THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1965: Gateway Arch completed

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

THIS DAY IN HISTORY: 1904: New York City subway opens

October 27: 1904: New York City subway opens

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

THIS DAY IN HISTORY

October 26: 

1881: Shootout at the OK Corral

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