Outandabout-Magazine-Oct-issue-191

MEMORY LANE
October 1, 1908 - Henry Ford’s
Model T, a “universal car”
designed for the masses, went on
sale for the first time.
October 1, 1979 - After 70 years
of American control, the Panama
Canal Zone was formally
handed over to Panama.
October 3, 1863 - President
Abraham Lincoln issued a
proclamation designating the
last Thursday in November as
Thanksgiving Day.
October 5, 1964 - The largest
mass escape since the
construction of the Berlin Wall
occurred as 57 East German
refugees escaped to West Berlin
after tunnelling beneath the wall.
Birthday - “Father of the Space
Age” Robert Goddard (1882-
1945) was born in Worcester,
Massachusetts. During his
lifetime he was ridiculed by
the public and the press over
his idea of constructing a
space flight machine. In 1926,
he launched the world’s first
liquid-fuelled rocket on a
farm near Auburn, Mass. In
1935, his liquid-fueled rocket
surpassed the speed of sound.
Other developments included
a steering apparatus for rocket
machines, staged rockets to
reach high altitudes, rocket fuel
pumps, and a self-cooling rocket
motor.
October 6, 1927 - The first
“talkie” opened in New York.
The Jazz Singer starring Al
Jolson was the first full-length
feature film using spoken
dialogue.
Birthday - Engineer and
inventor George Westinghouse
(1846-1914) was born in
Central Bridge, New York. He
developed air brakes for trains
and was later responsible for the
adoption of alternating current
(AC) systems for electric power
transmission in the U.S. He was
also the first employer to give his
employees paid vacations.
Birthday - John Lennon (1940-
1980) was born in Liverpool,
England. He was a member
of The Beatles, an influential
rock group which captivated
audiences first in England and
Germany, and later in America
and throughout the world. He
was murdered in New York City
on December 8, 1980.
October 13, 1792 - The
cornerstone of the White House
was laid by George Washington.
The building, located at 1600
Pennsylvania Avenue, is three
stories tall with over 100
rooms, and was designed by
James Hoban. In November of
1800, President John Adams
and his family moved in. The
building was first known as
the “Presidential Palace,” but
acquired the name “White
House” about 10 years after
its completion. It was burned
by British troops in 1814, then
reconstructed, refurbished and
reoccupied in 1817.
October 13, 1884 - Greenwich
was established as the universal
time from which standard
times throughout the world are
calculated.
October 20, 1944 - During World
War II in the Pacific, General
Douglas MacArthur set foot on
Philippine soil for the first time
since his escape in 1942, fulfilling
his promise, “I shall return.”
October 24, 1929 - “Black
Thursday” occurred in the New
York Stock Exchange as nearly 13
million shares were sold in panic
selling. Five days later “Black
Tuesday” saw 16 million shares
sold.
Birthday - Artist Pablo Picasso
(1881-1973) was born in Malaga,
Spain. He was an experimental
painter and also became a fine
sculptor, engraver and ceramist.
October 28, 1886 - The Statue
of Liberty was dedicated on
Bedloe’s Island in New York
Harbor. The statue was a gift
from the people of France
commemorating the French-
American alliance during the
American Revolutionary War.
Designed by Frederic Auguste
Bartholdi, the entire structure
stands 300 feet (92.9 meters)
tall. The pedestal contains the
words: “Give me your tired,
your poor, your huddled masses
yearning to breathe free, the
wretched refuse of your teeming
shore. Send these, the homeless,
tempest-tost to me, I lift my
lamp beside the golden door!”
October 31st - Halloween or
All Hallow’s Eve, an ancient
celebration combining the
Christian festival of All Saints
with Pagan autumn festivals.
October 31, 1940 - The Battle of
Britain concluded. Beginning on
July 10, 1940, German bombers
and fighters had attacked coastal
targets, airfields, London and
other cities, as a prelude to a
Nazi invasion of England. British
pilots in Spitfires and Hurricanes
shot down over 1,700 German
aircraft while losing 915 fighters.
“Never in the field of human
conflict was so much owed by so
many to so few,” declared Prime
Minister Winston Churchill.