Today in History – October 7th

Published October 7, 2012 |

1477, Uppsala University is inaugurated after receiving its corporate rights from Pope Sixtus IV in February the same year.
1513, Battle of La Motta: Spanish troops under Ramon de Cardona defeat the Venetians.
1542, Explorer Cabrillo discovers Santa Catalina Island off the California coast.
1582, Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day is skipped in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
1691, The English royal charter for the Province of Massachusetts Bay is issued.
1763, George III issues British Royal Proclamation of 1763, closing lands in North America N and W of Alleghenies to whites.
1776, Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries Sophie Marie Dorothea of Wurttemberg.
1786, Louis-Joseph Papineau, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1871) was born.
1826, The Granite Railway begins operations as 1st chartered railway in the US
1840, Willem II becomes King of the Netherlands.
1849, Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (b. 1809) died.
1862, Royal Columbian Hospital (RCH) opens as 1st hospital in the Canadian province of British Columbia
1864, American Civil War: USS Wachusett captures the CSS Florida Confederate raider while in port in Bahia, Brazil.
1868, Cornell University holds opening day ceremonies; initial student enrollment is 412, highest US university to that date.
1870, Franco-Prussian War, Siege of Paris: Leon Gambetta flees Paris in a balloon.
1879, Germany and Austria-Hungary sign the “Twofold Covenant” and create the Dual Alliance.
1888, Henry A. Wallace, 33rd Vice President of the United States (d. 1965) was born.
1896, Emma Wedgwood, English naturalist, wife of Charles Darwin, (b. 1808) died.
1900, Heinrich Himmler, German Nazi official (d. 1945) was born.
1912, The Helsinki Stock Exchange sees its 1st transaction.
1919, Alfred Deakin, second Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1856) died.
1919, KLM, the flag carrier of the Netherlands, is founded. It is the oldest airline still operating under its original name.
1933, Air France is inaugurated, after being formed by a merger of 5 French airlines.
1939, Harvey Cushing, Father of Modern Neurosurgery (b. 1869) died.
1940, WWII: the McCollum memo proposes bringing the US into the war in Europe by provoking the Japanese to attack the US.
1942, WWII: October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal begins as US Marine Corps forces attack Imperial Japanese Army units.
1944, WWII: Uprising at Birkenau concentration camp, Jewish prisoners burn down the crematoria.
1949, The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) is formed.
1955, American poet Allen Ginsberg performs his poem Howl for 1st time at the Six Gallery in San Francisco.
1958, The US manned space-flight project is renamed Project Mercury.
1959, Mario Lanza, American tenor (b. 1921) died.
1959, USS.R. probe Luna 3 transmits 1st ever photographs of the far side of the Moon.
1963, John F. Kennedy signs the ratification of the Partial Test Ban Treaty.
1982, Cats opens on Broadway and runs for nearly 18 years before closing on September 10, 2000.
1985, The Mameyes landslide kills close to 300 in the worst landslide in North American history.
1993, The Great Flood of 1993 ends at St. Louis, Missouri, 103 days after it began, as Mississippi River falls below flood stage.

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.