
Irish social worker, author, teacher

1812 Isaac Brock
English army officer

1282 Nichiren
Japanese monk

54 Claudius
Roman Emperor
 
13th October

1399 Henry IV (the first King of the House of Lancaster) was crowned king of England.

1884 Greenwich was voted the universal meridian of longitude by an international conference in Washington, US.

1940 Princess Elizabeth, aged 14, (later Queen Elizabeth II), made her first radio broadcast to child evacuees.

1954 Chris Chataway, the 23-year-old Oxford blue, broke the 5,000 metres world record by five seconds in what has been described as one of the most remarkable races seen on a British track.

1971 The British Army blew up border roads in Northern Ireland to crack down on IRA gun-running.

2014 176 people took part in the 48th World Conker Championships at Southwick, in Northamptonshire. Competitors came from overseas, including the United States, Mexico, and Italy. John Doyle, a computer programmer from Leamington Spa, was crowned world champion. Stephanie Withall, a beekeeper from Burton Latimer, was runner-up.

2016 Queen Elizabeth II became the world's longest-reigning monarch following the death of Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
 
On This Day In History, October 14th

1994 Two Israelis and a Palestinian Share the Nobel Peace Prize
The Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres shared the Nobel Peace Prize, which is annually awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo, with the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat. The Award was given out to the two parties for their efforts and work on the Oslo Accords, a series of agreements between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. The Accords created the Palestinian Authority and made it the official governing body to interact with Israel on issues that affect the lives of Palestinians in Israel.

1984 Joseph Kittinger Starts on his Solo Gas Balloon Flight Across the Atlantic
4 days later, on September 18, Kittinger became the first person to traverse the Atlantic in a balloon called the Balloon of Peace. As a member of the US Armed Forces, Kittinger jumped from a height of 102,800 feet on August 16, 1960, becoming the first person ever to jump from that height.

1947 First Human to Fly Faster than the Speed of Sound
American Air Force test pilot, Chuck Yeager, flew the Bell X-1, an experimental aircraft at Mach 1.07 at an altitude of 45,000 ft. In doing so, he became the first person to break the sound barrier.

1926 Winnie-the-Pooh Makes his Literary Debut
The popular children’s book character was created by British author A.A. Milne and first appeared in a collection of short stories called Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie, a teddy bear, lives in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England. The book follows his adventures in the forest with his friends Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and Eeyore.

1913 Senghenydd Colliery Disaster
In what is considered to be one of the worst mine disasters in recorded history, 440 people were killed when an explosion ripped through the Senghenydd coal mine in Wales.
 
Births On This Day, October 14th 🎂

1978 Usher
American singer-songwriter, dancer, actor

1930 Mobutu Sese Seko
Congolese politician, President of Zaire

1906 Hannah Arendt
German/American theorist, philosopher

1644 William Penn
English businessman, founder of Pennsylvania

1542 Akbar
Mughal Emperor

Deaths On This Day, October 14th 🪦

2012 Arlen Specter
American politician

1990 Leonard Bernstein
American conductor, pianist, composer

1977 Bing Crosby
American singer, actor

1959 Errol Flynn
Australian actor

1944 Erwin Rommel
German field marshal
 
On This Day In History, October 15th

2003 Shenzhou 5, China's first human space flight mission launched
Launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in the middle of the Gobi desert in northern China, this launch brought the Chinese into the exclusive club of countries that have achieved manned space flight. The other countries are the USA and the Soviet Union/Russia.

1990 Mikhail Gorbachev is Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
The then President of the Soviet Union received the prestigious award given out by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, for his role in lessening tensions during the Cold War.

1987 Thomas Sankara killed
Thomas Sankara, the President of Burkina Faso, was killed during a coup led by Blaise Compaoré.

1951 I Love Lucy Airs for the First Time
The American sitcom aired on CBS and featured real-life couple Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The popular show lasted for 6 years and it had several spin-offs after it went off air.

1783 World’s First Manned Balloon Flight
Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier, a teacher from France, spent about 4 minutes in the air in a balloon made by flight pioneers Joseph-Michael and Jacques-Ètienne Montgolfier. The Montgolfier brothers were responsible for the world’s first balloon flight and for sending the first living being – a duck – on a balloon.
 
Births On This Day, October 15th 🎂

1938 Fela Kuti
Nigerian singer-songwriter, musician, activist

1931 A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
Indian scientist, politician, 11th President of India

1926 Michel Foucault
French philosopher

1881 P. G. Wodehouse
English author

1844 Friedrich Nietzsche
German philosopher

Deaths On This Day, October 15th 🪦

1964 Cole Porter
American composer

1959 Stepan Bandera
Ukrainian politician

1946 Hermann Göring
German military leader, politician, Minister-President of Prussia

1917 Mata Hari
Dutch spy

1817 Tadeusz Kościuszko
Polish/American general
 
On This Day In History, October 16th

1986 First Person to Scale all Eight-Thousanders
Italian Mountaineer, Reinhold Messner, scaled the Lhotse, in Nepal. It is the world’s 4th tallest peak, and it is one of the 14 eight-thousanders – mountains that are more than 8000 meters above sea level.

1978 First Non-Italian to Win the Papacy since 1523
Karol Józef Wojtyła, the Archbishop of Kraków, won the papal elections that were held after his predecessor Pope John Paul I died after only 33 days in office. As Pope, Wojtyła took on the name of John Paul II. He was the second-longest serving pope in modern history, after Pope Pius IX, who was in office for over 31 years.

1964 First Chinese Nuclear Test
Codenamed Chic-1 or 596, the 22-kiloton uranium fission device was dropped at Lop Nur. With this test, China became the fifth nuclear power state in the World. The other four are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, and France. Israel is thought to have nuclear weapons, however, they do not publicly admit the fact.

1945 Food and Agriculture Organization established
The Food and Agriculture Organization, popularly known as the FAO was established in Quebec City, Canada.

1923 The Walt Disney Company is Founded
A leader in the international entertainment industry, the company was created by brothers Walt and Roy as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio. Today, the company is synonymous with cartoon and animated movies and characters.
 
Births On This Day, October 16th 🎂

1977 John Mayer
American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer

1974 Paul Kariya
Canadian ice hockey player

1925 Angela Lansbury
English/American actress, singer

1888 Eugene O'Neill
American playwright, Nobel Prize laureate

1886 David Ben-Gurion
Israeli politician, 1st Prime Minister of Israel


Deaths On This Day, October 16th 🪦

2011 Dan Wheldon
English race car driver

1981 Moshe Dayan
Israeli general, politician, 5th Minister of Foreign Affairs for Israel)

1951 Liaquat Ali Khan
Indian/Pakistani lawyer, politician, Prime Minister of Pakistan

1793 Marie Antoinette
Austrian wife of Louis XVI of France

1791 Grigory Potemkin
Russian military leader, politician
 
1847
Charlotte Bronte's novel'Jane Eyre' is published
1916
nurse, Margaret Sanger opens the 1st U.S. birth control clinic in Brooklyn, NY
1946
10 Nazi leaders are hanged as war criminals after the Nuremburg War trials
1968
at the Mexico City Summer Olympic Games, 2 U.S sprinters, Tommie Smith&John Carlos famously give the Black Power salute on the 200 medal podium to protest racism&injustice against African Americans
1987
18 month old, "Baby Jessica" McClure was rescued 58hrs after falling& being trapped in a 22 inch abandoned water well in her aunt's backyard in Midland,TX. She suffered a cut to her head, later had a toe amputated due to infection. She has no memory of her ordeal. Today she is married with 2 children
2023
Amazon's largest tributary'The ***** River' records its lowest ever level confirming the rain forest is in the midst of a significant drought
 
On This Day In History, October 17th

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake Rocks California
Santa Cruz County was the most affected by the 6.9 magnitude earthquake. About 60 people died as a result of falling buildings and landslides. It was the first major earthquake on the San Andreas fault since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

1973 OPEC Declares Oil Embargo
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries or OPEC led by Arab countries declared an oil embargo on any country that supported Israel during the Yom Kippur War, which was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states. The embargo led to a massive oil shortage and had long-lasting economic effects in the United States and Europe. The embargo was lifted in March 1974.

1956 Bobby Fischer Wins the Game of the Century
The chess match between 13-year-old Fischer and Donald Byrne took place at the Marshall Chess Club in New York City.

1861 Cullin-la-Ringo Massacre
In what is thought to be the largest massacre of white settlers by Australian aborigines, the killings occurred after a group of settlers from Victoria led by politician Horatio Wills, set up a camp at Cullin-la-Ringo, which is located in present-day Central Queensland. 19 people were killed during the massacre.

1814 London Beer Flood
Vats of beer at the Meux and Company Brewery burst, flooding city streets with 610,000 litres of beer. The almost 15-foot-tall wave of porter killed 8 people, some of whom were gathered for a funeral.
 
Births On This Day, October 17th 🎂

1979 Kimi Räikkönen
Finnish race car driver

1972 Eminem
American rapper, producer, actor

1918 Rita Hayworth
American actress, dancer

1912 Pope John Paul I

1817 Syed Ahmad Khan
Indian educator, politician


Deaths On This Day, October 17 🪦

1967 Puyi
Emperor of China

1965 Bart King
American cricketer

1937 J. Bruce Ismay
English businessman

1868 Laura Secord
Canadian war heroine

1849 Frédéric Chopin
Polish pianist, composer
 
On This Day In History, October 18th

2007 Benazir Bhutto returns to Pakistan
The former Prime Minister of Pakistan and daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the 9th PM of Pakistan, Benazir returned to Pakistan after living 8 years in London and Dubai in self-imposed exile. Two months later she was assassinated in a bombing while campaigning for the forthcoming elections.


1967 First Space Probe to Enter the Atmosphere of Another Planet
The Soviet Probe Venera 4 entered Venus’ atmosphere and sent back information to Earth for about 90 minutes before it lost contact. When Venera 7 landed on Venus a few years later, it became the first probe to land on another planet.

1867 Alaska Becomes a Part of the United States
US had purchased the large and sparsely populated territory of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million. The purchase was not seen as a positive acquirement by many American citizens who believed that adding Alaska to the US’s territory was a waste of taxpayers’ money. Many called the act, Seward's folly after Secretary of State William H. Seward, who was responsible for making the purchase. Alaska was admitted to the Union as a state in 1959. October 18 is annually celebrated as Alaska Day in Alaska.

1851 Moby Dick is Published for the First Time
The epic written by American novelist, Herman Melville, is about a sailor's obsession with tracking down and killing an elusive whale that took his leg in a previous encounter. The book was published as The Whale in London for the first time and then a month later as Moby Dick in the United States. It is thought to be one of the best works of fiction written in modern times.
 


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