This Week in History

HISTORY, 26 Oct 2015

Satoshi Ashikaga – TRANSCEND Media Service

TWH logo history

Oct 26 – Nov 1

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“There comes a time when the world gets quiet and the only thing left is your own heart. So you’d better learn the sound of it. Otherwise you’ll never understand what it’s saying.” – Sarah Dessen

 

OCTOBER 26

2014 Britain withdraws from Afghanistan after the end of Operation Herrick which started on June 20, 2002 after 12 years four months and seven days.

2003  The Cedar Fire, the second-largest fire in California history, kills 15 people, consumes 250,000 acres (1,000 km2), and destroys 2,200 homes around San Diego.

2002  Moscow theater hostage crisis: Approximately 50 Chechen terrorists and 150 hostages die when Russian Spetsnaz storm a theater building in Moscow, which had been occupied by the terrorists during a musical performance three days before.

2001  The United States passes the USA PATRIOT Act into law.

2000  Laurent Gbagbo takes over as president of Côte d’Ivoire following a popular uprising against President Robert Guéï.

1995  Israeli–Palestinian conflict: Mossad agents assassinate Islamic Jihad leader Fathi Shaqaqi in his hotel in Malta.

1994  Jordan and Israel sign a peace treaty.

1992  The London Ambulance Service is thrown into chaos after the implementation of a new CAD, or Computer Aided Dispatch, system which failed.

1992  The Charlottetown Accord fails to win majority support in a Canada wide referendum.

1985  The Australian government returns ownership of Uluru to the local Pitjantjatjara Aborigines.

1984  “Baby Fae” receives a heart transplant from a baboon.

1983  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1979  Park Chung-hee, President of South Korea is assassinated by Korean Central Intelligence Agency head Kim Jae-gyu. Choi Kyu-hah becomes the acting President; Kim is executed the following May.

1977  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1977  Ali Maow Maalin, the last natural case of smallpox, develops rash in Merca district, Somalia. The World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider this date the anniversary of the eradication of smallpox, the most spectacular success of vaccination.

1973  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more information, see “1983 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR,” mentioned above.

1970  Muhammad Ali faces off against Jerry Quarry in Atlanta, Georgia for the first time after Ali’s three-year hiatus from evading to be drafted in the Vietnam War.

1968  Soviet cosmonaut Georgy Beregovoy pilots Soyuz 3 into space for a four-day mission.

1967  Mohammad Reza Pahlavi crowns himself Emperor of Iran and then crowns his wife Farah Empress of Iran.

1964  Eric Edgar Cooke becomes last person in Western Australia to be executed.

1963  US performs underground nuclear test, near Fallon, Nevada.

Project Shoal:

Environmental and Pertinent Issues of the Shoal, Fallon Test Site:

1962  US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island.

Nuclear Tests by the United States:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Johnston Atoll:

Various Weapons Tests and Storage at Johnston Atoll, and Permanent Contamination:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1958  Pan American Airways makes the first commercial flight of the Boeing 707 from New York City to Paris, France.

1958  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1977 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1956  UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) statute approved.

International Atomic Energy Agency:

History of the IAEA:

US President Eisenhower’s “Atoms for Peace” Speech that Initiated an International Atomic Energy Agency:

1955  Ngô Đình Diệm declares himself Premier of South Vietnam.

1955  After the last Allied troops have left the country and following the provisions of the Austrian Independence Treaty, Austria declares permanent neutrality.

1947  The Maharaja of Kashmir and Jammu agrees to allow his kingdom to join India.

1944  World War II: The Battle of Leyte Gulf ends with an overwhelming American victory.

Timeline of the Leyte Gulf:

Battle of Leyte Gulf:

1943  World War II: First flight of the Dornier Do 335 “Pfeil”.

1942  World War II: In the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands during the Guadalcanal Campaign, one U.S. aircraft carrier, Hornet, is sunk and another aircraft carrier, Enterprise, is heavily damaged, while two Japanese carriers and one cruiser are heavily damaged.

1940  The P-51 Mustang makes its maiden flight.

1936  The first electric generator at Hoover Dam goes into full operation.

1918  Erich Ludendorff, quartermaster-general of the Imperial German Army, is dismissed by Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany for refusing to cooperate in peace negotiations.

Kaiser Wilhelm II:

Aftermath of World War I:

Treaty of Versailles:

Some Evolution of the “Crimes of Aggression” a.k.a. the “Crimes against Peace”:

1917  World War I: Brazil declares war on the Central Powers.

Brazil and World War I:

Countries Involved in World War I:

History of Brazil:

Brazil:

Foreign Relations of Brazil:

Economy of Brazil:

1917  World War I: Battle of Caporetto; Italy suffers a catastrophic defeat to the forces of Austria-Hungary and Germany. The young unknown Oberleutnant Erwin Rommel captures Mount Matajur with only 100 Germans against a force of over 7000 Italians.

Battle of Caporetto:

1912  First Balkan War: The Ottoman occupied city of Thessaloniki, is liberated and unified with Greece on the feast day of its patron saint Demetrius. On the same day, Serbian troops captured Skopje.

Liberation of Thessaloniki:

Balkan Wars:

First Balkan War:

1909  Itō Hirobumi, four time Prime Minister of Japan (the 1st, 5th, 7th and 10th) and Resident-General of Korea, is assassinated by An Jung-geun at the Harbin train station in Manchuria.

1905  Sweden accepted the independence of Norway.

Independence of Norway:

History of Norway:

Norway-Sweden Relationship:

Norway:

Foreign Relations of Norway:

Economy of Norway:

History of Sweden:

Sweden:

Foreign Relations of Sweden:

Economy of Sweden:

1861  The Pony Express officially ceases operations.

1860  Meeting of Teano. Giuseppe Garibaldi, conqueror of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, gives it to King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy.

1811  The Argentine government declare the freedom of expression for the press by decree.

1776  Benjamin Franklin departs from America for France on a mission to seek French support for the American Revolution.

1775  King George III of Great Britain goes before Parliament to declare the American colonies in rebellion, and authorized a military response to quell the American Revolution.

 

 

OCTOBER 27

WORLD DAY FOR AUDIOVISUAL HERITAGE

2005  Riots begin in Paris after the deaths of two Muslim teenagers.

Riots in France:

Timeline of the 2005 French Riots:

Pertinent Articles on the French Riots of 2005:

1999  Gunmen open fire in the Armenian Parliament, killing Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Parliament Chairman Karen Demirchyan, and six other members.

1997  October 27, 1997 mini-crash: Stock markets around the world crash because of fears of a global economic meltdown. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 554.26 points to 7,161.15.

1995  Former Prime Minister of Italy Bettino Craxi is convicted in absentia of corruption.

1995  Latvia applies for membership in the European Union.

Latvia:

Foreign Relations of Latvia:

History of Latvia:

Economy of Latvia:

1994  Gliese 229B is the first Substellar Mass Object to be unquestionably identified.

1992  United States Navy radioman Allen R. Schindler, Jr. is brutally murdered by shipmate Terry M. Helvey for being gay, precipitating first military, then national, debate about gays in the military that resulted in the United States “Don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy.

1991  Turkmenistan achieves independence from the Soviet Union.

Turkmenistan:

Human Rights in Turkmenistan:

Foreign Relations of Turkmenistan:

History of Turkmenistan:

Economy of Turkmenistan:

1988  Ronald Reagan decides to tear down the new U.S. Embassy in Moscow because of Soviet listening devices in the building structure.

1986  The British government suddenly deregulates financial markets, leading to a total restructuring of the way in which they operate in the country, in an event now referred to as the Big Bang.

1984  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1981  The Soviet submarine U 137 runs aground on the east coast of Sweden.

1979  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines gains its independence from the United Kingdom.

1973  A chondrite-type meteorite of 1.4 kg strikes in Cañon City, Colorado.

1971  The Democratic Republic of the Congo is renamed Zaire.

1969  Nobel prize for economy awarded to Jan Tinbergen.

1967  Catholic priest Philip Berrigan and others of the ‘Baltimore Four’ protest the Vietnam War by pouring blood on Selective Service records.

1966  China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC.

Lop Nor Nuclear Weapons Test Site:

China’s Nuclear Weapon Programs:

1966  USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

1964  Ronald Reagan delivers a speech on behalf of Republican candidate for president, Barry Goldwater. The speech launched his political career and came to be known as “A Time for Choosing“.

1962  US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island.

Nuclear Tests by the United States:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Johnston Atoll:

Various Weapons Tests and Storage at Johnston Atoll, and Permanent Contamination:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1962  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1962  A plane carrying Enrico Mattei, post-war Italian administrator, crashes in mysterious circumstances.

1962  Major Rudolf Anderson of the United States Air Force becomes the only direct human casualty of the Cuban Missile Crisis when his U-2 reconnaissance airplane is shot down in Cuba by a Soviet-supplied SA-2 Guideline surface-to-air missile.

1961  USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

1961  USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan, USSR.

1961  Mauritania and Mongolia join the United Nations.

Mauritania:

Foreign Relations of Mauritania:

Mauritania and the United Nations:

History of Mauritania:

Economy of Mauritania:

Mongolia:

Foreign Relations of Mongolia:

Mongolia and the United Nations:

History of Mongolia:

Economy of Mongolia:

1961  NASA tests the first Saturn I rocket in Mission Saturn-Apollo 1.

1958  Iskander Mirza, the first President of Pakistan, is deposed in a bloodless coup d’état by General Ayub Khan, who had been appointed the enforcer of martial law by Mirza 20 days earlier.

1954  Benjamin O Davis, Jr. becomes the first African-American general in the United States Air Force.

1953  British nuclear test Totem 2 is carried out at Emu Field, South Australia.

1948  Léopold Sédar Senghor founds the Senegalese Democratic Bloc.

1944  World War II: German forces capture Banská Bystrica during Slovak National Uprising thus bringing it to an end.

1936  Mrs Wallis Simpson files for divorce which would eventually allow her to marry King Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, thus forcing his abdication from the throne.

1930  Ratifications exchanged in London for the first London Naval Treaty, signed in April modifying the 1925 Washington Naval Treaty and the arms limitation treaty‘s modified provisions, go into effect immediately, further limiting the expensive naval arms race among its five signatories.

1924  The Uzbek SSR is founded in the Soviet Union.

Soviet Union and the Uzbek Socialist Republic:

History of Uzbekistan:

Uzbekistan:

Human Rights in Uzbekistan:

Foreign Relations of Uzbekistan:

Economy of Uzbekistan:

1922  A referendum in Rhodesia rejects the country’s annexation to the South African Union.

History of Rhodesia:

1916  Battle of Segale: Negus Mikael, marching on the Ethiopian capital in support of his son Emperor Iyasu V, is defeated by Fitawrari abte Giyorgis, securing the throne for Empress Zewditu I.

1914  The British lose their first battleship of World War I: The British super-dreadnought battleship HMS Audacious (23,400 tons), is sunk off Tory Island, north-west of Ireland, by a minefield laid by the armed German merchant-cruiser Berlin.The loss was kept an official secret in Britain until November 14 1918. The sinking was witnessed and photographed by passengers on RMS Olympic sister ship of RMS Titanic.

1907  Černová massacre: Fifteen people are killed in the Hungarian half of Austria-Hungary when a gunman opens fire on a crowd gathered at a church consecration. This would led to protests over the treatment of minorities in Austria-Hungary.

Some Ethnic Issues in the Austro-Hungarian Empire:

1904  The first underground New York City Subway line opens; the system becomes the biggest in United States, and one of the biggest in world.

1870  Marshal François Achille Bazaine surrenders to Prussian forces at the conclusion of the Siege of Metz along with 140,000 French soldiers in one of the biggest French defeats of the Franco-Prussian War.

1810  United States annexes the former Spanish colony of West Florida.

1806  The French Army enters Berlin, following the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt.

1795  The United States and Spain sign the Treaty of Madrid, which establishes the boundaries between Spanish colonies and the U.S.

 

 

OCTOBER 28

INTERNATIONAL ANIMATION DAY

2014  An unmanned Antares rocket carrying NASA‘s Cygnus CRS Orb-3 resupply mission to the International Space Station explodes seconds after taking off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Virginia.

2013  Five people are killed and 38 are injured after a car crashes into barriers just outside the Forbidden City in Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China.

2009  NASA successfully launches the Ares I-X mission, the only rocket launch for its later-cancelled Constellation program.

2009  The 28 October 2009 Peshawar bombing kills 117 and wounds 213.

2007  Cristina Fernández de Kirchner becomes the first woman elected President of Argentina.

2006  A group of ferocious activists of Bangladesh Awami League attacked one of their rival political party meeting in Dhaka with oars and sculls and killed their 14 activists.

2006  The funeral service takes place for those executed at Bykivnia forest, outside Kiev, Ukraine. Eight hundred seventeen Ukrainian civilians (out of some 100,000) executed by Bolsheviks at Bykivnia in 1930s – early 1940s are reburied.

2005  Plame affair: Lewis Libby, Vice-president Dick Cheney‘s chief of staff, is indicted in the Valerie Plame case. Libby resigns later that day.

1998  An Air China jetliner is hijacked by disgruntled pilot Yuan Bin and flown to Taiwan.

1995  Two hundred eighty-nine people are killed and 265 injured in Baku Metro fire, the deadliest subway disaster.

1990  The Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic holds the first multiparty legislature election in the country’s history.

History of Georgia:

Republic of Georgia:

Foreign Relations of the Republic of Georgia:

Economy of the Republic of Georgia:

1982  The Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party wins elections, leading to the first Socialist government in Spain after death of Franco. Felipe González becomes Prime Minister-elect.

1979  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1974  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1971  Britain launches the satellite Prospero into low Earth orbit atop a Black Arrow carrier rocket, the only British satellite to date launched by a British rocket.

1965  Nostra aetate, the “Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions” of the Second Vatican Council, is promulgated by Pope Paul VI; it absolves the Jews of responsibility for the death of Jesus, reversing Innocent III‘s 760 year-old declaration.

Vatican Council II:

Vatican Council II Documents:

1964  Vietnam War: US officials deny any involvement in bombing North Vietnam.

1962  End of Cuban Missile Crisis: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev orders the removal of Soviet missiles from Cuba.

Cuban Missile Crisis:

Timeline of the Cuban Missile Crisis:

1962  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

For some more pertinent information, see “1979 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR”, mentioned above.

1958  John XXIII is elected Pope.

John XXIII:

1951  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1974 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site” , mentioned above.

1949  An Air France Lockheed Constellation crashes in the Azores killing all people on board, including the French former middleweight world champion boxer Marcel Cerdan and French violinist Ginette Neveu

1948  Swiss chemist Paul Müller is awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discovery of the insecticidal properties of DDT.

1942  The Alaska Highway (Alcan Highway) is completed through Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska.

1940  World War II: Greece rejects Italy’s ultimatum. So, Greco-Italian War began. Italy invades Greece through Albania, marking Greece’s entry into World War II.

Greco-Italian War:

1929  Black Monday, a day in the Wall Street Crash of 1929, which also saw major stock market upheaval.

Great Depression of 1929:

Timeline of the Great Depression:

1928  Declaration of the Youth Pledge in Indonesia, the first time Indonesia Raya, now the national anthem, was sung.

Indonesian National Anthem – “Indonesia Rasa”:

World National Anthems:

1922  March on Rome: Italian fascists led by Benito Mussolini march on Rome and take over the Italian government.

Benito Mussolini:

Mussolini’s Doctrine:

Timeline – Mussolini:

1919  The US Congress passes the Volstead Act over President Woodrow Wilson‘s veto, paving the way for Prohibition to begin the following January.

1918  A new Polish government in Western Galicia is established.

1918  World War I: Czechoslovakia is granted independence from Austria-Hungary marking the beginning of an independent Czechoslovak state, after 300 years.

1904  Panama and Uruguay establish diplomatic links.

1886  In New York Harbor, President Grover Cleveland dedicates the Statue of Liberty.

1848  The first railroad in Spain between Barcelona and Mataró is opened.

1835  The United Tribes of New Zealand is established with the signature of the Declaration of Independence.

1834  The Pinjarra massacre occurred in the Swan River Colony at present-day Pinjarra, Western Australia. An estimated 30 Noongar people were killed by British colonists.

 

 

OCTOBER 29

WORLD STROKE DAY

2014  A mudslide in south-central Sri Lanka kills at least 16 people and more than 100 people missing.

2013  Turkey opens a sea tunnel connecting Europe and Asia across the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul.

2005  Bombings in Delhi kill more than 60.

2004  The Arabic-language news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a 2004 Osama bin Laden video in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

2002  Ho Chi Minh City ITC fire, a fire destroys a luxurious department store where 1500 people are shopping. Over 60 people die and over 100 are unaccounted for. It is the deadliest disaster in Vietnam during peacetime.

1999  A large cyclone devastates Odisha, India.

1998  While en route from Adana to Ankara, a Turkish Airlines flight with a crew of six and 33 passengers is hijacked by a Kurdish militant who orders the pilot to fly to Switzerland. The plane instead lands in Ankara after the pilot tricked the hijacker into thinking that he is landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia to refuel.

1998  ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with the launch of STS-95 space shuttle mission.

1998  Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year-old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space.

1998  Apartheid: In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presents its report, which condemns both sides for committing atrocities.

1991  The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.

1985  Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced the winner of the first multi-party election in Liberia.

1980  Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base‘s Duke Field, Florida leading to cancellation of Operation Credible Sport.

1977  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1972  The three surviving perpetrators of the Munich massacre are released from prison in exchange for the hostages of hijacked Lufthansa Flight 615.

1969  The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.

1969  USSR performs underground nuclear test.

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

1969  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1968  USSR performs nuclear test at Sary Shagan, USSR.

1965  US performs underground nuclear test at Amchitka Island Aleutians.

Amchitka and Military:

Amchitka and Nuclear Testing:

Pertinent Documents on the Nuclear Testing at the Amchitka Island Test Site:

*Document title and URL extracted from Department of Energy “Considered Sites” database.

[Click the document, and it will be downloaded to your computer. Note that Adobe Reader may be necessary to read the document.]

1964  The United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar is renamed the United Republic of Tanzania.

Tanzania:

Foreign Relations of Tanzania:

History of Tanzania:

Economy of Tanzania:

1961  Syria exits from the United Arab Republic.

Syria:

United Arab Republic:

Foreign Relations of Syria:

History of Syria:

Economy of Syria:

1961  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1969 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1960  In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.

1958  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1969 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1957  Israel‘s prime minister David Ben-Gurion and five of his ministers are injured when a hand grenade is tossed into Israel’s parliament, the Knesset.

1956  The Tangier Protocol is signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into Morocco.

History of Morocco:

1956  Suez Crisis begins: Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.

Suez Crisis of 1956:

1948  Safsaf massacre: Israeli soldiers capture Palestinian village of Safsaf in the Galilee and massacre villagers after they surrender.

Safsaf Massacre:

Massacres in Israel:

1945  Getúlio Vargas, president of Brazil, resigns.

1944  World War II: The Soviet Red Army enters Hungary.

1944  The city of Breda in the Netherlands is liberated by 1st Polish Armoured Division.

1942  The Holocaust: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany‘s persecution of Jews.

1941  The Holocaust: In the Kaunas Ghetto over 10,000 Jews are shot by German occupiers at the Ninth Fort, a massacre known as the “Great Action”.

Kaunas (Kovno) massacre of October 29, 1941:

Kaunas (Kovno) Ghetto:

Holocaust:

1929  The New York Stock Exchange crashes in what will be called the Crash of ’29 or “Black Tuesday”, ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and beginning the Great Depression.

Black Tuesday of October 29, 1929:

Great Depression of 1929:

Timeline of the Great Depression:

1923  Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.

History of the Ottoman Empire:

History of Turkey:

Turkey:

Foreign Relations of Turkey:

Economy of Turkey:

1922  King Victor Emmanuel III of Italy, appoints Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister.

Benito Mussolini:

Mussolini’s Death:

Timeline – Mussolini:

Mussolini’s Doctrine:

1921  Second trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in the United States of America.

1921  The Link River Dam, a part of the Klamath Reclamation Project, is completed.

1918 The German High Seas Fleet is incapacitated when sailors mutiny on the night of the 29th-30th, an action which would trigger the German Revolution of 1918–19.

1901  Capital punishment: Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of U.S. President William McKinley, is executed by electrocution.

1888  The Convention of Constantinople is signed, guaranteeing free maritime passage through the Suez Canal during war and peace.

 

 

OCTOBER 30

2014  Sweden is the first European Union member state to officially recognize the State of Palestine.

2013  45 people die after a bus fuel tank catches fire in the Indian city of Mahbubnagar.

2005  The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II) is reconsecrated after a thirteen-year rebuilding project.

1995  Quebec citizens narrowly vote (50.58% to 49.42%) to remain a province of Canada in their second referendum on national sovereignty.

1993  The Troubles: The Ulster Defence Association, an Ulster loyalist paramilitary, carry out a mass shooting at a Halloween party in Greysteel, Northern Ireland. Eight civilians are murdered and thirteen wounded.

1991  The Madrid Conference for Middle East peace talks opens.

1987  In Japan, NEC releases the first 16-bit (fourth generation) video game console, the PC Engine, which is later sold in other markets under the name TurboGrafx-16.

1985  Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for mission STS-61-A, its final successful mission.

1983  The first democratic elections in Argentina after seven years of military rule are held.

1980  El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969‘s Football War before the International Court of Justice.

1978  Uganda troops attack Tanzania.

1975  Prince Juan Carlos becomes Spain’s acting head of state, taking over for the country’s ailing dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco.

1974  The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire.

1973  The Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosphorus for the second time.

1970  In Vietnam, the worst monsoon to hit the area in six years causes severe floods, kills 293, leaves 200,000 homeless and virtually halts the Vietnam War.

1968  Nobel prize for physics awarded to Luis Alvarez (bubble chamber).

1968  Nobel prize for chemistry awarded to Lars Onsager (thermodynamics).

1965  Vietnam War: Near Da Nang, United States Marines repel an intense attack by Viet Cong forces, killing 56 guerrillas.

1962  US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island.

Nuclear Tests by the United States:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Johnston Atoll:

Various Weapons Tests and Storage at Johnston Atoll, and Permanent Contamination:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1961  Because of “violations of Vladimir Lenin‘s precepts”, it is decreed that Joseph Stalin‘s body be removed from its place of honour inside Lenin’s tomb and buried near the Kremlin Wall with a plain granite marker instead.

1961  Nuclear testing: USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR: The USSR detonates the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya; at 50 megatons of yield, it remains the largest explosive device ever detonated, nuclear or otherwise.

1960  Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

1953  Cold War: US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves the top secret document National Security Council Paper No. 162/2, which states that the United States’ arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the communist threat.

1951  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1950  Pope Pius XII witnesses the “Miracle of the Sun” while at the Vatican.

Pope Pius XII and the Miracle of the Sun on October 30, 1950:

Miracle of the Sun in Fátima on October 13, 1917:

1947  The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which is the foundation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is founded.

1945  Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract for the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the baseball color barrier.

1944  Anne and Margot Frank are deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, where they die from disease the following year, shortly before the end of WWII.

Anne and Margot Frank:

Auschwitz-Birkenau Concentration Camp:

Bergen-Belsen Concentration Camp:

1942  Lt Tony Fasson, Able Seaman Colin Grazier and canteen assistant Tommy Brown from HMS Petard board U-559, retrieving material which would lead to the decryption of the German Enigma code.

1941  One thousand five hundred Jews from Pidhaytsi (in western Ukraine) are sent by Nazis to Bełżec extermination camp.

Bełżec Extermination Camp:

1941  World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves U.S. $1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Allied nations.

1938  Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells‘s The War of the Worlds, causing anxiety in some of the audience in the United States.

1929  The Stuttgart Cable Car is constructed in Stuttgart, Germany.

1925  John Logie Baird creates Britain’s first television transmitter.

1920  The Communist Party of Australia is founded in Sydney. The Communist Party of Australia is founded in Sydney.

1918  The Ottoman Empire signs an armistice with the Allies, ending the First World War in the Middle East.

Armistice of the Ottoman Empire:

Ottoman Empire and World War I:

History of the Ottoman Empire:

History of Turkey:

Turkey:

Foreign Relations of Turkey:

Economy of Turkey:

1905  Czar Nicholas II of Russia grants Russia’s first constitution, creating a legislative assembly.

1864  Helena, Montana is founded after four prospectors discover gold at “Last Chance Gulch”.

1864  Second Schleswig War ends. Denmark renounces all claim to Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, which come under Prussian and Austrian administration.

1831  In Southampton County, Virginia, escaped slave Nat Turner is captured and arrested for leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history.

1817  The independent government of Venezuela is established by Simón Bolívar.

1806  Believing he is facing a much larger force, Prussian Lieutenant General Friedrich von Romberg, commanding 5,300 men, surrendered the city of Stettin to 800 French soldiers commanded by General Lassalle.

1657  Spanish forces fail to retake Jamaica at the Battle of Ocho Rios during the Anglo-Spanish War.

 

 

OCTOBER 31

WORLD SAVINGS DAY

2014  Virgin Galactic‘s SpaceShipTwo crashes in the Mojave Desert during a test flight,

2011  The global population of humans reaches seven billion. This day is now recognized by the United Nations as Seven Billion Day.

2003  Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir’s 22 years in power.

2002  A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicts former Enron chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.

2000  Singapore Airlines Flight 006 crashes on takeoff in Taipei killing 83 people.

2000  Soyuz TM-31 launches, carrying the first resident crew to the International Space Station. The ISS has been crewed continuously since then.

1999  EgyptAir Flight 990 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 217 people on board.

1999  Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.

1998  Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.

1989  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1984  Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards. Riots break out in New Delhi and other cities and nearly 10,000 Sikhs are killed.

1973  Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, Republic of Ireland aboard a hijacked helicopter that lands in the exercise yard.

1969  The Disappearance of Patricia Spencer and Pamela Hobley occurs.

1968  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1989 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1968  Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of “all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam” effective November 1.

1961  In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin‘s body is removed from Vladimir Lenin’s Tomb.

1956  Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.

1944  Erich Göstl, a member of the Waffen-SS, is awarded the Knight’s Cross of the Iron Cross, to recognize extreme battlefield bravery, after losing his face and eyes during the Battle of Normandy.

1943  World War II: An F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception by a USN or USMC aircraft.

1941  World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 U.S. Navy sailors. It is the first US Navy vessel sunk by enemy action in WWII.

1941  After 14 years of work, Mount Rushmore is completed.

1940  World War II: The Battle of Britain ends: The United Kingdom prevents a possible German invasion.

1938  Great Depression: In an effort to restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.

1924  World Savings Day is announced in Milan, Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks).

1923  The first of 160 consecutive days of 100° Fahrenheit at Marble Bar, Western Australia.

1922  Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy

Benito Mussolini:

Timeline – Mussolini:

Mussolini’s Doctrine:

1918  World War I: Dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Austro-Hungarian (Hapsburg) Empire:

History of the Austro-Hungarian (Hapsburg) Empire:

1917  World War I: Battle of Beersheba: The “last successful cavalry charge in history”.

1876  A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 deaths.

1863  The Maori Wars resume as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron begin their Invasion of the Waikato.

Maori Wars a.k.a. New Zealand Wars:

NOVEMBER 1

2012  A fuel tank truck crashes and explodes in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh killing 26 people and injuring 135.

2000  Serbia and Montenegro joins the United Nations.

1993  The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union.

1982  Honda becomes the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the United States with the opening of its factory in Marysville, Ohio. The Honda Accord is the first car produced there.

1981  Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from the United Kingdom.

Antigua and Barbuda:

Foreign Relations of Antigua and Barbuda:

History of Antigua and Barbuda:

Economy of Antigua and Barbuda:

1980  USSR performs underground nuclear test at Krasnoyarsk.

Krasnoyarsk:

Nuclear Weapons Tests if the Soviet Union:

USSR’s Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Effect and/or Impact of Nuclear Weapons Tests:

Underground Nuclear Tests:

1979  In Bolivia, Colonel Alberto Natusch executes a bloody coup d’état against the constitutional government of Dr. Wálter Guevara.

1977  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1973  Watergate scandal: Leon Jaworski is appointed as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor.

Aftermath of Saturday Night Massacre:

Saturday Night Massacre:

Watergate Scandal:

Watergate Tapes:

1962  USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR.

1962  USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR.

1962  US performs atmospheric nuclear test at Johnston Island.

Nuclear Tests by the United States:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Johnston Atoll:

Various Weapons Tests and Storage at Johnston Atoll, and Permanent Contamination:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1963  The 1963 South Vietnamese coup begins.

1963  The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens.

1961  Fifty thousand women in 60 cities participate in the inaugural Women Strike for Peace (WSP) against nuclear proliferation.

1960  While campaigning for President of the United States, John F Kennedy announces his idea of the Peace Corps.

1959  In Rwanda, Hutu politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa is beaten up by Tutsi forces, leading to a period of violence known as the wind of destruction.

1958  USSR performs nuclear test.

1955  The bombing of United Airlines Flight 629 occurs near Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and five crew members aboard the Douglas DC-6B airliner.

1954  The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence.

Algerian War (of Independence):

History of Algeria:

Algeria:

Foreign Relations of Algeria:

Algeria and the United Nations:

Economy of Algeria:

1953  Andhra Pradesh attains statehood, with Kurnool as its capital.

1952  Operation Ivy: The United States successfully detonates the first large hydrogen bomb, codenamed “Mike” [“M” for megaton], in the Eniwetok atoll, located in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The explosion had a yield of ten megatons.

First Hydrogen Bomb on November 1, 1952:

Operation Ivy:

Enewetak (Eniwetok) Atoll:

Environmental and Health Issues, and the Enewetak Atoll:

Atmospheric/High-altitude Nuclear Explosion Testing:

Nuclear Weapons and the United States:

1951  Operation Buster–Jangle: Six thousand five hundred American soldiers are exposed to ‘Desert Rock’ atomic explosions for training purposes in Nevada. Participation is not voluntary.

1951  US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.

For some more pertinent information, see “1977 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site”, mentioned above.

1950 Pope Pius XII claims papal infallibility when he formally defines the dogma of the Assumption of Mary.

1950  Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S Truman at Blair House.

1948  Athenagoras I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is enthroned.

1948  Off southern Manchuria, 6,000 people die as a Chinese merchant ship explodes and sinks.

1946 Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, is ordained to the priesthood by Kraków‘s archbishop, Adam Sapieha.

Karol Wojtyla or Pope John Paul II:

1945  Australia joins the United Nations.

Australia:

Foreign Relations of Australia:

Australia and the United Nations:

History of Australia:

Economy of Australia:

1945  The official North Korean newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, is first published under the name Chongro.

1944  World War II: Units of the British Army land at Walcheren in the Netherlands.

1943  World War II: In support of the landings on Bougainville, US aircraft carrier forces attack the huge Japanese base at Rabaul.

1943  World War II: In the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, United States Marines, the 3rd Marine Division, land on Bougainville in the Solomon Islands.

1942  World War II: Matanikau Offensive begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends three days later with an American victory.

1941  American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography.

1939  The first rabbit born after artificial insemination is exhibited to the world.

1938  Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral in an upset victory during a match race deemed “the match of the century” in horse racing.

1937  Stalinists execute Pastor Paul Hamberg and seven members of Azerbaijan’s Lutheran community.

1928  The Law on the Adoption and Implementation of the Turkish Alphabet, replacing the version of the Arabic alphabet previously used with the Latin alphabet, comes into force in Turkey.

1922  Abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate: The last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed VI, abdicates.

Ottoman Empire and World War I:

History of the Ottoman Empire:

1918  The short-lived Banat Republic is founded.

1918  Western Ukraine gains its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

History of Ukraine:

1918  Malbone Street Wreck: The worst rapid transit accident in US history occurs under the intersection of Malbone Street and Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, with at least 102 deaths.

1916  Pavel Milyukov delivers in the State Duma the famous “stupidity or treason” speech, precipitating the downfall of the Boris Stürmer government.

1915  Parris Island is officially designated a United States Marine Corps Recruit Depot.

1914  World War I: The Australian Imperial Force (AIF) departed by ship in a single convoy from Albany, Western Australia bound for Egypt.

1914 World War I: The first British Royal Navy defeat of the war with Germany, the Battle of Coronel, is fought off of the western coast of Chile, in the Pacific, with the loss of HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth.

1911  The first dropping of a bomb from an aircraft in combat, during the Italo-Turkish War.

1901  Sigma Phi Epsilon, the largest national male collegiate fraternity, is established at Richmond College, in Richmond, Virginia.

1897  The first Library of Congress building opens its doors to the public. The Library had been housed in the Congressional Reading Room in the U.S. Capitol.

1894  Nicholas II becomes the new (and last) Tsar of Russia after his father, Alexander III, dies.

______________________________

Satoshi Ashikaga, having worked as researcher, development program/project officer, legal protection/humanitarian assistance officer, human rights monitor-negotiator, managing-editor, and more, prefers a peaceful and prudent life, especially that in communion with nature.  His previous work experiences, including those in war zones and war-torn zones, remind him of the invaluableness of peace.  His interest and/or expertise includes international affairs, international law, jurisprudence, economic and business affairs, project/operations or organizational management, geography, history, the environmental/ecological issues, audio/visual documentation of nature and culture, and more. Being a member of the TRANSCEND Network for Peace, Development and Environment, he is currently compiling This Week in History on TMS.

(Sources and references: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_26 to Novebmer_1; http://www.onthisday.com/day/october/26 to november/1; http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/october_26.html to _november_1.html; and other pertinent websites and/or documents, mentioned above.)

  1. The views expressed in the cited or quoted websites and/or documents in this article do not necessarily reflect those of the author of this article. These websites and/or documents are cited or quoted for academic or educational purposes. Neither the author of this article nor the Transcend Media Service (TMS) is responsible for the contents, information, or whatsoever contained in these websites and/or documents.
  2. One of the primary purposes of this article is to provide the readers with opportunities to think about “peace”, including positive peace and negative peace as well as external/outer peace and internal/inner peace, and more, directly or indirectly, from various angles and/or in the broadest sense, through historical events. It is because this article is prepared specifically for the TMS whose main objective is to address “peace” through peace journalism.

This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 26 Oct 2015.

Anticopyright: Editorials and articles originated on TMS may be freely reprinted, disseminated, translated and used as background material, provided an acknowledgement and link to the source, TMS: This Week in History, is included. Thank you.

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