Today in History – October 1st

Published October 1, 2012 |

331 BC, Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela.
959, Edgar the Peaceable becomes king of all England.
1189, Gerard de Ridefort, grandmaster of the Knights Templar since 1184, is killed in the Siege of Acre.
1553, Coronation of Queen Mary I of England.
1795, Belgium is conquered by France.
1800, Spain cedes Louisiana to France via the Treaty of San Ildefonso.
1847, German inventor and industrialist Werner von Siemens founds Siemens AG & Halske.
1880, 1st electric lamp factory is opened by Thomas Edison.
1880, John Philip Sousa becomes leader of the US Marine Band.
1881, William Boeing, American engineer (d. 1956) was born.
1890, Yosemite National Park is established by the US Congress.
1891, In the US state of California, Stanford University opens its doors.
1908, Ford puts the Model T car on the market at a price of US$825.
1910, Bonnie Parker, American outlaw (d. 1934) was born.
1920, Walter Matthau, American actor (d. 2000) was born.
1927, Tom Bosley, American actor (d. 2010) was born.
1928, George Peppard, American actor (d. 1994) was born.
1931, The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York opens.
1936, Francisco Franco is named head of the Nationalist government of Spain.
1939, After a one-month Siege of Warsaw, hostile forces enter the city.
1940, The Pennsylvania Turnpike, often considered 1st superhighway in the US, opens to traffic.
1942, 1st flight of the Bell XP-59 “Aircomet”.
1943, WWII: Naples falls to Allied soldiers.
1946, Nazi leaders are sentenced at Nuremberg Trials.
1949, The People’s Republic of China is established and declared by Mao Zedong.
1957, 1st appearance of In God We Trust on US paper currency.
1960, Nigeria gains independence from the UK.
1962, 1st broadcast of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.
1964, The Free Speech Movement is launched on the campus of University of California, Berkeley.
1971, Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, US.
1972, Louis Leakey, British archaeologist (b. 1903) died.
1975, Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philippines.
1982, EPCOT Center opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, US.
1985, E. B. White, American author (b. 1899) died.
1986, Archie League, generally considered the first air traffic controller (b. 1907) died.
1990, Curtis LeMay, American Air Force general (b. 1906) died.

Chris Rivait

Chris loves history and hopes that Yesteeyear becomes a place where everyone can share their history knowledge. Chris owns an Internet Marketing company, Arrivait Marketing. He has a wonderful wife and four great children.