October 31: 1517: Martin Luther posts 95 theses
On this day in 1517, the priest and scholar Martin Luther approaches the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, and nails a piece of paper to it containing the 95 revolutionary opinions that would begin the Protestant Reformation.
In his theses, Luther condemned the excesses and corruption of the Roman Catholic Church, especially the papal practice of asking payment-called "indulgences"-for the forgiveness of sins. At the time, a Dominican priest named Johann Tetzel, commissioned by the Archbishop of Mainz and Pope Leo X, was in the midst of a major fundraising campaign in Germany to finance the renovation of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. Though Prince Frederick III the Wise had banned the sale of indulgences in Wittenberg, many church members traveled to purchase them. When they returned, they showed the pardons they had bought to Luther, claiming they no longer had to repent for their sins.
Luther's frustration with this practice led him to write the 95 Theses, which were quickly snapped up, translated from Latin into German and distributed widely. A copy made its way to Rome, and efforts began to convince Luther to change his tune. He refused to keep silent, however, and in 1521 Pope Leo X formally excommunicated Luther from the Catholic Church. That same year, Luther again refused to recant his writings before the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V of Germany, who issued the famous Edict of Worms declaring Luther an outlaw and a heretic and giving permission for anyone to kill him without consequence. Protected by Prince Frederick, Luther began working on a German translation of the Bible, a task that took 10 years to complete.
The term "Protestant" first appeared in 1529, when Charles V revoked a provision that allowed the ruler of each German state to choose whether they would enforce the Edict of Worms. A number of princes and other supporters of Luther issued a protest, declaring that their allegiance to God trumped their allegiance to the emperor. They became known to their opponents as Protestants; gradually this name came to apply to all who believed the Church should be reformed, even those outside Germany. By the time Luther died, of natural causes, in 1546, his revolutionary beliefs had formed the basis for the Protestant Reformation, which would over the next three centuries revolutionize Western civilization.
American Revolution
1776 : King speaks for first time since independence declared
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-speaks-for-first-time-since-independence-declared
Automotive
1957 : Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A. opens in Hollywood
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/toyota-motor-sales-usa-opens-in-hollywood
Civil War
1861 : Winfield Scott steps down
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/winfield-scott-steps-down
Cold War
1956 : British and French troops land in Suez Canal zone
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-and-french-troops-land-in-suez-canal-zone
Crime
1984 : The prime minister of India is assassinated
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-prime-minister-of-india-is-assassinated
Disaster
1961 : Hurricane Hattie strikes Belize
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hurricane-hattie-strikes-belize
General Interest
1926 : Houdini is dead
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/houdini-is-dead
1961 : Stalin's body removed from Lenin's tomb
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/stalins-body-removed-from-lenins-tomb
Hollywood
1993 : River Phoenix dies
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/river-phoenix-dies
Literary
1892 : The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes published
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-adventures-of-sherlock-holmes-published
Music
1963 : Ed Sullivan witnesses Beatlemania firsthand, paving the way for the British Invasion
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ed-sullivan-witnesses-beatlemania-firsthand-paving-the-way-for-the-british-invasion
Old West
1864 : The U.S. Congress admits Nevada as the 36th state
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-us-congress-admits-nevada-as-the-36th-state
Presidential
2000 : President Clinton stumps for his wife
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-clinton-stumps-for-his-wife
Sports
1950 : Earl Lloyd becomes first black player in the NBA
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/earl-lloyd-becomes-first-black-player-in-the-nba
Vietnam War
1968 : President Johnson announces bombing halt
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-johnson-announces-bombing-halt
1970 : Thieu vows to never accept a coalition government
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/thieu-vows-to-never-accept-a-coalition-government
World War I
1917 : Third Battle of Gaza
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/third-battle-of-gaza
World War II
1887 : Chiang Kai-Shek is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chiang-kai-shek-is-born
October 29: 1998: John Glenn returns to space
Nearly four decades after he became the first American to orbit the Earth, Senator John Hershel Glenn, Jr., is launched into space again as a payload specialist aboard the space shuttle Discovery. At 77 years of age, Glenn was the oldest human ever to travel in space. During the nine-day mission, he served as part of a NASA study on health problems associated with aging.
Glenn, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps, was among the seven men chosen by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1959 to become America's first astronauts. A decorated pilot, he had flown nearly 150 combat missions during World War II and the Korean War. In 1957, he made the first nonstop supersonic flight across the United States, flying from Los Angeles to New York in three hours and 23 minutes.
In April 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin was the first man in space, and his spacecraft, Vostok 1 , made a full orbit before returning to Earth. Less than one month later, American Alan B. Shepard, Jr., became the first American in space when his Freedom 7 spacecraft was launched on a suborbital flight. American "Gus" Grissom made another suborbital flight in July, and in August Soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov spent more than 25 hours in space aboard Vostok 2, making 17 orbits. As a technological power, the United States was looking very much second-rate compared with its Cold War adversary. If the Americans wanted to dispel this notion, they needed a multi-orbital flight before another Soviet space advance arrived.
On February 20, 1962, NASA and Colonel John Glenn accomplished this feat with the flight of Friendship 7, a spacecraft that made three orbits of the Earth in five hours. Glenn was hailed as a national hero, and on February 23 President John F. Kennedy visited him at Cape Canaveral. Glenn later addressed Congress and was given a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
Out of a reluctance to risk the life of an astronaut as popular as Glenn, NASA essentially grounded the "Clean Marine" in the years after his historic flight. Frustrated with this uncharacteristic lack of activity, Glenn turned to politics and in 1964 announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate from his home state of Ohio and formally left NASA. Later that year, however, he withdrew his Senate bid after seriously injuring his inner ear in a fall from a horse. In 1970, following a stint as a Royal Crown Cola executive, he ran for the Senate again but lost the Democratic nomination to Howard Metzenbaum. Four years later, he defeated Metzenbaum, won the general election, and went on to win reelection three times. In 1984, he unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for president.
In 1998, Glenn attracted considerable media attention when he returned to space aboard the space shuttle Discovery. In 1999, he retired from his U.S. Senate seat after four consecutive terms in office, a record for the state of Ohio.
American Revolution
1777 : Hancock resigns as president of Congress
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hancock-resigns-as-president-of-congress
Automotive
1971 : Guitarist Duane Allman dies in motorcycle accident
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/guitarist-duane-allman-dies-in-motorcycle-accident
Civil War
1863 : The Battle of Wauhatchie concludes
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-wauhatchie-browns-ferry-concludes
Cold War
1956 : Israel invades Egypt; Suez Crisis begins
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/israel-invades-egypt-suez-crisis-begins
Crime
1925 : Dominick Dunne, chronicler of high-profile crimes, is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dominick-dunne-chronicler-of-high-profile-crimes-is-born
Disaster
1948 : Killer smog claims elderly victims
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/killer-smog-claims-elderly-victims
General Interest
1618 : Sir Walter Raleigh executed
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sir-walter-raleigh-executed
1929 : Stock market crashes
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/stock-market-crashes
Hollywood
1947 : Richard Dreyfuss born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/richard-dreyfuss-born
Literary
1740 : James Boswell is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/james-boswell-is-born
Music
1966 : "96 Tears" becomes a #1 hit for the enigmatic and influential ? and the Mysterians
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/quot96-tearsquot-becomes-a-1-hit-for-the-enigmatic-and-influential--and-the-mysterians
Old West
1858 : The first store opens in the frontier town of Denver, Colorado
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-first-store-opens-in-the-frontier-town-of-denvercolorado
Presidential
1901 : McKinley assassin is executed
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mckinley-assassin-is-executed
Sports
1948 : Sandy Saddler beats Willie Pep for the first time
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sandy-saddler-beats-willie-pep-for-the-first-time
Vietnam War
1969 : Bobby Seale gagged during his trial
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bobby-seale-gagged-during-his-trial
1971 : U.S. troop strength reaches five-year low
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-troop-strength-reaches-five-year-low
World War I
1915 : Jane Addams writes to Woodrow Wilson about dangers of preparing for war
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jane-addams-writes-to-woodrow-wilson-about-dangers-of-preparing-for-war
World War II
1942 : The British protest against the persecution of Jews
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-british-protest-against-the-persecution-of-jews
October 28: 1965: Gateway Arch completed
On this day in 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri.
The Gateway Arch, designed by Finnish-born, American-educated architect Eero Saarinen, was erected to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and to celebrate St. Louis' central role in the rapid westward expansion that followed. As the market and supply point for fur traders and explorers-including the famous Meriwether Lewis and William Clark-the town of St. Louis grew exponentially after the War of 1812, when great numbers of people began to travel by wagon train to seek their fortunes west of the Mississippi River. In 1947-48, Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument honoring the spirit of the western pioneers. In a sad twist of fate, the architect died of a brain tumor in 1961 and did not live to see the construction of his now-famous arch, which began in February 1963. Completed in October 1965, the Gateway Arch cost less than $15 million to build. With foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground, its frame of stressed stainless steel is built to withstand both earthquakes and high winds. An internal tram system takes visitors to the top, where on a clear day they can see up to 30 miles across the winding Mississippi and to the Great Plains to the west. In addition to the Gateway Arch, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial includes the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse of St. Louis, where two of the famous Dred Scott slavery cases were heard in the 1860s.
Today, some 4 million people visit the park each year to wander its nearly 100 acres, soak up some history and take in the breathtaking views from Saarinen's gleaming arch.
American Revolution
1775 : British proclamation forbids residents from leaving Boston
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/british-proclamation-forbids-residents-from-leaving-boston
Automotive
1992 : Leif Erickson Tunnel completes 1,593-mile I-35
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/leif-erickson-tunnel-completes-1593-mile-i-35
Civil War
1864 : The Second Battle of Fair Oaks concludes
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/second-battle-of-fair-oaks-concludes
Cold War
1962 : The Cuban Missile Crisis comes to an end
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-cuban-missile-crisis-comes-to-an-end
Crime
1961 : Chuck Berry goes on trial for the second time
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chuck-berry-goes-on-trial-for-the-second-time
Disaster
1999 : Cyclone intensifies near India
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cyclone-intensifies-near-india
General Interest
1886 : Statue of Liberty dedicated
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/statue-of-liberty-dedicated
1919 : Congress enforces prohibition
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/congress-enforces-prohibition
Hollywood
1967 : Julia Roberts born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/julia-roberts-born
Literary
1905 : George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession is performed in New York
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-bernard-shaws-mrs-warrens-profession-is-performed-in-new-york
Music
1998 : President Bill Clinton signs the Digital Millennium Copyright Act into law
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/president-bill-clinton-signs-the-digital-millennium-copyright-act-into-law
Old West
1965 : Workers complete the famous Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/workers-complete-the-famous-gateway-arch-in-st-louis-missouri
Presidential
1886 : Grover Cleveland dedicates Statue of Liberty
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/grover-cleveland-dedicates-statue-of-liberty
Sports
1922 : Princeton-Chicago football game is broadcast across the country
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/princeton-chicago-football-game-is-broadcast-across-the-country
Vietnam War
1962 : Khrushchev orders withdrawal of missiles from Cuba
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/khrushchev-orders-withdrawal-of-missiles-from-cuba
1964 : U.S. officials deny any involvement in bombing of North Vietnam.
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-officials-deny-any-involvement-in-bombing-of-north-vietnam
1965 : Viet Cong commandos raid U.S. airfields
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/viet-cong-commandos-raid-us-airfields
World War I
1918 : German sailors begin to mutiny
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/german-sailors-begin-to-mutiny
World War II
1940 : Italy invades Greece
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/italy-invades-greece
At 2:35 on the afternoon of October 27, 1904, New York City Mayor George McClellan takes the controls on the inaugural run of the city's innovative new rapid transit system: the subway.
While London boasts the world's oldest underground train network (opened in 1863) and Boston built the first subway in the United States in 1897, the New York City subway soon became the largest American system. The first line, operated by the Interborough Rapid Transit Company (IRT), traveled 9.1 miles through 28 stations. Running from City Hall in lower Manhattan to Grand Central Terminal in midtown, and then heading west along 42nd Street to Times Square, the line finished by zipping north, all the way to 145th Street and Broadway in Harlem. On opening day, Mayor McClellan so enjoyed his stint as engineer that he stayed at the controls all the way from City Hall to 103rd Street.
At 7 p.m. that evening, the subway opened to the general public, and more than 100,000 people paid a nickel each to take their first ride under Manhattan. IRT service expanded to the Bronx in 1905, to Brooklyn in 1908 and to Queens in 1915. Since 1968, the subway has been controlled by the Metropolitan Transport Authority (MTA). The system now has 26 lines and 468 stations in operation; the longest line, the 8th Avenue "A" Express train, stretches more than 32 miles, from the northern tip of Manhattan to the far southeast corner of Queens.
Every day, some 4.5 million passengers take the subway in New York. With the exception of the PATH train connecting New York with New Jersey and some parts of Chicago's elevated train system, New York's subway is the only rapid transit system in the world that runs 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No matter how crowded or dirty, the subway is one New York City institution few New Yorkersâ€"or touristsâ€"could do without.
American Revolution
1775 : King George III speaks to Parliament of American rebellion
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/king-george-iii-speaks-to-parliament-of-american-rebellion
Automotive
2006 : Chick-fil-A founder takes last Ford Taurus
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/chick-fil-a-founder-takes-last-ford-taurus
Civil War
1864 : Yankees are turned back at the Battle of Hatcher's Run
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-hatchers-run-burgess-mill
Cold War
1962 : The United States and Soviet Union step back from brink of nuclear war
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-united-states-and-soviet-union-step-back-from-brink-of-nuclear-war
Crime
1940 : Mafia boss John Gotti is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/mafia-boss-john-gotti-is-born
Disaster
1995 : Avalanche buries homes in Iceland
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/avalanche-buries-homes-in-iceland
General Interest
1659 : Quakers executed for religious beliefs
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/quakers-executed-for-religious-beliefs
1858 : Teddy Roosevelt born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/teddy-roosevelt-born
1914 : Dylan Thomas born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/dylan-thomas-born
1994 : U.S. prison population exceeds one million
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/us-prison-population-exceeds-one-million
Hollywood
1924 : Actress Ruby Dee born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/actress-ruby-dee-born
Literary
1932 : Sylvia Plath is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/sylvia-plath-is-born
Music
1970 : Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber release Jesus Christ Superstar
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/tim-rice-and-andrew-lloyd-webber-release-jesus-christ-superstar
Old West
1873 : Joseph Glidden applies for a patent on his barbed wire design
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/joseph-glidden-applies-for-a-patent-on-his-barbed-wire-design
Presidential
1858 : Theodore Roosevelt is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/theodore-roosevelt-is-born
Sports
2004 : Red Sox win first championship since 1918
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/red-sox-win-first-championship-since-1918
Vietnam War
1966 : Ambassador Harriman sent to explain Manila offer
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ambassador-harriman-sent-to-explain-manila-offer
1971 : Cambodian troops battle Communists north of Phnom Penh
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/cambodian-troops-battle-communists-north-of-phnom-penh
World War I
1918 : German general Erich Ludendorff resigns
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/german-general-erich-ludendorff-resigns
World War II
1940 : De Gaulle sets up the Empire Defense Council
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/de-gaulle-sets-up-the-empire-defense-council
October 26:
On this day in 1881, the Earp brothers face off against the Clanton-McLaury gang in a legendary shootout at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona.
After silver was discovered nearby in 1877, Tombstone quickly grew into one of the richest mining towns in the Southwest. Wyatt Earp, a former Kansas police officer working as a bank security guard, and his brothers, Morgan and Virgil, the town marshal, represented "law and order" in Tombstone, though they also had reputations as being power-hungry and ruthless. The Clantons and McLaurys were cowboys who lived on a ranch outside of town and sidelined as cattle rustlers, thieves and murderers. In October 1881, the struggle between these two groups for control of Tombstone and Cochise County ended in a blaze of gunfire at the OK Corral.
On the morning of October 25, Ike Clanton and Tom McLaury came into Tombstone for supplies. Over the next 24 hours, the two men had several violent run-ins with the Earps and their friend Doc Holliday. Around 1:30 p.m. on October 26, Ike's brother Billy rode into town to join them, along with Frank McLaury and Billy Claiborne. The first person they met in the local saloon was Holliday, who was delighted to inform them that their brothers had both been pistol-whipped by the Earps. Frank and Billy immediately left the saloon, vowing revenge.
Around 3 p.m., the Earps and Holliday spotted the five members of the Clanton-McLaury gang in a vacant lot behind the OK Corral, at the end of Fremont Street. The famous gunfight that ensued lasted all of 30 seconds, and around 30 shots were fired. Though it's still debated who fired the first shot, most reports say that the shootout began when Virgil Earp pulled out his revolver and shot Billy Clanton point-blank in the chest, while Doc Holliday fired a shotgun blast at Tom McLaury's chest. Though Wyatt Earp wounded Frank McLaury with a shot in the stomach, Frank managed to get off a few shots before collapsing, as did Billy Clanton. When the dust cleared, Billy Clanton and the McLaury brothers were dead, and Virgil and Morgan Earp and Doc Holliday were wounded. Ike Clanton and Claiborne had run for the hills.
Sheriff John Behan of Cochise County, who witnessed the shootout, charged the Earps and Holliday with murder. A month later, however, a Tombstone judge found the men not guilty, ruling that they were "fully justified in committing these homicides." The famous shootout has been immortalized in many movies, including Frontier Marshal (1939), Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957), Tombstone (1993) and Wyatt Earp (1994).
American Revolution
1776 : Benjamin Franklin sets sail for France
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/benjamin-franklin-sets-sail-for-france
Automotive
1955 : "Outlaw" Sammy Swindell is born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/outlaw-sammy-swindell-is-born
Civil War
1864 : Rebel guerilla leader "Bloody Bill" Anderson is killed
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/bloody-bill-anderson-killed
Cold War
1955 : Diem declares himself premier of Republic of Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/diem-declares-himself-premier-of-republic-of-vietnam
Crime
1948 : An abused wife gets revenge
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/an-abused-wife-gets-revenge
1984 : An Ozzy Osbourne fan commits suicide
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/an-ozzy-osbourne-fan-commits-suicide
Disaster
1998 : Hurricane Mitch slams into Central America
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hurricane-mitch-slams-into-central-america
General Interest
1825 : Erie Canal opens
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/erie-canal-opens
1944 : Battle of Leyte Gulf ends
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/battle-of-leyte-gulf-ends
1984 : Infant receives baboon heart
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/infant-receives-baboon-heart
Hollywood
1946 : Wheel of Fortune's Pat Sajak born
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wheel-of-fortunes-pat-sajak-born
Literary
1900 : Henry James and Edith Wharton begin corresponding
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/henry-james-and-edith-wharton-begin-corresponding
Music
1985 : Whitney Houston earns her first #1 hit with "Saving All My Love For You"
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/whitney-houston-earns-her-first-1-hit-with-quotsaving-all-my-love-for-youquot
Old West
1881 : The Earps shoot it out at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-earps-shoot-it-out-at-the-ok-corral-in-tombstone-arizona
Presidential
2001 : George W. Bush signs the Patriot Act
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/george-w-bush-signs-the-patriot-act
Sports
1986 : Buckner lets ground ball roll through his legs
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/buckner-lets-ground-ball-roll-through-his-legs
Vietnam War
1955 : Diem wins referendum in South Vietnam
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/diem-wins-referendum-in-south-vietnam
1966 : Fire breaks out on U.S. aircraft carrier
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/fire-breaks-out-on-us-aircraft-carrier
1968 : Big battle begins in Tay Ninh Province
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/big-battle-begins-in-tay-ninh-province
World War I
1917 : Brazil declares war on Germany
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/brazil-declares-war-on-germany
World War II
1942 : The United States loses the Hornet
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-united-states-loses-the-hornet
