Halloween Has a Haunted History (GLV Article)

 

I recently wrote another article for the Guardian Liberty Voice. This one continues my tradition of exploring the history of certain holidays.

This time, obviously, the focus was on Halloween, which I think is appropriate for this time of the year.

Here is the link, and I do hope that you take a look! If not, the text of the article nonetheless can be found below:

Halloween Has a Haunted History:

http://guardianlv.com/2015/10/halloween-has-a-haunted-history-video/

Halloween has grown as a major holiday so fast that it is downright spooky. It is the second biggest holiday for decorations, trailing only Christmas, and ne fourth of the candy sold in the United States os for Halloween. With Americans this year expected to spend fully $6.9 billion on the holiday, Halloween has become big business. The average American will spend up to $75 to celebrate the holiday, which for many will include decoration, costumes, parties, and giving candy away to children tracking through their neighborhoods while trick or treating.

It may surprise people to find out that many of these traditions that people have long associated with Halloween are not nearly as old as popularly believed, although the roots of the holiday stretch back to ancient times. What eventually would become our modern Halloween is over two thousand years old, tracing back to a couple of festivals - Sahmain and All Saints Day.

The Celtic festival of Sahmain came before Christianity. Literally translated from Gaelic, Samhain which was the term for the end of the summer. Back then, Celts lived in Ireland, Britain, and northwestern France, and this festival was widely celebrated. They would collect their earnings from farming, and would bring their animals in for the cold season to come. However, this time of the changing of the seasons was also popularly believed to possess supernatural powers. It was held on November 1, although it was believed that the night before Sahmain was a night when the world of the living and the world of the dead mixed. People would leave food and wine outside of their homes in hopes of preventing ghosts from coming in. Also, when people ventured out on such nights, they would wear masks in order to resemble ghosts.

In the eight century, Christians eliminated Sahmain and replaced it with All Saints Day, which was moved from mid-May to November by order of Pope Gregory III. This was done in an effort to eradicate the  pagan roots of this popular autumn festival. Despite this, All Saints Day, which was also known as All Hallows Mass and Hallowmas, never was fully divorced from the former autumn festival that it was meant to replace, and the evening before, which fell on the last day of October, came to be known as All Hallows' Eve. In time, people began a new tradition to scare away evil spirits, as they burned candles and carving turnips (the predecessor of the modern tradition of carving pumpkins).

The tradition of children and adults disguising themselves on All Hallow's Eve to ward off evil spirits also continued. Many would beg for food or coins during the All Souls' Day parade in England. Some families would give them pastries known as "soul cakes" and the beggars, in turn, were asked to pray for the deceased loved ones of the family giving the cakes. This may have been the origins of the modern "trick or treat" tradition that has become common on Halloween.

Ironically, despite Halloween having at least partial roots from the Christian tradition, the relationship between Halloween and Christians has often been complicated. October 31 happens to have been the day that Martin Luther essentially started the protestant Reformation in Wittenberg, Germany, in 1517, when he nailed his 95 Theses to a door. Most of the early Christians groups that came to America , greatly influenced by the Protestant Reformation and included the Pilgrims, the Puritans, the Quakers, and Baptists, rejected this holiday as pagan. Still, that ultimately did not prevent Halloween from traveling to American shores.

Halloween is a holiday that has changed greatly over the course of time. Late in the late nineteen century, many women believed that they could find out the identity of their future husbands through various means. Some of these methods involved hazelnuts, mirrors, apples, and yarn. Sometimes, a ring would be buried in food, in hopes that the one who discovered it would be moved to find real love. Also, the winner of apple bobbing competitions tended to be highly regarded as top prospects, as this was seen as a good sign. These traditions, however, generally faded over time.

It also used to have more in common with April Fool's Day, than with what most people today would consider typical of Halloween. Pranks were very common and quite popular, and some of the most popular pranks included throwing eggs at houses, opening up the gates of a farm, and making outhouses fall over. However, these tricks began to spiral out of control and become problematic, and so the focus began to emphasize the more innocent and less harmful traditions of candy and dressing up in costumes.

By Charles Bordeau

Sources:

Bustle.com: Why Do We Celebrate Halloween? 6 Facts About This Spooky Holiday's History

The Newnan Times-Herald: The history of Halloween

The Lincolnshire Echo: What is Halloween and why do we celebrate it?

Business.com: $6.9 Billion in Consumer Spending this Halloween is Spooky

NRF: The long and Short of America’s Consumer Holidays

Image courtesy of Nick Taylor's Flickr page: Pumpkin carving - Creative Commons License

Youtube video History of Halloween (The History Channel) courtesy of  Marco G

The Haunted History of Halloween

 

Years ago, this corner of the Northeast got hit with a freak snowstorm. It measured maybe a foot and half, which would normally be quite a substantial storm in it's own right. But since most of the leaves were still on the trees, they got weighted down more than usual, and many of them simply could not stand up to the storm. There were downed trees everywhere, which meant downed telephone poles and wires, as well. The roads were a mess, and many people lost quite a bit of power. I saw it, and unfortunately, had to drive through it, too. It was one of the worst storms that I've seen and had to endure, as a result. That came two days before Halloween, which was surprisingly early for such a snow storm.

But it was nothing compared to what happened in 2012, also two days before Halloween. That was when Hurricane Sandy hit. Tragedy was everywhere. People died, others lost everything. Life seemed to come to a stop for a short while. And almost nobody noticed when Halloween was officially cancelled. Hardly anyone was surprised, for that matter.

As the date neared on this year's calendar, people were half expecting something else. Some other disaster. But this year, we were spared.

So, I will take my son trick or treating later today. But it seems that this is a dying tradition.

When I was young, kids used to look forward to this holiday for a very long time! We talked about what we wanted to be this Halloween, and we loved getting all dressed up. We looked forward to trick or treating, and feeling the weight of our bags begin to increase. It was well earned, we felt!

For whatever the reason, this tradition of trick or treating for Halloween seems to be going out the window. It used to be a strong tradition that all the kids engaged in, and it would go on to the late hours. There were tons of kids, and running out of candy was a serious worry.

Now, we are lucky if we have more kids than fingers on both hands. It has grown scarce, and it seems to be the case everywhere you go, with everyone you ask.

Apparently, trick or treating is on it's way out, even though getting costumes and dressing up is hotter than ever, and a more profitable business than ever before! I heard somewhere that Halloween is only behind Christmas as the holiday that people tend to spend the most money on.

So, I thought it would be appropriate to do a blog on the history of this holiday, since I did not get a chance to do it (although I planned to) last year.

Here's a little something about the night before Halloween. In my area, we used to call it "Goosey Night", although I understand it is more often referred to as "Devil's Night" or "Mischief Night". This is when local punks throw eggs at cars and homes, or do their best to coat cars, homes, and trees with toilet paper, among other practical jokes. This, like trick or treating, seems to be dying off in recent years. Either that, or I am really not noticing these things anymore.

"It's a Jersey thing: N.J. may be the only state to call tonight 'mischief night'" by Alex Napoliello/NJ.com, published on October 30, 2013:

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/10/its_a_jersey_thing_nj_only_state_to_call_tonight_mischief_night.html?fb_action_ids=10201500253725888&fb_action_types=og.likes&fb_ref=s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like&fb_source=other_multiline&action_object_map=%7B%2210201500253725888%22%3A165797540294225%7D&action_type_map=%7B%2210201500253725888%22%3A%22og.likes%22%7D&action_ref_map=%7B%2210201500253725888%22%3A%22s%3DshowShareBarUI%3Ap%3Dfacebook-like%22%7D

A PBS link to the history of specific, Halloween-themed foods can be found by clicking on this link:

http://www.pbs.org/food/the-history-kitchen/halloween-a-foodie-history/

One page that I found fascinating, with specifics on the background history of certain popular Halloween traditions, can be found by clicking on the following link:

 http://www.halloweenishere.com/history.html

The following page, "Halloween History", can be viewed at: http://www.halloweenhistory.org/

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on the night of October 31.  The word Halloween is a shortening of All Hallows' Evening also known as Hallowe'en or All Hallows' Eve.

Traditional activities include trick-or-treating, bonfires, costume parties, visiting "haunted houses" and carving jack-o-lanterns. Irish and Scottish immigrants carried versions of the tradition to North America in the nineteenth century. Other western countries embraced the holiday in the late twentieth    century including Ireland, the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico and the United Kingdom as well as of Australia and New Zealand.

Halloween has its origins in the ancient Celtic festival known as Samhain (pronounced "sah-win").

The festival of Samhain is a celebration of the end of the harvest season in Gaelic culture. Samhain was a time used by the ancient pagans to take stock of supplies and prepare for winter. The ancient Gaels believed that on October 31, the boundaries between the worlds of the living and the dead overlapped and the deceased would come back to life and cause havoc such as sickness or damaged crops.

The festival would frequently involve bonfires. It is believed that the fires attracted insects to the area which attracted bats to the area. These are additional attributes of the history of Halloween.

Masks and costumes were worn in an attempt to mimic the evil spirits or appease them.

Trick-or-treating, is an activity for children on or around Halloween in which they proceed from house to house in costumes, asking for treats such as confectionery with the question, "Trick or treat?" The "trick" part of "trick or treat" is a threat to play a trick on the homeowner or his property if no treat is given. Trick-or-treating is one of the main traditions of Halloween. It has become socially expected that if one lives in a neighborhood with children one should purchase treats in preparation for trick-or-treaters.

The history of Halloween has evolved.  The activity is popular in the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, and due to increased American cultural influence in recent years, imported through exposure to US television and other media, trick-or-treating has started to occur among children in many parts of Europe, and in the Saudi Aramco camps of Dhahran, Akaria compounds and Ras Tanura in Saudi Arabia. The most significant growth and resistance is in the United Kingdom, where the police have threatened to prosecute parents who allow their children to carry out the "trick" element. In continental Europe, where the commerce-driven importation of Halloween is seen with more skepticism, numerous destructive or illegal "tricks" and police warnings have further raised suspicion about this game and Halloween in general.

In Ohio, Iowa, and Massachusetts, the night designated for Trick-or-treating is often referred to as Beggars Night.

Part of the history of Halloween  is Halloween costumes. The practice of dressing up in costumes and begging door to door for treats on holidays goes back to the Middle Ages, and includes Christmas wassailing. Trick-or-treating resembles the late medieval practice of "souling," when poor folk would    go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1), receiving food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2). It originated in Ireland and Britain, although similar practices for the souls of the dead were found as far south as Italy. Shakespeare mentions the practice in his comedy The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1593), when Speed accuses his master of "puling [whimpering, whining], like a beggar at Hallowmas."

Yet there is no evidence that souling was ever practiced in America, and trick-or-treating may have developed in America independent of any Irish or British antecedent. There is little primary Halloween history documentation of masking or costuming on Halloween in Ireland, the UK, or America before 1900. The earliest known reference to ritual begging on Halloween in English speaking North America occurs in 1911, when a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, near the border of upstate New York, reported that it was normal for the smaller children to go street guising (see below) on Halloween between 6 and 7 p.m., visiting shops and neighbors to be rewarded with nuts and candies for their rhymes and songs. Another isolated reference appears, place unknown, in 1915, with a third reference in Chicago in 1920. The thousands of Halloween postcards produced between the turn of the 20th century and the 1920s commonly show children but do not depict trick-or-treating. Ruth Edna Kelley, in her 1919 history of the holiday, The Book of Hallowe'en, makes no mention of such a custom in the chapter "Hallowe'en in America." It does not seem to have become a widespread practice until the 1930s, with the earliest known uses in print of the term "trick or treat" appearing in 1934, and the first use in a national publication occurring in 1939. Thus, although a quarter million Scots-Irish immigrated to America between 1717 and 1770, the Irish Potato Famine brought almost a million immigrants in 1845-1849, and British and Irish immigration to America peaked in the 1880s, ritualized begging on Halloween was virtually unknown in America until generations later.

Trick-or-treating spread from the western United States eastward, stalled by sugar rationing that began in April 1942 during World War II and did not end until June 1947.

Early national attention to trick-or-treating was given in October 1947 issues of the children's magazines Jack and Jill and Children's Activities, and by Halloween episodes of the network radio programs The Baby Snooks Show in 1946 and The Jack Benny Show and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet in 1948. The custom had become firmly established in popular culture by 1952, when Walt Disney portrayed it in the cartoon Trick or Treat, Ozzie and Harriet were besieged by trick-or-treaters on an episode of their television show, and UNICEF first conducted a national campaign for children to raise funds for the charity while trick-or-treating.

Trick-or-treating on the prairie. Although some popular histories of Halloween have characterized trick-or-treating as an adult invention to re-channel Halloween activities away from vandalism, nothing in the historical record supports this theory. To the contrary, adults, as reported in newspapers from the mid-1930s to the mid-1950s, typically saw it as a form of extortion, with reactions ranging from bemused indulgence to anger. Likewise, as portrayed on radio shows, children would have to explain what trick-or-treating was to puzzled adults, and not the other way around. Sometimes even the children protested: for Halloween 1948, members of the Madison Square Boys Club in New York City carried a parade banner that read "American Boys Don't Beg."

October 30th: This Day in History

 

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

On this day in 1502, Vasco da Gama returned to Calicut for the second time. In 1697 on this day, Germany signed a French/English/Spanish/Neth/Brandenburgs peace treaty ending Nine Year War. THe US Navy formed on this day in 1775. In 1886 on this day, Great-Britain and Germany divided the boundaries in East Africa between one another. On this day in 1893, the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, honoring the 400th anniversary of Columbus "discovering" America, closed. The beautiful "White City" built for this occasion burned down and was largely lost forever not long afterwards.  On this day in 1918, the Ottoman Empire came to peace terms with the Allied nations, ending their fight in World War I. In 1938 on this day, right here in the Garden State of New Jersey, the infamous radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" was taken by many listeners as news reports of a real alien invasion, causing a bit of a panic regionally. On this day in 1995, advocates of a sovereign Québec very narrowly lost a referendum that might have given Québec independence. A narrow majority of voters there chose to remain a part of Canada.

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

637 - Antioch surrenders to the Muslim forces under Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of Iron bridge.

701 - John VI of Greece begins his reign as Catholic Pope

942 - Alberic nominates Pope Marinus II (Martinus III)

1077 - German king Henry IV gives away bisdom Utrecht county Staveren

1137 - Battle of Rignano between Ranulf of Apulia and Roger II of Sicily.

1270 - The Eighth Crusade and siege of Tunis ends by agreement between Charles I of Sicily (brother to King Louis IX of France, who had died months earlier) and the sultan of Tunis.

1340 - Battle of Rio Salado.

1389 - French king Charles VI visits pope Clemens VII

1468 - Charles the Stout occupies & plunders Luik

1470 - Henry VI of England returns to the English throne after Earl of Warwick defeats Yorkists in battle.

1485 - Henry VII of England crowned at Westminster Abbey, London

1489 - Peace of Tours, between emperor Maximilian I & Flemings

1502 - Vasco da Gama returns to Calicut for the second time.

1503 - Queen Isabella of Spain bans violence against indians

1534 - English Parliament passes Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the English church - a role formerly held by the Pope

1611 - Gustaaf II Adolf (17) becomes king of Sweden

1629 - King Charles I gives Bahamas to Sir Robert Heath

1697 - Germany signs French/English/Spanish/Neth/Brandenburgs peace treaty ending 9 year War

1739 - England declares war on Spain: War of Jenkin's Ear [NS=Oct 19]

King of England King Charles IKing of England King Charles I 1768 - 1st Methodist church in US initiated (Wesley Chapel, NYC)

1772 - Capt Cook arrives with ship Resolution in Capetown

1775 - 1st navy in US forms

1851 - Alfred de Mussets "Bettine," premieres in Paris

1864 - Helena, Montana's capital, founded

1866 - Jesse James gang robs bank in Lexington Missouri ($2000)

1868 - John Menard of Louisiana is 1st black elected to Congress

1871 - Phila Athletics beat Chicago for 1st Natl Association baseball pennant

1873 - P T Barnum's circus, "Greatest Show on Earth," debuts (NYC)

1883 - Austria-Hungary/Germany/Romania signs military treaty

1886 - Great-Britain/Germany divide boundaries in East Africa

1888 - John J Loud patents ballpoint pen

1888 - Ndebele-king Lobengula grants Cecil Rhodes, Mashonaland £100 per month

1893 - Senate approves repealing Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890

1894 - Daniel Cooper patents time clock

Outlaw Jesse JamesOutlaw Jesse James 1894 - Domenico Melegatti obtains a patent for a procedure to be applied in producing pandoro industrially.

1896 - Martha Hughes Cannon of Utah becomes 1st female senator

1899 - Battle at Ladysmith Natal: Boers beat lt-general Whites army

1899 - British Morning Post reporter Winston Churchill reaches Capetown

1900 - 1st-ever US auto show opens in Madison Square Garden in NYC

1901 - Battle at Bakenlaagte: lt-col Bensons unit vs Boers

1905 - "October Manifesto" Russian Tsar Nicholas II grants civil liberties

1905 - GB Shaw's "Mrs Warren's Profession," premieres in NYC

1905 - Tsar of Russia accepts 1st Duma (Parliament)

1911 - Clark Griffith is named manager of Wash Senators

1914 - Allied offensive at Ypres (Belgium) begins

1917 - British government gives final approval to Balfour Declaration

1918 - Slovakia asks for creation of Czechoslovakian state

1919 - Baseball league presidents call for abolishment of spitball

1920 - The Communist Party of Australia is founded in Sydney.

Absolute monarch Nicholas IIAbsolute monarch Nicholas II 1922 - Anxious to compete with the Yankees, the NY Giants pay $65,000 & 3 players for Jack Bentley (hits .349 & is 13-1 as pitcher in 1922)

1922 - Benito Mussolini forms government in Italy

1925 - KUT-AM in Austin TX begins radio transmissions

1929 - The Stuttgart Cable Car is constructed in Stuttgart, Germany.

1930 - Turkey & Greece sign a treaty of friendship

1931 - W2XB TV channel 1 in NYC, NY (NBC) begins broadcasting

1938 - Orson Welles panics a nation with broadcast of "War of the Worlds"

1939 - USSR & Germany agree on partitioning Poland, Hitler deports Jews

1939 - German U boat fails on attack of English battleship Nelson with Winston Churchill, Dudley Pound & Charles Forbes aboard

1940 - Cole Porters musical "Panama hattie," premieres in NYC

1941 - USS Reuben James torpedoed by Germans, even though US is not in war

1942 - 8th day of battle at El Alamein: new Australian assault

1942 - US aircraft carrier Enterprise reaches Noumea

1943 - Molotov-Eden-Cordell Hull accord over operations at UN

1943 - Soviet forces under Tolbuchin stick Sivash-bay about

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1944 - Aaron Copland's "Appalachian Spring," premieres in Wash DC

1944 - Anne Frank (of Diary fame) is deported from Auschwitz to Belsen

1944 - Last transport for Auschwitz arrives in Birkenau

1944 - Scottish Highlanders liberate Waalwijk

1944 - Sweden announces intention to stay neutral & refuse sanctuary in WW II

1944 - Tholen Island freed

1945 - Branch Rickey signs Jackie Robinson to a Montreal Royals

1945 - US government announces end of shoe rationing

1947 - 23 countries sign GATT agreement in Geneva

1947 - Darius Milhauds 3rd Symphony "Hymnus Ambrosianus," premieres in Paris

1948 - 20 die & 6,000 made ill by smog in Donora Pennsylvania

1948 - Operation Hiram: Israelis take control of Galilee

1949 - "Lost in the Stars" opens at Music Box Theater NYC for 281 perfs

1949 - Kurt Weill & Maxwell Anderson's musical premieres in NYC

1950 - David Diamond's 3rd Symphony, premieres

Baseball Player Jackie RobinsonBaseball Player Jackie Robinson 1950 - Pope Pius XII witnesses "The Miracle of the Sun" while at the Vatican.

1951 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1952 - Clarence Birdseye sells 1st frozen peas

1953 - Dr Albert Schweitzer & Gen George C Marshall win Nobel Peace Prize

1954 - Defense Department announces elimination of all segregated regiments

1954 - US Armed Forces end segregation of races

1954 - 1st use of 24-sec shot clock in pro basketball (Rochester vs Boston)

1955 - Imtiaz Ahmed scores 209 v NZ, the record for a no 8 batsman

1956 - Israel captures Egyptian militay post at El-Thamad

1956 - Dodgers sell Ebbets Field to a real estate group They agree to stay until 1959, with an option to stay until 1961

1957 - Dmitri Sjostakovitch's 11th Symphony premieres in Moscow

1957 - Soviet Union launches, Sputnik II, carrying a dog named Laika

1957 - WLWI (now WTHR) TV channel 13 in Indianapolis, IN (ABC) 1st broadcast

1957 - WYTV TV channel 33 in Youngstown, OH (ABC) begins broadcasting

1960 - Guatemala's "La Hora" reports plan for invasion on Cuba

1960 - Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

1961 - Soviet Union tests a 58 megaton hydrogen bomb

1961 - UN unanimously elects U Thant acting secretary general of the UN

Soviet Union Premier Joseph StalinSoviet Union Premier Joseph Stalin 1961 - Soviet Party Congress unanimously approves a resolution removing Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb in Red Square

1962 - US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island

1963 - Morocco & Algeria signs cease fire

1963 - Sandy Koufax wins NL MVP award

1964 - Tran Van Huong appointed premier of South Vietnam

1965 - Clifford Ann Creed wins LPGA Las Cruces Golf Open

1965 - Fireworks explosions kill 50 in Cartagena, Colombia

1966 - Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Las Cruces Ladies Golf Open

1967 - Arthur Allyn says White Sox will play 9 games in Milwaukee in 1968

1967 - Ferdinand Bracke bicycles world record time (48,093 km)

1967 - USSR Kosmos 186 & 188 make 1st automatic docking & Venmera 13 launch

1968 - Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to Lars Onsager (thermodynamics)

1968 - Nobel prize for physics awarded to Luis Alvarez (bubble chamber)

1968 - Queen Juliana opens IJ tunnel in Amsterdam

1969 - WXPO (now WNDS) TV channel 50 in Manchester, NH (IND) 1st broadcast

1970 - KVEW TV channel 42 in Kennewick, WA (ABC) begins broadcasting

1972 - 45 die in a train crash in Chicago Ill

1972 - Worst US rail accident in 14 years; 45 die in Chicago

1973 - Tom Seaver becomes 1st non-20-game winner to win Cy Young award

1973 - The Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time.

1974 - California Angel Nolan Ryan throws fastest recorded pitch (100.9 MPH)

1974 - Catfish Hunter is named AL Cy Young Award

Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad AliHeavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali 1974 - Muhammad Ali KOs George Foreman in 8th round in Kinshasa Zaire ('The Rumble in the Jungle')

1975 - Giants pitcher John "the Count of" Montefusco wins NL Rookie of Year

1975 - John Bucyk, Boston, became 7th NHLer to score 500 goals

1975 - Juan Carlos assumes power in Spain

1975 - NY Daily News runs headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead"

1976 - "Going Up" closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 49 performances

1976 - Jane Pauley becomes news co-anchor of Today Show

1976 - Rev Joseph Evans elected president of United Church of Christ

1977 - Panama 747SP lands after polar flight around Earth in record 54:07

1978 - Laura Nickel & Curt Noll find 25th Mersenne prime, 2 ^ 21701-1

1978 - Uganda troops attack Tanzania

1979 - NASA launches space vehicle S-203

1979 - Richard Arrington elected mayor of Birmingham

1980 - Honduras & El Salvador settle their boundary dispute

1980 - NASA launches Flt Satcom-4

1982 - Portugal revises constitution

1983 - The first democratic elections in Argentina after seven years of military rule are held.

1984 - Tigers reliever Willie Hernandez wins AL Cy Young Award

1985 - 22nd Space Shuttle Mission (61-A)-Challenger 9-launched

1986 - Discovery moves to OPF where more than 200 modification are made

1987 - In Japan, NEC releases the first 16-bit home entertainment system, the TurboGrafx-16, known as PC Engine.

1988 - 2 gambling clubs & 1 player share 61.38 M California lotto jackpot

1988 - Beth Daniel wins Nichirei Ladies Cup US-Japan Team Golf Championship

1988 - Jim Elliott (US) completes 24-hr paced outdoor race for 548.9 mi

1988 - NY Jets finally beat Pittsburgh Steelers for 1st time

1989 - August A Busch III becomes CEO of St Louis Cards

1989 - Smith Dairy at Orrville Ohio, makes largest milk shake (1,575.2 gal)

1990 - England-France complete "Chunnel"

1991 - Colombian government negotiate with M-19-guerrilla

1991 - Mark Sauer becomes CEO of Pittsburgh Pirates

1991 - Mid East peace conference begins in Madrid Spain

1992 - MTA begins installing automated fare collection turnstiles

1993 - Toronto Maple Leafs lose 1st game of season after going 10-0-0

1994 - Leftist coalition wins Marcedonia parliamentary election

1994 - Thomas Nicely reports bug in Intel's Pentium-processor on Internet

1994 - US wins Nichirei LPGA Golf International

1995 - Quebec Referendum votes to remain part of Canada

1997 - "Cherry Orchard," opens at Martin Beck Theater NYC

1997 - Shirley Allen, 51, held Illinois police off for 39 days captured

2002 - British Digital terrestrial television (DTT) Service Freeview begins transmitting in parts of the United Kingdom.

2005 - The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II) is reconsecrated after a thirteen-year rebuilding project.

2012 - Walt Disney purchases Lucasfilm Ltd and its rights for Star Wars and Indiana Jones for $4.05 billion

1735 - John Adams, the second President of the United States, was born in Braintree, MA. His son became the sixth President of the U.S.   1817 - The independent government of Venezuela was established by Simon Bolivar.   1831 - Escaped slave Nat Turner was apprehended in Southampton County, VA, several weeks after leading the bloodiest slave uprising in American history.   1875 - The constitution of Missouri was ratified by popular vote.   1893 - The U.S. Senate gave final approval to repeal the Sherman Silver Purchase Act of 1890.   1894 - The time clock was patented by Daniel M. Cooper of Rochester, NY.   1938 - Orson Welles' "The War of the Worlds" aired on CBS radio. The belief that the realistic radio dramatization was a live news event about a Martian invasion caused panic among listeners.   1943 - In Moscow, a declaration was signed by the Governments of the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and China called for an early establishment of an international organization to maintain peace and security. The goal was supported on December 1, 1943, at a meeting in Teheran.   1944 - Martha Graham's ballet "Appalachian Spring" premiered at the Library of Congress.   1945 - The U.S. government announced the end of shoe rationing.   1953 - General George C. Marshall was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.   1961 - The Soviet Union tested a hydrogen bomb with a force of approximately 58 megatons.   1961 - The Soviet Party Congress unanimously approved an order to remove Joseph Stalin's body from Lenin's tomb.   1972 - U.S. President Richard Nixon approved legislation to increase Social Security spending by $5.3 billion.   1972 - In Illinois, 45 people were killed when two trains collided on Chicago's south side.   1975 - Prince Juan Carlos assumed power in Spain as dictator Francisco Franco was near death.   1975 - The New York Daily News ran the headline "Ford to City: Drop Dead." The headline came a day after U.S. President Gerald R. Ford said he would veto any proposed federal bailout of New York City.   1982 - Portugal's constitution was revised for the first time since it was ratified on April 25, 1976.   1984 - In Poland, police found the body of kidnapped pro-Solidarity priest Father Jerry Popieluszko. His death was blamed on four security officers.   1989 - Mitsubishi Estate Company announced it would buy 51 percent of Rockefeller Group Inc. of New York.   1993 - Martin Fettman, America's first veterinarian in space, performed the world's first animal dissections in space, while aboard the space shuttle Columbia.   1993 - The United Nations deadline concerning ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide passed with country's military still in control.   1995 - Federalist prevailed over separatists in Quebec in a referendum concerning secession from the federation of Canada.   1997 - The play revival "The Cherry Orchard" opened.   1998 - The terrorist who hijacked a Turkish Airlines plane and the 39 people on board was killed when anti-terrorist squads raided the plane.   2001 - In New York City, U.S. President George W. Bush threw out the first pitch at Game 3 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks.   2001 - Michael Jordan returned to the NBA with the Washington Wizards after a 3 1/2 year retirement. The Wizards lost 93-91 to the New York Knicks.

1534 The English parliament passed the Act of Supremacy, making King Henry VIII head of the English church. 1938 Radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds, starring Orson Welles, caused nationwide panic among listeners. 1944 Martha Graham's ballet Appalachian Spring, with music by Aaron Copland, premiered. 1953 Gen. George C. Marshall won the Nobel Peace Prize for originating the Marshall Plan. 1974 Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire ("rumble in the jungle") to regain his world heavyweight title.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/oct30.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

So I Participated in Early Voting Yesterday

For the first time in my life, I participated in early voting yesterday.

Election Day is next week on Tuesday, of course. Yet on that day, I intended to head off towards my mom's place in upstate New York right after getting off from work in the morning. But since it is Election Day, and I am absolutely determined to do my part and vote, it seemed like a good idea to see if I could vote early.

After doing a bit of research, there really was nothing specifying any special conditions or requirements when I looked. So I took the chance and went to my town's municipal building, and found the place to vote.

Sure enough, I got to vote. Nothing special was required, it was pretty much just like showing up on Election Day itself.

And I voted.

They were even giving out stickers once you were done (see the picture above). It was only the second time that I got a sticker after voting. 

Whether or not you participate in early voting, or mail-in voting, or intend to do it the traditional way by going on Election Day, I urge you to go out the vote this year. It feels like there is far more riding on this election than most, also please, please go out and make your voice hear.

Please take the time to vote. 

October 29th: This Day in History

      

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

On this day in 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded under a sentence that had been brought against him 15 years earlier for conspiracy against King James I. In 1652 on this day, the Massachusetts Bay Colony proclaimed itself to be an independent commonwealth. On this day in 1682, William Penn landed at what is now Chester, PA. He was the founder of Pennsylvania. In 1787 on this day, Mozart's opera Don Giovanni debuted in Prague. The International Committee of the Red Cross was founded on this day in 1863.   On this day in 1901, Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of U.S. President McKinley, was electrocuted. On this day in 1923, Turkey formally became a republic after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The first president was under Mustafa Kemal Ataturkl, later known as Kemal Ataturk. The Great Depression began with the crash of the New York Stock Exchange in Wall Street on this day in 1929. The first peacetime military draft began in the U.S. on this day in 1940.   

1945 - The first ballpoint pens to be made commercially went on sale at Gimbels Department Store in New York at the price of $12.50 each.   1956 - Israel invaded Egypt's Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal Crisis.   1956 - "The Huntley-Brinkley Report" premiered on NBC. The show replaced "The Camel News Caravan."   1959 - General Mills became the first corporation to use close-circuit television.   1960 - Muhammad Ali (Cassius Clay) won his first professional fight.   1966 - The National Organization for Women was founded.   1969 - The U.S. Supreme Court ordered an immediate end to all school segregation.   1973 - O.J. Simpson, of the Buffalo Bills, set two NFL records. He carried the ball 39 times and he ran 157 yards putting him over 1,000 yards at the seventh game of the season.   1974 - U.S. President Gerald Ford signed a new law forbidding discrimination in credit applications on the basis of sex or marital status   1985 - It was announced that Maj. Gen. Samuel K. Doe had won the first multiparty election in Liberia.   1990 - The U.N. Security Council voted to hold Saddam Hussein's regime liable for human rights abuses and war damages during its occupation of Kuwait.   1991 - The U.S. Galileo spacecraft became the first to visit an asteroid (Gaspra).   1991 - Trade sanctions were imposed on Haiti by the U.S. to pressure the new leaders to restore the ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide to power.   1992 - Depo Provera, a contraceptive, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration.   1995 - Jerry Rice of the San Francisco 49ers became the NFL's career leader in receiving yards with 14,040 yards.   1998 - South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission condemned both apartheid and violence committed by the African National Congress.   1998 - The space shuttle Discovery blasted off with John Glenn on board. Glenn was 77 years old. In 1962 he became the first American to orbit the Earth.   1998 - The oldest known copy of Archimedes' work sold for $2 million at a New York auction.   2001 - KTLA broadcasted the first coast to coast HDTV network telecast.

 1956 Israel invaded the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal crisis. 1966 The National Organization for Women was founded. 1998 John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, returned to space at age 77. 2004 European leaders signed the European Union's first constitution.

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/oct29.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

One Chess Grandmaster Boycotted a Tournament in Saudi Arabia at Great Cost to Her & Protested Sexist Laws There

This is a story which I admittedly only found out about months after the fact. Only recently did I learn about this, although it probably should have been a much bigger story.

Chess Grandmaster Anna Muzychuk decided to make a stand and refused to play in Saudi Arabia.

The reasons? She felt that her rights were going to be compromised if she went to that country to play a chess tournament. 

So despite the fact that it cost her both titles and money to make the tough decision, she felt that it was more important to make a stand and go with her values, which opposed the notion of compromising her rights.

Here, in her own words, is what she said about the matter when announcing that she would not be participating: 

"In a few days, I will lose two world titles, back to back. Because I decided not to go to Saudi Arabia. 

"I refuse to play by special rules, to wear abaya, to be accompanied by a man so I can leave the hotel, so I don't feel like a second class person. I will follow my principles and not compete in the World Fast Chess and Blitz Championship where in just 5 days I could have won more money than dozens of other tournaments combined. 

"This is all very nasty but the sad part is no one seems to care. Bitter feelings but can't go back.”

What do you guys think? Was she right to take this stand? Or should she have gone to Saudi Arabia and tried to win those titles?

Personally, I support her stance and feel that she has a point. However, I welcome any other opinions on the subject. So please feel free to express your opinions!

Below is the link to the MSN article which I used in writing this blog entry, and from which I obtained the quotes used in writing it:

Chess grandmaster refuses to play in Saudi Arabia and will lose two world titles Story by Liam Llewellyn March 27, 2024: • 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/other/chess-grandmaster-refuses-to-play-in-saudi-arabia-and-will-lose-two-world-titles/ar-BB1knwJ2

Chess grandmaster refuses to play in Saudi Arabia and will lose two world titles

October 28th: This Day in History

      

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history 

On this day in the year 06, Mark Aurelius Valerius Maxentius was proclaimed Emperor of Rome. In 312 on this day, Emperor Constantine the Great defeated rival Maxentius. In 1492 on this day, Christopher Columbus found (not really discovered) Cuba and claimed it for Spain. Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) was founded on this day in 1636. On this day in 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France to the United States, was dedicated in New York Harbor. On this day in 1919: Congress began enforcing prohibition. On this day in 1922, Benito Mussolini took over his rule over Italy. In 1940 on this day, Italy invaded Greece. On this day in 1965, the Gateway Arch in St. Louis was completed. On this day in 1998, American President Bill Clinton signed the Digital Millennium Copyright Act into law.

On this day in 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was  executed.  In  1777 on this day, John  Hancock resigned as president of Congress. On this day in 1929, the Stock Market crashed, which ultimately would lead to the Great Depression. In 1956 on this day, Israel invaded Egypt. On this day in 1969, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered an immediate end to all school segregation.In 1998 on this day, South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission condemned both apartheid as well as violence committed by the ruling and popular African National Congress.  

Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

 

06 - Mark Aurelius Valerius Maxentius proclaimed emperor of Rome

312 - Emperor Constantine the Great beats rival Maxentius

969 - Byzantines troops occupy Antioch Syria

1061 - Emperor disposes of bishop Cadalus & Pope Honorius II

1422 - Charles V's son succeeds him as king Charles VII of France

1467 - Battle at Brustem: Charles the Stoute beats the Luikenaars

1492 - Christopher Columbus discovers Cuba and claims it for Spain

1516 - Battle of Yaunis Khan: Turkish forces under the Grand Vizier Sinan Pasha defeat the Mameluks near Gaza.

1531 - Battle of Amba Sel: Imam Ahmad ibn Ibrihim al-Ghazi again defeats the army of Lebna Dengel, Emperor of Ethiopia. The southern part of Ethiopia falls under Imam Ahmad's control.

1538 - The first university in the New World, the Universidad Santo Tomás de Aquino, is established.

1574 - Prince Willem van Orange installs university

1595 - Battle at Giurgevo: Zsigmond Bathory of Transylvania beats Turks

1612 - Robert Dowland appointed court luitist of King James I

1628 - Hugenot bulwark La Rochelle surrenders to Cardinal Richelieu

1636 - Harvard University (Cambridge, Massachusetts) founded

1646 - 1st Protestant church assembly for indians (Massachusetts)

1664 - The Duke of York and Albany's Maritime Regiment of Foot, later to be known as the Royal Marines, is established.

1740 - Ivan VI becomes czar of Russia [OS=Oct 17]

1746 - Peruvian cities of Lima & Callao demolished by earthquake, 18,000 die

Explorer of the New World Christopher ColumbusExplorer of the New World Christopher Columbus

 1776 - Battle of White Plains; Washington retreats to NJ

1790 - NY gives up claims to Vermont for $30,000

1793 - Eli Whitney applies for a patent on cotton gin

1834 - The Battle of Pinjarra occurs in the Swan River Colony in present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia. Between 14 and 40 Aborigines are killed by British colonists.

1846 - Pioneers suffer blizzard in Sierra Nevada; 42 die

1848 - The first railroad in Spain - between Barcelona and Mataró - is opened.

1858 - Macy's Dept store opens in NYC

1863 - Battle at Wauhatchie Georgia: 865 killed or injured

1864 - Second Battle of Newtonia (American Civil War), Newton County, Missouri

1864 - 2nd Battle at Fair Oaks, Virginia, ends with 1554 casualties

1864 - Battle of Wauhatchie, TN

1867 - Maimonides College in Penns is 1st Jewish college in the US

1882 - Athletics reveal $22,000 profit in their 1st season in the American Association

1886 - Statue of Liberty dedicated by Pres Grover Cleveland, it is celebrated by 1st confetti (ticker tape) parade in NYC

1890 - Last NL-AA World Series game Bkln ties Louisville 3 games & 1 tie

US President Grover ClevelandUS President Grover Cleveland 1891 - Quake strikes Mino-Owari, Japan kills 7,300

1893 - Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducted 1st performance of "Symphony Number Six in B minor, "Pathetique"

1894 - German emperor Wilhelm II fires chancellor Leo von Caprivi & premier Botho zu Eulenburg

1900 - After over 5 months 2nd Olympic games in Paris France, close

1904 - St Louis police try a new investigation method-fingerprints

1906 - Belgian-British "Union Minière du Haut Katanga" mining company created in what is now the Democratic Republic of Congo

1911 - Bill Dobbie of Calgary Tigers kicks 10 singles in a game

1914 - German battle cruiser Goeben enters Black Sea

1914 - Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, founded at Howard University, incorporates

1915 - Richard Strauss' Alpensymfonie, premieres in Berlin

1918 - Czechoslovakia gains independence as Austria-Hungary breaks up

1919 - Volstead Act passed by Congress, start prohibition over Wilson's veto

1921 - Amsterdam's Tuschinski movie theater opens

1922 - 1st US coast-to-coast radio broadcast of a football game

1922 - Benito Mussolini takes control of Italy's government

Italian Dictator Benito MussoliniItalian Dictator Benito Mussolini 1924 - French-Russian trade agreement signed

1924 - White Sox beat NY Giants 8-4 in Dublin, less than 20 fans attend

1927 - Josip Broz (Tito) begins 7 months jail sentence in Croatia

1927 - KLM-plane "Homing Pigeon" leaves Neth-Indies after 1st regular flight

1928 - Bradman scores 131 NSW v Queensland, 212 mins, 14 fours

1928 - Indonesian child laws enfoced in Bahasa Indonesia

1929 - Dow Jones plummets 38.33 pts (13%) to 260.64

1934 - Brooklyn & Pittsburgh play a penalty free NFL game

1935 - Sidney Kingsley's "Dead End," premieres in NYC

1936 - FDR rededicates Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary

1938 - Farewell parade of International Brigade (Barcelona)

1939 - Anti-German demonstrations/strikes in Czechoslovakia

1939 - Spitfire shoots German Heinkel-111 down above Scotland

1940 - Greece successfully resists Italy's attack

1940 - Meeting between Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini in Florence

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1942 - 6th day battle at El Alamein: British offensive under Montgomery

1942 - Train crashes into bus, killing 16 & injuring 20 (Detroit Michigan)

1943 - U-220 sinks

1944 - Russia & Bulgaria sign weapons pact

1946 - German rocket engineers begin work in USSR

1948 - Flag of Israel is adopted

1949 - Georges Bidault elected president of France

1951 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1952 - Babe Didrikson-Zaharias wins LPGA Women's Texas Golf Open

1953 - Bud Grant of Winnipeg Blue Bombers intercepts 5 passes (record)

1953 - Red Barber, resigns as Dodger sportscaster to join Yankees

1954 - Major league owners vote down sale of A's to a Phila syndicate

1954 - N Richard Nash' "Rainmaker," premieres in NYC

1954 - Nobel prize for literature awarded to Ernest Hemingway

1955 - Egypt & Saudi-Arabia sign defense treaty

Nobel Laureate Author Ernest HemingwayNobel Laureate Author Ernest Hemingway 1956 - Pope Pius XII publishes encyclical Luctuosissimi eventus

1957 - WMVS TV channel 10 in Milwaukee, WI (PBS) begins broadcasting

1958 - Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, elected Pope, taking name John XXIII

1958 - Pete Runnels wins Comeback Player of Year (avg went from .230 to .322)

1959 - Buffalo Bills enter AFL

1959 - Jean Genet's "Les Negres," premieres in Paris

1961 - "Fiorello!" closes at Broadhurst Theater NYC after 796 performances

1961 - Ground broken for Municipal (Shea) Stadium for NY Mets

1962 - Nikita Khrushchev orders withdrawal of missiles from Cuba, ending crisis

1962 - NY Giant YA Tittle passes for 7 touchdowns vs Wash Redskins (49-34)

1962 - Radio Moscow reports nuclear missiles in Cuba deactivated

1962 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1962 - Cuban missile crisis ends after JFK and Khrushchev make a public and secret agreement

1965 - Gateway Arch (630' (190m) high) completed in St Louis, Missouri

1965 - Pope Paul VI proclaims Jews not collectively guilty for crucifixion

First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita KhrushchevFirst Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev 1966 - Belgium's Gaston Roelants runs 12-4/5 miles in 1 hour

1970 - NBA Cleveland Cavaliers 1st home game, lose to San Diego 110-99

1970 - US/USSR sign an agreement to discuss joint space efforts

1971 - Great Britain becomes 6th nation to have a satellite (Prospero) in orbit

1971 - John & Yoko record "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" in NYC

1972 - "Mother Earth" closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 12 performances

1973 - Elmore Smith of Lakers blocks 17 shots in a game (NBA record)

1973 - Sharon Miller wins LPGA Corpus Christi Civitan Golf Open

1974 - 1st time 2 Islanders hat trick in same game-MacMillian & Westfall

1974 - Luna 23 launched (landing on Moon)

1974 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1975 - Calvin Murphy (Houston) begins NBA free throw streak of 58 games

1975 - Cleveland Metroparks assume operating responsibilities for Zoo

1976 - Billy Martin named AL Manager of Year (NY Yankees)

1976 - Train collision at Goes Neth, 7 die

1978 - Don Ritchie runs world record 100k (6:10:20)

1979 - Dick Howser (best Yank mngr win-lost pct .636) replaces Billy Martin

1979 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR

1981 - Edward M McIntrye elected 1st black mayor of Augusta Georgia

1981 - NY Yankee George Frazier loses 3 World Series games

1982 - NASA launches RCA-E

1982 - Spain's socialists win/communists lose elections

1984 - 14th NYC Women's Marathon won by Grete Waitz in 2:29:30

1984 - 15th NYC Marathon won by Orlando Pizzolato in 2:14:53

1984 - Hollis Stacy wins LPGA Nichirei Cup Team Match Golf Tournament

1985 - Ravi Ratnayeke takes 8-83 for Sri Lanka v Pakistan

1986 - KOB-AM in Albuquerque NM changes call letters to KKOB

1986 - KOB-TV in Albuquerque NM's final transmission

1986 - The centennial of the Statue of Liberty's dedication is celebrated in New York Harbor.

1988 - Jurors award $147,000 to Tacoma parishioner seduced by her minister

1988 - Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen gives $10 million to University of Washington library

1989 - Oakland A's sweep SF Giants in earthquake/BART series

1992 - Lee Jang Rim predicts that today would be the end of the world!

1993 - Cleveland Metroparks lease Brookside Park from Cleveland for 99-years

1993 - Dutch Antilles government of Liberia-Peters resigns

1994 - Japanese space probe Sakigake passes Earth for 3rd time

1995 - Atlanta Braves beat Cleveland Indians in 6 games in World Series

1995 - Horse Racing Breeders' Cup Champs: Cigar, Desert Stormer, Inside Information, My Flag, Northern Spur, Ridgewood Pearl, Unbridled's Song

1996 - Goa upset Karnataka to win their 1st Ranji Cricket Trophy game ever

1997 - NBA announces hiring of Dee Kantner & Violet Palmer as 1st women to officiate a major-league all-male sports league

1998 - An Air China (Mainland China) jetliner is hijacked by disgruntled pilot Yuan Bin and flown to Taiwan.

2005 - Plame affair: Lewis Libby, Vice-president Dick Cheney's chief of staff, is indicted in the Valerie Plame case. Libby resigns later that day.

2006 - Funeral service for the peace of the executed at Bykivnia forest, outside of Kiev, Ukraine, with reburial of 817 Ukrainian civilians (out of some 100,000) executed by Bolsheviks at Bykivnia in 1930s - early 1940s.

2009 - The 28 October 2009 Peshawar bombing kills 117 and wounds 213.

2009 - NASA successfully launches the Ares I-X mission, the only rocket launch for its later-cancelled Constellation program.

2012 - Syrian ceasefire collapses and 128 people are killed in ongoing civil war violence

2012 - 15 people are killed and 33 injured by a series of Baghdad car bombings

2012 - Sebastian Vettel wins the 2012 Formula One Indian Grand Prix

2012 - San Francisco Giants defeat the Detroit Tigers in game four to take the 2012 MLB World Series

2012 - Pablo Sandoval is named MLB 2012 World Series MVP.

1636 - Harvard College was founded in Massachusetts. The original name was Court of Massachusetts Bay Colony. It was the first school of higher education in America.   1776 - The Battle of White Plains took place during the American Revolutionary War.   1793 - Eli Whitney applied for a patent for his cotton gin.   1886 - The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by U.S. President Cleveland. The statue weighs 225 tons and is 152 feet tall. It was originally known as "Liberty Enlightening the World."   1904 - The St. Louis Police Department became the first to use fingerprinting.   1919 - The U.S. Congress enacted the Volstead Act, also known as the National Prohibition Act. Prohibition was repealed in 1933 with the passing of the 21st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.   1922 - Benito Mussolini took control of the Italian government and introduced fascism to Italy.   1936 - The Statue of Liberty was rededicated by U.S. President Roosevelt on its 50th anniversary.   1940 - During World War II, Italy invaded Greece.   1949 - U.S. President Harry Truman swore in Eugenie Moore Anderson as the U.S. ambassador to Denmark. Anderson was the first woman to hold the post of ambassador.   1958 - Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli was elected Pope. He took the name John XXIII.   1962 - Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the U.S. that he had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.   1965 - Pope Paul VI issued a decree absolving Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.   1965 - The Gateway Arch along the waterfront in St. Louis, MO, was completed.   1976 - John D. Erlichman, a former aide to U.S. President Richard Nixon, entered a federal prison camp in Safford, AZ, to begin serving his sentence for Watergate-related convictions.   1982 - Soviet premier Leonid Brezhnev condemned the U.S. for arms buildup.   1983 - The U.S. vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution "deeply deploring" the ongoing U.S.-led invasion of Grenada.   1985 - John A. Walker Jr. and his son, Michael Lance Walker, pled guilty to charges of spying for the Soviet Union.   1986 - The centennial of the Statue of Liberty was celebrated in New York.   1988 - Roussel Uclaf, a French manufacturer that produces the abortion pill RU486, announced it would resume distribution of the drug after the government of France demanded it do so.   1990 - Iraq announced that it was halting gasoline rationing.   1993 - Ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, called for a complete blockade of Haiti to force out the military leaders.   1994 - U.S. President Clinton visited Kuwait and implied that all the troops there would be home by Christmas.   1996 - The Dow Jones Industial Average gained a record 337.17 points (or 5%). The day before the Dow had dropped 554.26 points (or 7%). 

1793 Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin. 1886 The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. 1919 Congress passed the Volstead Act, or the National Prohibition Act, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto. 1922 Benito Mussolini took control of the government of Italy. 1940 Italy invaded Greece during World War II. 1958 A new pope was elected—Pope John XXIII. 1962 Nikita Khrushchev told the U.S. that he had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.     

The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/oct28.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory