Complete Index

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift to the United States from the people of France, was officially unveiled to the public by President Grover Cleveland.

On Oct. 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act, which established the laws under which Prohibition would be enforced.

On Oct. 27, 312, on the eve of the Battle of the Milvian Bridge, Constantine had a vision assuring him of victory in the name of the Christian God. As emperor, Constantine served as a patron for the church, contributing to its rapid growth in the fourth century.

On Oct. 27, 1973, a 1.4 kg chondrite-type meteorite crashed through a garage roof in Canon City, Colo.

On Oct. 26, 1881, Wyatt Earp and his brothers, with Doc Holliday, engaged the McLaury and Clanton brothers in a bloody gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Ariz.

On Oct. 25, 1854, British Lt. Gen. Lord Cardigan led a disastrous cavalry charge made famous by Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s “The Charge of the Light Brigade.”

On Oct. 24, 1861, after 112 days of construction, Western Union completed the first transcontinental telegraph, rendering the 18-month-old Pony Express obsolete.

On Oct. 22, 1844, the followers of American preacher William Miller expected the Second Coming of Christ. The day later became known as the Great Disappointment.

On Oct. 21, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, a Japanese plane struck the HMAS Australia in a suicide attack. It is widely credited with being the first kamikaze attack, though it is likely that the first true kamikaze attack was not made until Oct. 25.

On Oct. 20, 1977, legendary Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd’s tour plane crashed in Mississippi, killing six, including lead singer Ronnie Van Zant, guitarist Steve Gaines and his sister, backup singer Cassie Gaines.

On Oct. 19, 1960, the Eisenhower administration placed an embargo on exports to Cuba, setting in motion an uneasy political relationship that continues to this day.

On Oct. 18, 1867, the Alaskan territory was formally transferred from Russian to American control.

On Oct. 17, 1931, Chicago gangster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion and later sentenced to 11 years in federal prison, ending his control of the Chicago underworld.

On Oct. 16, 1968, U.S. athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos raised black-gloved fists during the national anthem to protest racial inequality.

On Oct. 15, 1981, professional cheerleader Krazy George Henderson led the first audience wave at an Oakland Athletics game.

On Oct. 14, 1962, a United States spy plane spotted missile bases under construction in Cuba, touching off the two-week Cuban Missile Crisis.

On Oct. 13, 1943, just over a month after surrendering to the Allied Powers, the Italian government declared war on Nazi Germany, its former ally.

On Oct. 12, 1492, Christopher Columbus made landfall on a small island in the Caribbean. His historic voyage ignited the age of exploration and cross-Atlantic expansion by European settlers.

On Oct. 11, 1975, NBC’s sketch comedy show “Saturday Night Live” made its debut with host George Carlin.

On Oct. 10, 1970, Quebec Minister of Labor Pierre Laporte was kidnapped by the FLQ, a militant Quebec separatist group; he was killed seven days later.

On Oct. 9, 1967, Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara was killed by CIA operatives and members of the Bolivian army.

On Oct. 8, 1871, fires started in five cities along Lake Michigan’s coast. Within two days, thousands were dead and miles of city blocks and rural lands were razed.

On Oct. 7, 1940, Lt. Cmdr. Arthur McCollum delivered a memo that proposed aggressive action against Japan, eventually raising speculation that the U.S. government tried to provoke the attack on Pearl Harbor.

On Oct. 6, 1927, “The Jazz Singer” debuted; it was the first full-length film to feature the voices of its actors.

On Oct. 5, 1582, much of Europe replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar; the switch required the 10 days after Oct. 4 to be skipped.

On Oct. 4, 1918, explosions rocked the T.A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant in New Jersey, killing scores of people and destroying the largest munitions factory in the world.

On Oct. 3, 1849, famed American poet Edgar Allan Poe was found delirious in Baltimore; he would die four days later.

On Oct. 2, 1950, Charles Schulz’s “Peanuts” comic strip first appeared in several newspapers.

On Oct. 1, 1908, the Ford Model T was introduced to the public. The Model T, called the “car for the great multitude” by Henry Ford, made cars available to the average person, revolutionizing the automobile industry.

On Oct. 1, 1910, dynamite set by union member J.B. McNamara exploded and set the Los Angeles Times building ablaze, killing 21 and injuring more than 100.