On the evening of October 9, 1604, a new and dazzling light appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus. To observers across Europe and Asia, it was as if a new star had been born overnight—a radiant point that outshone every other object in the night…
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On the evening of October 8, 1969, Chicago’s Grant Park became the staging ground for one of the most explosive and controversial protests of the Vietnam era—the opening rally of the “Days of Rage.” Organized by the Weather Underground, a radical splinter faction of…
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By early October 1777, the fate of Britain’s northern campaign hung in the balance. General John Burgoyne’s grand plan—to drive south from Canada and cut off New England from the rest of the colonies—had stalled along the upper Hudson River. His supply lines stretched…
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The morning of October 6, 1923, marked the end of an era—and the symbolic birth of another. For nearly five years, foreign troops had occupied Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul), the ancient capital of empires, following the Ottoman Empire’s defeat in World War I. That day,…
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By the autumn of 1877, the Nez Perce War had become one of the most remarkable and tragic episodes in the long struggle between Native peoples and the expanding United States. What began that June as a desperate flight to preserve tribal freedom ended…
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On October 4, 1535, a landmark in the history of faith, politics, and language took place: the first complete Bible printed in English, known ever after as the Coverdale Bible. Though it bore the name of Myles Coverdale, an Augustinian friar turned reformer, the…
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On October 3, South Korea marks one of its most venerable observances—Gaecheonjeol (개천절), the “Day the Heavens Opened.” According to tradition, the origins of the Korean nation trace back not merely to migrations or dynastic shifts, but to the descent of a celestial being.…
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In the predawn hours of October 2, 1835, a column of Mexican dragoons rode toward the small frontier settlement of Gonzales. Their mission, routine in the eyes of Mexican authorities, would prove incendiary: they had come to reclaim a small cannon loaned to the…
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When Isabella Mary Beeton’s Book of Household Management appeared on October 1, 1861, few could have anticipated the reach and endurance of what became the most famous domestic manual of the Victorian age. Selling some 60,000 copies in its first year alone, the work…
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On October 1, 1971, a new kingdom joined the ranks of the world. On that day Disney opened the gates to “the most magical place on Earth”: Walt Disney World. This sprawling complex, covering over 25,000 acres, was a monumental leap forward from Disneyland…
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