October
Epicot Center in Orlando, Fla. opened, 1982.
In a letter to a friend, Mark Twain described one of his kittens snuggling "in the corner pocket of the billard table," 1908.
Mahatma Gandhi, leader of the Indian independence movement was born, 1869. Mahatma means "Great Souled."
The Peanuts comic strip first appeared, 1950.
Mrs. W.H. Felton becaem the first female U.S. senator, 1922.
* It's the birthday of etiquette expert Emily Post, born in Baltimore, Maryland (1873). She started her writing career for financial reasons. Her husband had lost his fortune in a great stock panic. After this, he and Post divorced, and she had to raise her two daughters by herself. At first she was a novelist, but after fifteen years, her publisher convinced her to write an etiquette manual. She refused, because she thought that she knew nothing about etiquette and because she hated etiquette books. Then she read one of the books that had been published, and thought that it was completely wrong. So she wrote her own. Post's first etiquette manual was published in 1922. It was titled Etiquette in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home. She continued to write manuals for "high society" until 1960. In addition to her books, Post wrote a syndicated newspaper column that was carried by over two hundred newspapers. She said, "Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use." (94)
* It's the birthday of English veterinarian and author James Herriot, born James Alfred Wight in Sunderland, England (1916). His two works were published together in the United States as All Creatures Great and Small (1972). The book became a bestseller, and Herriot became a famous author.
President Ronald Reagan dedicated the cornerstone of the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, 1988.
The first full-length talking movie, The Jazz Singer, was released, 1927.
9th grader Ray Bateman, Jr., presented a medical paper to the American Federation for Clinical Reserarch, 1988.
It's the birthday of R(obert) L(awrence) Stine, born in Columbus, Ohio (1943).
The New York Yankees' Don Larson pitched history's only World Series perfect game, 1956: no runs, no hits, no errors, no walks.
On this day in 1956, the first fully enclosed, climate-controlled shopping mall in the United States opened in Edina, Minnesota. It was called Southdale, and cost $20 million to build. There were two levels, filled with 72 stores and anchored on both ends by department stores—Dayton's and Donaldson's. In the center was the Garden Court, decorated with brightly colored song birds, art displays, decorative lighting, tropical plants, fountains, trees and flowers. The goal was to create an atmosphere of leisure and inspire people to mingle, like in a European marketplace. The mall offered a helicopter service to customers—a ten-minute ride between Southdale and the airport, downtown St. Paul, or the Dayton's in downtown Minneapolis.
On this day in 1871, the 335,000 residents of Chicago experienced yet another warm, sunny day of their three month long drought. The conditions were getting dangerous because the whole city was built of wood. A few fires had broken out, including one the night before, which the whole fire department was called out for. But it was nothing like the Great Chicago Fire, which began the evening of October 8, at 8:45 PM. The fire broke out at the barn of two Irish immigrants, Catherine and Patrick O'Leary, on the West Side. The story is that Mrs. O'Leary's cow kicked over a kerosene lamp while she was being milked. A massive conflagration spread. The fire traveled quickly on the West Side, but the people on the other side of the Chicago River felt safe in their beds. By midnight, though, it had jumped the river and was traveling northeast and upriver. It traveled up to 30 mph at times, and generated "fire devils," whirling masses of fire and superheated air that traveled even faster than the fire itself. The fire devils caused high winds that sent burning planks and other fiery items soaring for hundreds of yards through the air. The intense heat caused spontaneous combustion in places not yet reached by the fire. People were running out of their houses and running north. Some people took as many belongings as they could. They ran holding cats, dogs and goats. One eyewitness saw a lady running with a pot of soup that was spilling all over her dress. Another woman was carrying her framed wedding veil and wreath. By the next morning, the heart of the business district was in flames. By October 10, more than three square miles in the heart of the city were completely destroyed The property damages were $200 million. Almost 100,000 people were homeless, and nearly 300 were dead. It was more than 24 hours later, and four and a half miles from where it started, that the fire finally ran out of fuel and rain came.
But Chicago was determined to rebuild itself. One editorialist wrote, "All our energies are aroused, all our faculties at work, all our brains alive, and when a community is thus awoke to a determined and united purpose—only the angels can transcend their power." After eighteen months had passed, more than 1,000 major buildings, valued at more than $50 million, had been erected. Two years after the fire, the value of the bare ground of the new Chicago was worth more than it had been in 1871 with all its buildings. Between 1870 and 1880, the population rose from 300,000 to 500,000. Then it more than doubled by the turn of the century.
On the same day as the Great Chicago Fire, the worst natural fire in U.S. history occurred. A fire with a lot less press coverage ravaged the city of Peshtigo, Wisconsin. It was a lumber town, surrounded by pines, and it provided much of the wood used to build and rebuild Chicago. The fire ruined more than one million acres of forest there, and killed about 1,500 people. A mass grave of 350 unidentified bodies still remains.
Norse adventurer Leif Eriksson landed in what is now North America, 1002.
Children's author James Marshall was born, 1942.
Dimitrion Yordanidis of Greece became the oldest man to complete a marathon, 1976. He was 98.
Theodore Roosevelt became the first president to fly in an airplane, 1910.
The Continental Congress established the Department of the Navy, 1775.
3,000 teddy bears were airlifted to South America, 1988.
The 50th anniversary celebration of The Wizzard of Oz begins in Liberal, Kan. (89)
e.e. cummings' Birthday. This poet used unusual punctuation. wHat woUld haPPen IF there WERE no punctuatioN rules??
Helen Hunt Jackson, an author who fought for the rights of Native Americans, was born, 1830.
The first surgical operation using ether as an anesthetic was performed in Massachusetts, 1846.
Misha Bear and Mickey Mouse entertained children in Moscow, 1988.
Albert Einstein arrived in the U.S. as a refugee from Nazi Germany, 1933.
The first long-distance telephone line from New York City to Chicago, began operation, 1892.
In Canada, the courts ruled women are entitled to right and privileges, 1929. Previously, English common law had ssaid, "Women are persons in matters of pains and penalities but are not persons in matters of rights and privileges."
Reggie Jackson became the first baseball player to hit three consecutive home runs in a World Series game, 1977.
Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell advised presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln to grow a beard, 1860.
The Earl of Sandwich creator of the sandwich, told friends in London, "Sandwiches should be eaten with a civilized swallow, not a barbarous bolt," 1744.
To prepare for winter, the porcupine's underfur starts to thicken.
Chester Carlson invented the copying machine, 1938.
Hungary declared its independence form the Soviet Union, 1989. 25,000 women
The first transcontinental telegram was sent from San Francisco to New York City, 1861. The United Nations was formally established, 1945. United Nations, Public Information, New York, NY 10017. Anton van Leeuwenhoek, "the Father of the Microscope," was born, 1632.
Susan Lynn Roley and Joanne E. Pierce became the first female FBI agents, 1972.
Steven Kellogg, who illustrate The Day Jimmy's Boa Ate the Wash and retold and illustrated tall tales about Pecos Bill, Johnny Appleseed, and other historic characters was born, 1941.
Helped by local Eskimos, two trapped whales reacher open sea, 1988.
The New York city subway, the world's first underground and underwater rail system, began operation, 1904.
Statue of Liberty dedicated in 1886. Can you guess how wide Lady Liberty's mouth is?
Daylight saving time ends. (89)
Henry VII, the English king, started a group of royal attendants, called yeomen of the guard, 1485. Later, they became known as beefeaters.
National UNICEF Day (89)
18. (94) e.g. octagon, octopod, octopus, octet, octave.
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