On October 10, 1913, President Woodrow Wilson pressed a telegraph key in Washington, D.C., sending an electrical signal across more than 2,000 miles that detonated dynamite charges deep in the jungles of Panama. The explosion tore through the Gamboa Dike, the last barrier separating…
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On October 10, 2002, the U.S. Congress approved the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq, often referred to as the Iraq War Resolution. The move marked a major step toward war, giving President George W. Bush the power to use military action…
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On October 10, 1845, the United States Naval School opened in Annapolis, Maryland, with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors. The curriculum included mathematics and navigation, gunnery and steam, chemistry, English, natural philosophy, and French. “When the founders of the United States Naval Academy…
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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 October 9, 1986, The Phantom of the Opera premiered at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London’s West End, marking the beginning of a remarkable journey that would see it become one of the most beloved and successful musicals in history. Composed by Andrew Lloyd…
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On October 9, 1635, the leaders of Massachusetts Bay Colony had finally had enough of one rabble-rouser, Roger Williams, and threw him out of their colony. His crime? He believed that people should have the freedom to worship however they pleased and strongly supported…
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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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On October 8, 1939, just weeks after the invasion of Poland, Nazi Germany officially annexed large portions of the country, marking a significant moment in the early stages of World War II. This act followed the German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939,…
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On October 8, 1956, Don Larsen made baseball history and became a legend. In game 5 of the World Series, the Yankees pitcher threw the only perfect game to ever occur in the Fall Classic, blanking the Brooklyn Dodgers. Larsen, writes the Baseball Hall of Fame,…
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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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