I'm pretty proud that I have, so far, stuck to my commitment to post every day of October - Family History Month. But, I must admit, I'm running short on ideas! Today, I'm posting a few significant events that happened on this date throughout the years. I ran the "On this Date" report from my RootsMagic genealogy software. There were a lot more entries. I just picked out ones that appealed to me.
Famous Births
1811 - Isaac Singer, American inventor (d. 1875) (I own an antique treadle-operated Singer sewing machine!)
1858 - Theodore Roosevelt, 26th President of the United States, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1919)
1873 - Emily Post, American etiquette author (d. 1960)
1896 - Edith Brown, survivor of the Titanic (d. 1997)
1920 - Nanette Fabray, American actress
1939 - John Cleese, British actor and writer
1940 - John Gotti, American crime boss (d. 2002)
1984 - Kelly Osbourne, English television personality
Famous Deaths
1990 - Xavier Cugat, Spanish-born musician (Born 1900)
1996 - Morey Amsterdam, American actor (Born 1908)
Historical Events
1275 - Traditional founding of the city of Amsterdam. (Interesting because we're traveling there this summer!)
1682 - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is founded.
1810 - United States annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida.
1838 - Missouri governor Lilburn Boggs issues the Extermination Order, which orders all Mormons to leave the state or be exterminated.(Wow! I never knew that!!)
1904 - The first underground New York City Subway line opens; the system becomes the biggest in United States, and one of the biggest in world.
1936 - Mrs Wallis Simpson files for divorce which would eventually allow her to marry King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, thus forcing his abdication from the throne.
1944 - World War II: German forces capture Banska Bystrica during Slovak National Uprising thus bringing it to an end.
1953 - British nuclear test Totem 2 is carried out at Emu Field, South Australia.
1954 - Benjamin O. Davis Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.
1961 - NASA launches the first Saturn I rocket in Mission Saturn-Apollo 1.
1967 - Catholic priest Philip Berrigan and others of the Baltimore Four protest the Vietnam War by pouring blood on Selective Service records. (again - wow)
1973 - The Canon City meteorite, a 1.4 kg chondrite type meteorite, strikes in Fremont County, Colorado.
1988 - Ronald Reagan decides to tear down the new U.S. Embassy in Moscow because of Soviet listening devices in the building structure.
1992 - United States Navy radioman Allen R. Schindler, Jr. is brutally murdered by shipmate Terry M. Helvey for being gay, precipitating first military, then national, debate about gays in the military that resulted in the United States "Don't ask, don't tell" military policy.
1994 - The U.S. prison population tops 1 million for the first time in American history.
1997 - October 27, 1997 mini-crash: Stock markets around the world crash because of fears of a global economic meltdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 554.26 points to 7,161.15.
2004 - The Boston Red Sox win the World Series for the first time in 86 years. (Hope my husband, the Yankee fan, doesn't read this!)
Family Events
1918 - Burial: Ralph Samuels (my second cousin - four times removed)
2007 - Death: James A. Hardy - Jim is the father of Matt Hardy, the wonderful man who is married to our eldest daughter, Caitlin. Today, therefore, marks the 10th anniversary of his death. Had I not decided to do this post, I would have had no idea of the importance of this day. Jim died after battling colon cancer. If you want to do something really important today, consider making a donation to cancer research. And - if you're of a "certain age" be sure to make and keep those important preventative test appointments.
On the lighter side - a fun gift idea would be to use these "On This Day" facts to create
personalized birthday cards! Here are a few websites with date lists:
