This Week in History: Oct. 30-Nov. 5th

Oct 30- 1938: A dramatization of H. G. Wells’ “War of the Worlds,” narrated by Mercury Theater host Orson Welles and broadcast on the CBS Radio Network, causes widespread panic across the US in the belief that a Martian invasion was actually occurring. Some listeners fled their homes to escape and local authorities were inundated with phone calls from terrified citizens. 1961: The USSR tests a 58 megaton hydrogen bomb dubbed “Tsar Bomba” over the Arctic Ocean, the most powerful nuclear weapon ever detonated and 3,300 times more powerful than the bomb dropped on Hiroshima near the end of World War II. 1973: The Bosphorus Bridge, spanning the Bosphorus Strait in Istanbul, Turkey, opens to traffic, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia. 1974: Boxer Muhammed Ali knocks out George Foreman during the eighth found of their “Rumble in the Jungle” in Kinshasa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of the Congo), regaining his heavyweight crown.

Oct 31- 1517: Theologian Martin Luther sends his 95 Theses to the Archbishop of Mainz. And in popular belief he nailed them to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany, though some religious scholars question the accuracy of that event. Regardless, his actions marked the beginning of the Protestant Reformation, splitting Christianity between the Catholic and Protestant churches. 1918: The “Spanish Flu” kills more than 21,000 Americans in a single week, the United States’ deadliest of the worldwide pandemic. 1996: Actress Elizabeth Taylor divorces her eighth (and last) husband, construction worker Larry Fortensky. 2011: The United Nations announces that world population had reached seven billion people.

Nov 1- 1755: The most destructive earthquake in European history, just off the coast under the Atlantic Ocean and estimated to have been of magnitude 8.5 – 9 on the Richter Scale, kills more than 50,000 people in Lisbon, Portugal. 1922: Troops led by Mustafa Ataturk capture the city of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and he proclaims the territory to be the Republic of Turkey, marking the end of the 600-year Ottoman Empire. 1950: Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate President Harry S. Truman. Torresola dies during the attack and Collazo is sentenced to die after his trial. President Truman commutes his sentence to life imprisonment near the end of his term in 1952. 1950: Chuck Cooper debuts for the Boston Celtics, the first African American man to play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). 1997: The movie “Titanic” premieres at the Tokyo International Film Festival. The film would win the Best Picture award in 1998.

Nov 2- 1898: The first cheerleaders at an American sporting event are led by Johnny Campbell and encourage supporters of the University of Minnesota football team. (GO GOPHERS?) 1917: Great Britain issues the Balfour Declaration supporting creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. 1947: Billionaire Howard Hughes, whose company had designed and built a wooden flying boat for use by the US military in World War II but failed to complete the project before the war ended, takes the “Spruce Goose” for its maiden (and only) flight a mile over the Pacific Ocean near Long Beach, CA. The one-of-a-kind aircraft can be visited and toured at the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum in McMinnville, OR. 2016: The Chicago Cubs beat the Cleveland Indians 8-7 in game 7 of the World Series, winning the team’s first championship in 108 years! 2020: “Baby Shark” by Pinkfong becomes the most watched video in the history of the popular YouTube website, with more than 7.04 BILLION views (and still growing!).

Nov 3- 1906: The International Radiotelegraph Conference in Berlin, Germany chooses SOS (∙∙∙—∙∙∙) as the worldwide distress signal. 1914: The first modern elastic brassiere is patented by NYC socialite Mary Phelps Jacob. 1957: The USSR launches Sputnik 2 with a Siberian husky named “Laika” onboard. While Laika became celebrated as the first animal in space, the Soviet Union was universally condemned for sending the previously stray dog to a certain death. The capsule orbited the Earth for 162 days and burned up during reentry into the atmosphere. 1972: Singer-songwriter James Taylor marries singer-songwriter Carly Simon in a low-key ceremony at her Manhattan high-rise apartment overlooking Central Park. That evening the bride joined her new husband on stage at his sold-out Radio City Music Hall concert. (Definitely NOT low-key!) The singers remained married for 11 years, divorcing in 1983.

Nov 4- 1841: The first wagon train arrives in California, 5 ½ months after leaving Missouri, having traveled some 1,730 miles and crossing the Sierra Nevada mountains during the voyage. 1842: Representative Abraham Lincoln weds his future first lady Mary Todd in Springfield, IL. 1879: James Ritty patents the first cash register, in an attempt to combat bartenders stealing proceeds from his saloon in Dayton, OH. (They do say “necessity is the mother of invention…”)! 1922: British archeologist Howard Carter discovers the intact tomb of Egypt’s boy- king Tutankhamun (better known as King Tut). 1979: Iranian students storm the US Embassy in Teheran, beginning the 444 day-long Iran Hostage Crisis, with 52 Americans held until January 20, 1981, and the inauguration of President Ronald Reagan.

Nov 5- 1605: Guy Fawkes plots to blow up English King James I and Parliament but is caught, tortured, and executed. “Guy Fawkes Day” is still celebrated in England, with ritual burnings of his effigy and fireworks displays! 1889: Louisa Woosley becomes the first female to become an ordained minister in any Presbyterian denomination. 1935: Parker Brothers launches the board game “Monopoly.” 1937: Adolf Hitler holds a secret meeting with German military leaders to discuss his intentions of going to war. 1979: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini first describes the United States as “The Great Satan.”