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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Fun On this date in history...

Discussion in 'Fun and Games' started by Juliet316, Dec 26, 2012.

  1. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    On October 11th...

    In 1138, an earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, killed an estimated 230,000 people.

    In 1634, the Burchardi flood killed an estimated 15,000 in Denmark and Germany.

    In 1737, an earthquake killed an estimated 300,000 people in Calcutta.

    In 1797, the English navy defeated the Dutch fleet at the Battle of Camperdown.

    In 1884, Eleanor Roosevelt was born.

    In 1945, the Chinese Civil War began between Mao Zedong's Communist Party and Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang government.

    In 1962, the Second Vatican Council was convened.

    In 1975, Saturday Night Live premiered on NBC with George Carlin as host.

    In 1986, Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev opened talks at a summit in Reykjavik, Iceland.
     
    Last edited: Oct 11, 2019
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  2. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    11 October 1910: Theodore Roosevelt, Jr., was the first President of the United States of America to fly aboard an airplane.
    At Kinloch Field, St. Louis, Missouri, (now, Lambert–St. Louis International Airport) Arch Hoxsey, a member of the Wright demonstration team, invited the former president (1901–1909) for a flight. Initially Roosevelt declined, but then accepted the offer to accompany Hoxsey aboard the Wright Model B.
    An article appearing in the New-York Tribune the following day described the flight:
    . . . The aeroplane sped quickly around the field at a height of less than one hundred feet. It made the first lap of a mile and a half before news percolated through the crowd that Mr. Roosevelt was Hoxsey’s passenger. When he swept past the grandstand he leaned forward a bit and waved his hands. The spectators seemed frightened and remained silent, watching the aeroplane intently.
    Nearly a Mile a Minute
    The flying machine sped by and made the turn for the second lap. Hoxsey could be seen to bend over and shout something into Mr. Roosevelt’s ear. The engine cracked regularly, hurling the aeroplane forward at a speed of nearly a mile a minute, but from the ground it looked as though it were travelling much slower because it sailed so evenly and smoothly. There was not a breath of wind, and the engine did not miss fire once.
    At the end of the second lap, Hoxsey dipped his planes and the machine descended easily, striking the ground without a jar a few rods from the grandstand. The machine glided over the grass a short distance and stopped.
    Mr. Roosevelt, smiling his most expansive smile, disembarked backward. He became entangles in the wires, but was soon out of them.
    When the spectators saw that he had landed safely, they cheered wildly, and the guards had all they could do to keep the crowd from breaking into the field.
    Mr. Roosevelt’s first act after alighting was to shake Hoxsey’s hand vigorously.
    “It was great! First class! It was the finest experience I have ever had,” he declared. “I wish I could stay up for an hour, but I haven’t the time this afternoon.”
    The event was captured on an early news film, which is in the collection of the Library of Congress.

    After a positioning flight from Heston on 3 October 1933, at 5:28 a.m. British Summer Time (B.S.T.), on Wednesday, 4 October, Sir Charles Kingsford Smith, M.C., A.F.C., took off from Lympne Aerodrome, Kent en route Wyndham, Western Australia. He had said that he wanted to arrive there as soon as possible, but breaking a record was not his stated purpose. Kingsford Smith’s airplane was a Percival D.2 Gull IV, which he had named Miss Southern Cross.
    On the first day, “Smitty” flew to Brindisi, Italy, arriving at 4:30 p.m. He departed for Baghdad, Kingdom of Iraq, at 3:30 a.m., the following morning after a 1,600 mile (2,575 kilometer) non-stop flight.
    Departing Baghdad at 4:00 a.m. local (2:00 a.m. B.S.T.), 6 October, Kingsford Smith intended to fly on to Karachi in the Bombay Presidency, but feeling unwell, he landed at Gwadar, on the coast of the Gulf of Oman. He rested over night and departed early the next morning, finally arriving at Karachi at about 10:00 a.m., 7 October.
    Five hours later, Kingsford Smith took off for Calcutta, British India, and arrived there at 1:40 p.m. on 8 October. He refueled and after about 30 minutes was airborne once again, flying to Akyab, British Burma. He remained there overnight, but departed at dawn the following morning, 9 October.
    From Akyab, on 10 October Smitty flew to Alor Star, Kingdom of Siam. He landed at 5:15 p.m., local time. Once again airborne at dawn the following day, Kingsford Smith’s next destination was Sourabya, Java, in the Dutch East Indies. He landed at 6:23 p.m., local time.
    The final leg of the journey began at 4:55 a.m., local, 11 October. Flying across the Timor Sea, Charles Kingsford Smith landed at Wyndham, Western Australia, at 5:12 p.m., local (9:12 a.m., G.M.T.).
    The total elapsed time, from Lympne to Wyndham, was 7 days, 4 hours, 44 minutes. (The previous record for a solo flight was 8 days, 20 hours, 47 minutes, set by Charles William Anderson Scott in 1932.)

    11 October 1956: At 3:27 p.m., local time, (05:57 GMT) a Mk.1 Atom Bomb, code-named Blue Danube, detonated at approximately 490 feet (150 meters) over the Kite Site on the Maralinga Test Range, South Australia. The bomb had been dropped from a Royal Air Force Vickers Valiant B.1 bomber, WZ366, flying at 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). The aircraft commander was Squadron Leader E.J.G. (“Ted”) Flavell, RAF.
    The Kite air burst was the third detonation of Operation Buffalo, but this was the first British atomic bomb which had been dropped from an airplane.
    Squadron Leader Edwin James George (“Ted”) Flavell, A.F.C., Royal Air Force, was born at Battersea, England, 25 April 1922. He entered the Royal Air Force as an aircraft mechanic in 1938, then underwent pilot training in Canada. During World War II, he flew many secret missions over Europe and Scandinavia, inserting agents and dropping supplies in occupied territories.
    Ted Flavell also flew airplanes which were towing glider transports for the D-Day invasion and Operation Market Garden.

    11 October 1968: at 15:02:45 UTC, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo spacecraft, was launched aboard a Saturn IB rocket from Launch Complex 34, Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Cape Kennedy, Florida.
    The flight crew were Captain Walter M. (“Wally”) Schirra, United States Navy, the mission commander, on his third space flight; Major Donn F. Eisele, U.S. Air Force, the Command Module Pilot, on his first space flight; and Major R. Walter Cunningham, U.S. Marine Corps, Lunar Module Pilot, also on his first space flight.
    The mission was designed to test the Apollo spacecraft and its systems. A primary goal was the test of the Service Propulsion System (SPS), which included a restartable Aerojet AJ10-137 rocket engine which would place an Apollo Command and Service Module into and out of lunar orbit on upcoming missions.
    The duration of the flight of Apollo 7 was 10 days, 20 hours, 9 minutes, 3 seconds, during which it orbited the Earth 163 times. The spacecraft splashed down 22 October 1968, approximately 230 miles (370 kilometers) south south west of Bermuda in the Atlantic Ocean, 8 miles (13 kilometers) from the recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Essex (CVS-9).
     
  3. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ALSO ON OCTOBER 11th:

    In 1779, Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski, fighting for American independence, died two days after being wounded during the Revolutionary War Battle of Savannah, GA.

    In 1809, explorer/soldier/politician Meriweather Lewis died in Hohenwald, TN at age 35.

    In 1852, The University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney.

    In 1890, the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, D.C.

    In 1905, the Juilliard School was founded as the Institute of Musical Art in New York.

    In 1925, The New York Giants played their first NFL game. The Giants lost 14-0 to Providence.

    In 1932, the first American political telecast took place as the Democratic National Committee sponsored a program from a CBS television studio in New York.

    In 1943, actor John Nettles was born in St. Austell, Cornwall, England. He’d later star in the mystery series “Midsomer Murders”, episodes of which are a popular item in the collection of South Plainfield Public Library.

    In 1944, the film noir classics "To Have and Have Not," starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and "Laura," starring Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews, opened in New York City.

    In 1956, on “Playhouse 90”, the teleplay “Requiem for a Heavyweight” was broadcast on CBS. Written by Rod Serling, it starred Jack Palance, Keenan Wynn, Ed Wynn and Kim Hunter.

    In 1958, the lunar probe Pioneer 1 was launched; it failed to go as far out as planned, fell back to Earth, and burned up in the atmosphere.

    In 1960, Nicola Bryant was born in Guildford, Surrey, England. She’s well-known to Whovians as (pseudo)American Companion Peri Brown.

    In 1961, actor/comedian/musician Chico Marx died in Hollywood, CA at age 74.

    In 1962, the horror/wrestling movie “Santo vs. las mujeres vampiro” was released in Mexico. Under the title “Samson vs. the Vampire Women”, it would be featured on Frank Conniff’s last regular episode of “Mystery Science Theater 3000”.

    Also in 1962, the sit-com “McHale’s Navy” premiered on ABC-TV.

    In 1964, actor/comedian/writer/musician Michael J. Nelson was born in St. Charles, IL. He’d earn the title “Destroyer of Worlds” later on.

    In 1965, actor Sean Patrick Flanery was born in Lake Charles, LA. He’d later play a certain archaeologist during his younger days.

    In 1968, the government of Panama was overthrown in a military coup.

    In 1971, Lt. Gen. Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, USMC died in Hampton, VA at age 73.

    In 1976, George Washington’s appointment, posthumously, to the grade of General of the Armies by congressional joint resolution Public Law 94-479 was approved by President Gerald Ford.

    In 1984, Challenger astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space as she and fellow Mission Specialist David C. Leestma spent 3 1/2 hours outside the shuttle.

    In 1986, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev met in Reykjavik, Iceland, in an effort to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe.

    In 1988, filming began on “Star Trek V: The Final Frontier”.

    In 1991, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her; Thomas re-appeared before the panel to denounce the proceedings as a "high-tech lynching."

    In 1997, on “Mystery Science Theater 3000”, the “movie” “Invasion of the Neptune Men” was featured. The cast would consider it one of the worst and most offensive movies they’d ever shown on the series.

    In 2001, The Polaroid Corporation filed for federal bankruptcy protection.

    In 2019, cosmonaut/author/artist Alexei Leonov died in Moscow age 85. During the Voskhod 2 flight, he was the first man to walk in space. He later served as Commander of Soyuz 19, the Russian half of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.
     
  4. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
  5. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 27, 2005
  6. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    On October 12th...

    In 539 BCE, the Cyrus the Great of Persia's army captured Babylon.

    In 1279, Nichiren, the Japanese monk who founded Nichiren Buddhism, inscribed the Dai-Gohonzon.

    In 1492, Christopher Columbus's expedition made landfall in the Caribbean, although he erroneously believed he had reached Asia.

    In 1609, the beloved children's rhyme "Three Blind Mice" was published in London.

    In 1822, Victor Hugo, author of the Hunchback of Notre Dame, married Adele Fourcher.

    In 1893, Booker T. Washington wed Margaret James Murray.

    In 1915, under Henry Ford, the Ford Motor Company manufactured its millionth automobile at its River Rouge plant in Detroit, Michigan.

    In 1960, Japanese politician Inejiro Asanuma was assassinated during a televised live debate by seventeen-year-old nationalist Otoya Yamaguchi.

    In 1968, the first Olympic Games in Latin America opened in Mexico City, Mexico.

    In 1999, the proclaimed sixth billionth living person was born and the world human population is said to have reached six billion for the first time.
     
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  7. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    12 October 1925: At Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York, Lieutenant Cyrus Bettis, Air Service, United States Army, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record for Speed Over 100 kilometers (62.14 miles), flying a Curtiss R3C-1 racing plane, #43. His average speed was 401.28 kilometers per hour (249.34 miles per hour). Lieutenant Bettis was awarded the Pulitzer Trophy.

    12 October 1944: During World War II, First Lieutenant Charles Elwood Yeager, Air Corps, Army of the United States (A.U.S.), was a P-51 Mustang fighter pilot assigned to the 363d Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group, stationed at RAF Leiston (USAAF Station 373), near the village of Theberton, Suffolk, England.
    Recently promoted from the warrant rank of Flight Officer, Lieutenant Yeager—as one of the most experienced pilots in the group— was leading the 357th on a bomber escort mission against Bremen, Germany. While the Group’s 362nd and 364th Fighter Squadrons remained with the B-24 bombers, Yeager and the 363d patrolled 50 to 100 miles (80 to 160 kilometers) ahead.
    At 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) over Steinhuder Meer, northwest of Hanover, Yeager sighted a group of Messerschmitt Bf 109 fighters (also called the Me 109). He was soon able to count 22. Yeager and his squadron of 16 Mustangs circled and attacked out of the sun.
    As Chuck Yeager maneuvered his P-51D Mustang, named Glamorous Glenn II, to fire at a trailing Bf 109, the German fighter suddenly turned left and collided with his wingman. Both pilots bailed out of their fighters and the two Bf 109s went down.
    It was almost comic, scoring two quick victories without firing a shot. . . By now, all the airplanes in the sky had dropped their wing tanks and were spinning and diving in a wild, wide-open dogfight. I blew up a 109 from six hundred yards—my third victory—when I turned to see another angling in behind me. Man I pulled back the throttle so damned hard I nearly stalled, rolled up and over, came in behind and under him, kicking right rudder and simultaneously firing. I was directly underneath the guy, less than fifty feet, and I opened up that 109 as if it were a can of Spam. That made four. A moment later, I waxed a guy’s fanny in a steep dive; I pulled up at about 1,000 feet; he went straight into the ground.
    Lieutenant Yeager had destroyed five enemy fighters during a single battle. He became “an Ace in one day” and was awarded the Silver Star. Of the twenty-two Me 109s, the 363rd had destroyed eight without losing a single Mustang.

    12 October 1954: North American Aviation Chief Engineering Test Pilot George S. Welch, testing the ninth production F-100A-1-NA Super Sabre, serial number 52-5764, made a planned 7.3 G pullout from a Mach 1.55 dive to verify the aircraft’s design limits.
    A Boeing B-47 Stratojet crew flying at 25,000 feet (7,620 meters) reported that Welch’s F-100 winged over and began a rapid descent, passing within four miles (6.4 kilometers) of their position and diving at a very high speed. The aircraft appeared to be under control but then suddenly disintegrated.
    The Super Sabre had encountered Inertial Roll Coupling. It went out of control and then disintegrated. Its nose folded over the windshield, crushing Welch in his seat. The vertical fin broke away. The ejection seat fired but because of the supersonic speeds the parachute was shredded.
    Welch was still alive when rescue teams arrived. He died while being flown to a hospital by helicopter.
    Inertial roll coupling led to the death of test pilot Mel Apt when his rocket-powered airplane, the Bell X-2, went out of control at Mach 3.2 It nearly killed Chuck Yeager when he lost control of the Bell X-1B at Mach 2.4.
    North American Aviation built 199 F-100A Super Sabres at its Inglewood, California, plant before production shifted to the F-100C fighter bomber variant. Approximately 25% of all F-100As were lost in accidents.
    George S. Welch is best remembered as one of the heroes of Pearl Harbor. He, along with Second Lieutenant Kenneth M. Taylor, were the only two fighter pilots to get airborne from Haleiwa Auxiliary Airfield during the Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii, 7 December 1941. Flying a Curtiss P-40B Warhawk, he shot down three Aichi D3A “Val” dive bombers and one Mitsubishi A6M2 Zero fighter. Taylor also shot down four Japanese airplanes. For this action, Lieutenant General Henry H. “Hap” Arnold recommended the Medal of Honor, but because Lieutenants Welch and Taylor had taken off without orders, an officer in their chain of command refused to endorse the nomination. Both fighter pilots were awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.
    During the War, Welch flew the Bell P-39 Airacobra and Lockheed P-38 Lightning on 348 combat missions. He had 16 confirmed aerial victories over Japanese airplanes and rose to the rank of Major. In addition to the Distinguished Service Cross, George Welch was awarded the Silver Star, the Distinguished Flying Cross with two oak leaf clusters (three awards), the Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster (two awards), the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters (three awards), American Defense Service medal with one service star, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with one silver and one bronze star (six campaigns), and the World War II Victory Medal.
    Welch received the nickname, “Wheaties,” because he was the first military officer to be featured on a box of Wheaties cereal. (Wheaties, “The Breakfast of Champions,” was a toasted wheat bran cereal produced by General Mills. It normally featured champion athletes on its distinctive orange-colored boxes.)
    George Welch made the first flight of the XP-86 prototype, 1 October 1947. There is some evidence that on that flight, and during a subsequent flight on 14 October, Welch exceeded the speed of sound while in a dive. It has been said that during the Korean War, while teaching U.S. Air Force pilots how to best use the F-86 Sabre, he shot down several enemy MiG-15 jet fighters.

    12 October 1961: From August to October 1961, Jackie Cochran, a consultant to Northrop Corporation, set a series of speed, distance and altitude records while flying a Northrop T-38A-30-NO Talon supersonic trainer, serial number 60-0551. On the final day of the record series, she set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) world records, taking the T-38 to altitudes of 16,841 meters (55,253 feet) in horizontal flight and reaching a peak altitude of 17,091 meters (56,073 feet).
    Famed U.S. Air Force test pilot Chuck Yeager, a close friend of Jackie Cochran, kept notes during the record series:
    “October 12 Jackie took off at 9 am in the T-38 using afterburner. Bud Anderson and I chased her in the F-100. It was an excellent flight with everything working perfect. Jackie entered the course at 55,800 feet at .93 Mach and accelerated to radar. At the end of the run Jackie pulled up to 56,800 and then pushed over. She cut the right afterburner at 52,000 feet and the left one at 50,000. At 12,000 feet she removed the face piece from her pressure suit and made a perfect landing on the lake bed.
    “Northrop-Air (Norair) presented Miss Cochran with one dozen yellow roses.
    “A very tender ending to a wonderful program and a fitting token to a wonderful lady—a pilot who gave Norair much more than they expected.”
     
    Last edited: Oct 12, 2019
  8. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    On October 13

    In 54, Nero succeeded Claudius as Roman Emperor.

    In 1307, French King Philip IV had Grandmaster Jacques de Molay and the Knights Templar in France arrested on charges of idolatry and corruption.

    In 1884, Greenwich in London established as the time meridian of longitude.

    In 1925, Margaret Thatcher was born.

    In 1945, Milton S. Hershey, founder of Hershey's chocolate, died.

    In 1976, first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy.

    In 1987, the US Navy in the Persian Gulf first used trained dolphins for military purposes.

    In 2016, singer and songwriter Bob Dylan awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
     
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  9. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ALSO ON OCTOBER 12th:

    In 1870, General Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, VA, at age 63.

    In 1901, President Theodore Roosevelt officially renamed the "Executive Mansion" to the White House.

    In 1904, author/journalist Lester Dent, creator of Doc Savage, was born in La Plata, MO.

    In 1915, English nurse Edith Cavell was executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium during World War I. (The night before the sentence was carried out, Cavell met with chaplain H. Stirling Gahan, who later quoted her as saying: "I realize that patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness towards any one.")

    Also in 1915, former President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking to the Knights of Columbus in New York, criticized native-born Americans (as opposed to naturalized citizens) who identified themselves by dual nationalities, saying that "a hyphenated American is not an American at all."

    In 1917, during World War I, the First Battle of Passchendaele took place, resulting in the largest single day loss of life in New Zealand history.

    In 1921, animator Art Clokey, creator of Gumby and Davey & Goliath, was born in Detroit, MI.

    In 1933, bank robber John Dillinger escaped from a jail in Allen County, OH, with the help of his gang, who killed the sheriff, Jess Sarber.

    In 1942, during World War II, American naval forces defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Cape Esperance.

    Also in 1942, Attorney General Francis Biddle announced during a Columbus Day celebration at Carnegie Hall in New York that Italian nationals in the United States would no longer be considered enemy aliens.

    In 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev pounded his shoe on a desk at a United Nations General Assembly meeting to protest a Philippine assertion of Soviet Union colonial policy being conducted in Eastern Europe.

    In 1964, the Soviet Union launched Voskhod 1 with a three-man crew on the first mission involving more than one crew member (the flight lasted just over 24 hours). The crew consisted of Command Pilot Vladimir Komorov, Engineer Konstantin Feoktistov and physician Dr. Boris Yegorov.

    In 1973, President Richard Nixon nominated House minority leader Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to succeed Spiro T. Agnew as vice president.

    In 1974, on “Star Trek: The Animated Series”, the series finale, “The Counter-Clock Incident”, was broadcast on NBC-TV. It featured the first appearance of NCC-1701’s first C.O., Commodore Robert April (voiced by James Doohan) and first Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sarah April (voiced by Nichelle Nichols).

    In 1979, Han Solo’s Revenge by Brian Daley was published by Del Rey.

    Also in 1979, the novel The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, written by Douglas Adams and based on his radio series, was published,

    In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing five people.

    In 1994, the Magellan space probe ended its four-year mapping mission of Venus, apparently plunging into the planet's atmosphere.

    In 2000, 17 sailors were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.

    In 2002, bombs blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants destroyed a nightclub on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians and seven Americans.

    In 2005, China’s second manned space flight, Shenzhou 6 was launched carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng, during which the two astronauts orbited Earth for five days.

    In 2010, The Making of ‘The Empire Strikes Back’ by J.W. Rinzler was published by Del Rey.
     
  10. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ALSO ON OCTOBER 13th:

    In 1775, the United States Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

    In 1792, the cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.

    In 1843, the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith was founded in New York City.

    In 1914, during the World Series, the Boston Braves defeated the Philadelphia Athletics, at Fenway Park in Boston, completing the first World Series sweep in history.

    In 1925, comedian/satirist Lenny Bruce was born in Mineola, NY.

    In 1930, producer/director/screenwriter Bruce Geller was born in New York City. He’s best-known for creating “Mission: Impossible”, and developing “Mannix” for TV.

    In 1932, President Herbert Hoover and Chief Justice Charles Evans Hughes laid the cornerstone for the U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington.

    In 1935, actor/DJ Bruce “Cousin Brucie” Morrow was born in Brooklyn, NY.

    In 1943, during World War II, the new government of Italy sided with the Allies and declared war on Germany.

    In 1944, during World War II, American troops entered Aachen, Germany.

    In 1950, the movie version of the play “Harvey”, starring James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd and Harvey as himself, was released in the U.S.

    In 1957, CBS-TV broadcast "The Edsel Show," a one-hour live special starring Bing Crosby designed to promote the new, ill-fated Ford automobile. (It was the first special to use videotape technology to delay the broadcast to the West Coast.)

    In 1958, A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond, the first appearance of Paddington Bear, was published by William Collins & Sons.

    In 1960, John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon held the third televised debate of their presidential campaign (Nixon was in Los Angeles, Kennedy in New York).

    In 1965, The Who recorded “My Generation” at IBC Studios in London.

    In 1967, the first game of the original American Basketball Association was played. The Oakland Oaks beat the Anaheim Amigos 134-129.

    In 1972, a Uruguayan chartered flight carrying 45 people crashed in the Andes; survivors resorted to feeding off the remains of some of the dead in order to stay alive until they were rescued more than two months later.

    In 1981, voters in Egypt participated in a referendum to elect Vice President Hosni Mubarak the new president, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.

    In 2002, actor Keene Curtis died in Bountiful, UT at age 79. Among his many roles, he played Grand Moff Tarkin in the NPR adaptation of “Star Wars”.

    In 2010, The Copiapo mining accident in Copiapo, Chile came to an end as all 33 miners arrived at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue.
     
  11. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ON OCTOBER 14th:

    In 1066, Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings. So far as is known, William did not thank the Doctor for helping ensure his victory.

    In 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial in England, accused of committing treason against Queen Elizabeth I. (Mary was beheaded in February 1587.)

    In 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the U.S., was born in Denison, TX.

    In 1912, former President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for the White House as the Progressive ("Bull Moose") candidate, went ahead with a speech in Milwaukee after being shot in the chest by New York saloonkeeper John Schrank, declaring, "It takes more than one bullet to kill a bull moose."

    In 1913, the Senghenydd Colliery Disaster, the United Kingdom's worst coal mining accident, occurred, and claiming the lives of 439 miners.

    In 1926, the children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh, written by A.A. Milne and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, was published by Methuen & Co., Ltd.

    In 1927, actor/director/author Roger Moore was born in Stockwell, London, England. He’d be granted sainthood, then 00 status, later on.

    In 1939, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship anchored at Scapa Flow in Scotland's Orkney Islands; 833 of the more than 1,200 men aboard were killed.

    In 1943, The Radio Corporation of America finalized the sale of the NBC Blue radio network. Edward J. Noble paid $8 million for the network that was renamed American Broadcasting Company.

    Also in 1943, prisoners at the Nazi Sobibor extermination camp in Poland revolted against the Germans, killing eleven SS guards, and wounding many more. About 300 of the Sobibor Camp's 600 prisoners escaped, and about 50 of those survived the end of the war.

    In 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face trial and certain execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

    In 1946, actress/director Katy Manning was born in Guildford, Surrey, England. She’s well-known to Whovians for playing Jo Grant during the Pertwee Era.

    In 1947, Air Force test pilot Charles E. "Chuck" Yeager broke the sound barrier as he flew the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake in California.

    Also in 1954, the Holiday-themed musical comedy “White Christmas” was released in the U.S. It starred Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye, and featured songs by Irving Berlin.

    In 1958, the kaiju movie “Daikaiju Baran” was released in Japan. A heavily-reedited version of the movie, re-titled “Varan the Unbelievable”, would reach the U.S. in 1962.

    In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy suggested the idea of a Peace Corps while addressing an audience of students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

    In 1962, a U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot, Maj. Richard Heyser, flew over the island of Cuba and took photographs of Soviet missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads being installed and erected in Cuba.

    In 1964, civil rights leader Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Also in 1964, Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev was toppled from power; he was succeeded by Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and by Alexei Kosygin as Premier.

    In 1968, the first live telecast to come from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7. There were six broadcasts during the 11-day mission.

    Also in 1968, Jim Hines of the U.S. became the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint in the Summer Olympic Games held in Mexico City with a time of 9.95 seconds.

    In 1977, singer Bing Crosby died outside Madrid, Spain, at age 74.

    In 1981, Vice President Hosni Mubarak was elected as the President of Egypt one week after the assassination of his predecessor, Anwar Sadat.

    In 1987, a 58-hour drama began in Midland, TX, as 18-month-old Jessica McClure slid 22 feet down an abandoned well at a private day care center; she was rescued on October 16.

    In 1990, composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein died in New York City at age 72.

    In 2005, EON Productions, Sony Pictures and MGM announced that Daniel Craig would star in the next James Bond film, "Casino Royale."
     
  12. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

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    Apr 27, 2005
  13. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    On October 14th...

    In 1066, at the Battle of Hastings, William the Conqueror and his Norman army defeated Harold II, who was killed in the battle.

    In 1322, Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated English King Edward II at Byland, forcing England to accept Scotland's independence.

    In 1644, William Penn, founder of Pennsylvania, was born.

    In 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower was born.

    In 1892, Arthur Conan Doyle published "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes."

    In 1914, baseball legend Babe Ruth married Helen Woodford.

    In 1933, Nazi Germany announced its withdrawal from the League of Nations.

    In 1977, Bing Cosby died.

    In 1979, over 100,000 people participated in the first Gay and Lesbian Rights March on Washington, D.C.

    On October 15th...

    In 70 B.C.E., Virgil was born.

    In 1501, heir to the English throne Prince Arthur married Princess Catherine of Aragon.

    In 1815, Napoleon Bonaparte arrived on the Island of St. Helena to begin his exile.

    In 1844, Friedrich Nietzsche was born.

    In 1989, Wayne Gretzky passed Gordie Howe to become the NHL's all-time top scorer.

    In 1993, Nelson Mandela awarded the Nobel Peace prize.
     
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  14. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

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    Oct 4, 1998
    13 October 1932: Godfrey Webster Dean, pilot for Fairchild Aircraft Co. of Longueuil, Quebec, Canada, became the first pilot to loop a rotorcraft when he performed the maneuver in a Pitcairn PCA-2 autogyro over the Pitcairn Aircraft, Inc., air field near Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.

    14 October 1922: Air races were an extremely popular event in the early days of aviation. An estimated 200,000 spectators watched the opening race at the National Air Races, held at Selfridge Field (now, Selfridge Air National Guard Base) near Mount Clemens, Michigan from 8 to 14 October.
    The Pulitzer Trophy Race was Event No. 5 on the afternoon of Saturday, 14 October. It was a “Free-for-All Race for High-Speed Airplanes.” The course consisted of five laps around an approximate 50 kilometer course, starting at Selfridge Field, then south to Gaulkler Point on Lake St. Clair. From there, the course was eastward for ten miles, keeping to the right of a moored observation balloon. The airplanes would then circle an anchored steamship, Dubuque, and return to Selfridge Field.
    Lieutenant Russell Lowell Maughan, Air Service, United States Army, flying a Curtiss R-6, Air Service serial number A.S. 68564, finished the race in first place with an average speed of 205.386 miles per hour (330.172 kilometers per hour). He also set two Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Records for Speed during the race: 330.41 kilometers per hour (205.31 miles per hour) over a distance of 100 kilometers,¹ and 331.46 kilometers per hour (205.96 miles per hour) over a distance of 200 kilometers).

    14 October 1938: At Buffalo, New York, test pilot Everett Edward Elliot made the first flight in the new Curtiss-Wright Corporation’s Model 75P, a prototype for a single-engine pursuit plane which had been designated XP-40 by the U.S. Army Air Corps.
    The P-40B was best known as the airplane flown by the American Volunteer Group fighting for China against the Japanese. They were called the “Flying Tigers”. Between 1939 and 1945, Curtiss built 13,738 P-40s in many configurations. They flew in combat in every theater of operations during World War II.

    14 October 1943: "Bloody Thursday" A large force of 8th Air Force heavy bombers and escorting fighters attack the ball bearing factories at Schweinfurt, Germany, for the second time. Five bombardment groups sent 291 B-17 Flying Fortress four-engine heavy bombers on the raid.
    60 B-17s were shot down by German fighters or anti-aircraft artillery (“flak”). Another 17 were so heavily damaged that they crashed on landing back at their bases, or were so severely damaged that they were beyond repair. 121 B-17s received lesser damage. 594 crewmen were listed as Missing In Action (presumably Killed In Action). 65 men were captured and held as Prisoners of War. Of the bombers that returned to England 5 crewmen were killed and 43 were wounded. B-17 gunners shot down 35 to 38 Messerschmitt Bf 109s and Focke-Wulk Fw 190s. Another 20 fighters were damaged.
     
  15. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    14 October 2012: At 12:08 p.m. MDT (1808 UTC) Felix Baumgartner jumped from the gondola of a helium-filled balloon at 127,852.4 feet (38,969.4 meters) over eastern New Mexico.
    The free fall distance was 119,431.1 feet (36,402.6 meters). He fell for 4 minutes, 19 seconds before deploying his parachute and touched down after nine minutes, 3 seconds. During the free fall, he reached 843.6 miles per hour (1,357.6 kilometers per hour), Mach 1.25.

    That same day... Living up to his “right stuff” reputation as the wise-cracking test pilot and daring World War II hero, the legendary Chuck Yeager returned Sunday to Nellis Air Force Base after re-enacting in a blue-gray F-15D Eagle jet what he did 65 years ago in a mustard-colored X-1 rocket plane: break the sound barrier soaring high over California’s Mojave Desert.
    “The most important thing that I did was fly the X-1 through Mach 1,” he told reporters gathered on the Nellis ramp Sunday. “Up until that time we had never been able to get above the speed of sound. We had problems with controls and stuff like that. Finally, on October 14, ’47 we succeeded in pushing Mach 1 and it opened up space to us,” he said.
    14 October 1997: On the Fiftieth Anniversary of his historic supersonic flight in the Bell X-1 research rocketplane, Brigadier General Charles Elwood (“Chuck”) Yeager, United States Air Force (Retired) once again broke the Sound Barrier when he flew over Edwards Air Force Base in a McDonnell Douglas F-15D-38-MC Eagle, serial number 84-046. Lieutenant Colonel Troy Fontaine flew in the rear seat of the two-place fighter. Glamorous Glennis III was painted on the Eagle’s nose.
    14 October 1977: On the Thirtieth Anniversary of his historic supersonic flight in the Bell X-1, Brigadier General Charles E. (“Chuck”) Yeager, U.S. Air Force (Retired), returned to Edwards Air Force Base where he flew a Lockheed F-104 Starfighter to Mach 1.5

    14 October 1969: The President of the United States of America, authorized by Section 8742, Title 10, United States Code, awards the Air Force Cross to Technical Sergeant Donald G. Smith for extraordinary heroism in military operations against an opposing armed force as a Pararescueman on a HH-3E Rescue Helicopter in Southeast Asia on 24 October 1969. On that date, Sergeant Smith voluntarily descended to the surface on a forest penetrator to assist a downed pilot. As he and the pilot were being raised, hostile fire rendered the hoist inoperative and the cable was sheared, dropping them fifteen feet to the ground. Sergeant Smith’s position was surrounded by hostile forces, and his helicopter was downed by hostile fire. Remaining exceptionally calm, his resolute and decisive presence encouraged other survivors, while his resourcefulness in controlling and directing the aircraft providing suppressive fire, resulted in the safe recovery of all downed personnel. Through his extraordinary heroism, superb airmanship, and aggressiveness in the face of the enemy, Sergeant Smith reflected the highest credit upon himself and the United States Air Force.
     
  16. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    14–15 October 1927: Dieudonné Costes and Joseph Le Brix flew a Breguet XIX GR, serial number 1685, across the South Atlantic Ocean from Saint-Louis, Senegal, to Port Natal, Brazil.
    This was the first non-stop South Atlantic crossing by an airplane. The 2,100-mile (3,380 kilometer) flight took just over 18 hours.
    The two aviators were on an around-the-world flight that began 10 October 1927 at Paris, France, and would be completed 14 April 1928, after traveling 34,418 miles (57,000 kilometers).

    15 October 1937: Test pilot Edmund Turney (“Eddie”) Allen, a consulting engineer to Boeing, and Major John D. Korkille, Air Corps, United States Army, made the first flight of the prototype Boeing XB-15, 35-277, at Boeing Field, Seattle, Washington. Major Corkille reported that the airplane “handled easily and maneuvered readily.”
    The XB-15 was a very large four-engine mid-wing monoplane with retractable landing gear. It was of aluminum monocoque construction with fabric-covered flight control surfaces. The XB-15 had a ten-man crew which worked in shifts on long duration flights. The prototype bomber was 87 feet, 7 inches (26.695 meters) long with a wingspan of 149 feet (45.415 meters) and overall height of 18 feet, 1 inch (5.512 meters). The airplane had an empty weight of 37,709 pounds (17,105 kilograms) and maximum takeoff weight of 70,706 pounds (32,072 kilograms)—later increased to 92,000 pounds (41,730 kilograms).

    15 October 1952: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Douglas Aircraft Company test pilot William Barton (“Bill”) Bridgeman, while conducting high speed taxi tests, took a short flight in the new Douglas X-3. The experimental airplane flew about one mile (1.6 kilometers) over the dry lake bed before touching down. The official first flight would come five days later on 20 October.
    In his biography, The Lonely Sky, Bill Bridgeman discussed his concerns about taking on the new project:
    “Then one morning Johnny called me to his office. ‘Bill, we would like you to take a look at the X-3. Maybe you would like to test her. She’s in the final stages over in Hangar Three. Go over and take a look at the mock-up. See what you think. . . ‘ On the ground floor in front of a door marked KEEP OUT. SECRET PROJECT MX656. . .
    “I climbed aboard. In order to get into the cockpit, the seat was mechanically lowered to the ground. There was a button to raise the elevator. It buzzed ominously as it very slowly lifted me into the nose. Visibility was extremely poor from her windows, they were faired-in exaggerations of the Skyrocket slits. It was impossible to see the ground. The thin, insecure looking wings were so far behind me that they were out of sight. It would take some weighing to decide whether or not I wanted to bet my life on the integrity of this ship. . .
    “I was afraid to take on this airplane. I was also afraid someone else would accept the challenge. And I was afraid that I would decide to accept it.”
    Two X-3 aircraft had been ordered from Douglas, but only one completed. In addition to Bill Bridgeman, the Douglas X-3 was flown by Air Force test pilots Major Chuck Yeager and Lieutenant Colonel Frank Everest, and NACA test pilot Joseph A. Walker.

    15 October 1955: At Edwards Air Force Base, California, Lieutenant Gordon L. (“Gordo”) Gray, Jr., United States Navy, set a Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) World Record For Speed Over a Closed Circuit of 500 Kilometers when he flew a pre-production Douglas Aircraft Company YA4D-1 Skyhawk light attack bomber, Bureau of Aeronautics serial number (Bu. No.) 137820, to an average speed of 1,118.7 kilometers per hour (695.128 miles per hour).
     
  17. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

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    16 October 1910: Maurice Clément-Bayard flew the dirigible, Clément-Bayard No. 2, from the Astra Clément-Bayard airship hangar at La Motte-Breuil, France, to Wormwood Scrubs, England, with six passengers. This was the first crossing of the English Channel by airship. The 244 mile (393 kilometer) distance was covered in less than six hours.

    16 October 1956: Pan American World Airways’ Flight 6 was a scheduled around-the-world passenger flight. The final leg, Honolulu to San Francisco, was flown by a Boeing Model 377 Stratocruiser with civil registration N90943, and named Sovereign of the Skies.
    The airplane had a flight crew of 7 and carried 24 passengers. The aircraft commander was Captain Richard N. Ogg, a veteran pilot with more than 13,000 flight hours accumulated over twenty years.
    4 hours, 38 minutes after takeoff, Flight 6 requested a pre-planned climb to 21,000 feet (6,400 meters), at a point about half-way—in terms of flight time—between the departure point and destination, what is dramatically called “The Point of No Return” in suspense movies.
    On leveling at the new cruise altitude at 1:19 a.m. (HST), First Officer Haaker reduced engine power. The propeller for the Number 1 engine, the outside engine on the left wing, suffered a prop governor failure and began to overspeed, with engine r.p.m. actually exceeding the limits of its tachometer. This created a very dangerous condition: If the propeller turned fast enough, it could be torn apart by centrifugal force.
    The crew was unable to feather the propeller, which would cause its four blades to turn parallel to the slip stream, and increasing the load on the engine while reducing aerodynamic drag. The engine and propeller continued to turn at dangerously high speed so Captain Ogg decided to force the engine to stop by cutting off its lubricating oil supply. This caused the engine to seize but the propeller continued to “windmill.”
    The drag caused by the propeller slowed the airplane considerably and the three remaining engines had to run at high power for the Boeing 377 to maintain its altitude. The Number 4 engine (the outer engine on the right wing) was developing only partial power at full throttle. At 2:45 a.m., it began to backfire and had to be shut down.
    The airplane began to descend toward the ocean’s surface.
    With the drag of the windmilling Number 1 propeller and only two engines running, Sovereign of the Skies could fly at just 140 knots (161 miles per hour/259 kilometers per hour), not fast enough to reach San Francisco or to return to Honolulu before running out of fuel. The navigator estimated that they would run out of fuel 250 miles (402 kilometers) from land.
    The United States Coast Guard kept a high endurance cutter on station between Hawaii and California, at a point known as Ocean Station November. This ship provided assistance with weather information, radio communications and was available to assist should an emergency arise aboard trans-Pacific airplanes.
    On 16 October 1956, this cutter was USCGC Pontchartrain (WHEC 70), under the command of Commander William K. Earle, USCG. Pontchartrain was a 255-foot (77.7 meter) Lake-class patrol gunboat built by the U.S. Coast Guard ship yard at Curtiss Bay, Maryland, and commissioned 28 July 1945.
    Captain Ogg notified Ponchartrain that he intended to ditch the airliner near the ship. The Coast Guard provided Captain Ogg with wind and wave information—five-foot (1.5 meter) swells, wind at eight knots (4 meters per second) from the northwest—and advised the best heading for ditching. The ship laid a trail of foam to mark this course.
    At 6:15 a.m., at approximately 90 knots airspeed (104 miles per hour/167 kilometers per hour), the Boeing 377 landed on the water. A wing hit a swell, spinning the airplane to the left. The tail broke off and the airplane began to settle.
    Injuries were minor and all passengers and crew evacuated the airliner. They were immediately picked up by Pontchartrain.
    Captain Ogg and Purser Reynolds were the last to leave the airplane.
    Twenty minutes after touching down, at 6:35 a.m., Sovereign of the Skies sank beneath the ocean’s surface.


    16 October 1963: Operation Greased Lightning. Major Sidney J. Kubesch, Major John Barrett and Captain Gerard Williamson flew from Tokyo, Japan, to London England, non-stop, in 8 hours, 35 minutes, 20.4 seconds. Their airplane was a Convair B-58A-20-CF Hustler, serial number 61-2059, named Greased Lightning.
    Five inflight refuelings were required to complete the flight. The bomber had to slow from its supersonic cruise to rendezvous with the tankers. The B-58’s average speed was 692.71 miles per hour (1,114.81 kilometers per hour). The time from Tokyo to Anchorage, Alaska was 3 hours, 9 minutes, 42 seconds at an average speed of 1,093.4 miles per hour (1,759.7 kilometers per hour); and Anchorage to London, 5 hours, 24 minutes, 54 seconds at 826.9 miles per hour (1.330.8 kilometers per hour).
    Greased Lightning‘s speed record still stands.
     
  18. Sarge

    Sarge Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Oct 4, 1998
    17 October 1913: On the morning of a scheduled test flight at Flugplatz Johannisthal-Adlershof, an airfield south east of Berlin, Germany, Marine-Luftschiffes L2, the second rigid airship built for the Kaiserliche Marine (Imperial German Navy) by Luftschiffbau Zeppelin at Friedrichshafen, was delayed by problems with the engines. The morning sun heated the hydrogen contained in the airship’s gas bags, causing the gas to expand and increasing the airship’s buoyancy.
    Once released, L2 rapidly rose to approximately 2,000 feet (610 meters). The hydrogen expanded even more due to the decreasing atmospheric pressure. To prevent the gas bags from rupturing, the crew vented hydrogen through relief valves located along the bottom of the hull.
    In this early design, the builders had placed the relief valves too close to the engine cars. Hydrogen was sucked into the engines’ intakes and detonated. L2 caught fire and a series of explosions took place as it fell to the ground.
    All 28 persons on board were either killed immediately, or died of their injuries shortly thereafter.
    At the time of the accident, L2 had made ten flights, for a total of 34 hours, 16 minutes.

    17 October 1922: Lieutenant Commander Virgil Childers (“Squash”) Griffin, Jr., United States Navy, made the first takeoff from an aircraft carrier of the U. S. Navy when he flew a Chance Vought Corporation VE-7 fighter from the deck of USS Langley (CV-1) while the ship was anchored in the York River along the west side of Chesapeake Bay, Maryland.
    USS Langley was the United States Navy’s first aircraft carrier. The ship was named in honor of an American scientist, Samuel Pierpont Langley. It was a former collier, USS Jupiter (AC-3), which had been converted at the Norfolk Navy Yard, 1921–1922. As an aircraft carrier, Langley had a complement of 468 men, including the air wing. The ship was 542 feet, 2.5 inches (165.27 meters) in length, overall, with a beam of 65 feet, 6 inches.
    Rear Admiral Jackson R. Tate, U.S. Navy (Retired) described the first takeoff:
    “We were operating just north of the Tongue of the Shoe, seaward of the main channel from Norfolk, Va. A trough about 6 feet long, set up on sawhorses was rigged at the aft end of the flight deck. When the tail skid of the VE-7 used in the test was placed in the trough, she was in the flight attitude.
    “We had no brakes, so the plane was held down on the deck by a wire with a bomb release at the end. This was attached to a ring in the landing gear. ‘Squash’ Griffin climbed in, turned up the Hispano Suiza engine to its full 180 hp and gave the “go” signal. The bomb release was snapped and the Vought rolled down the deck. Almost before it reached the deck-center elevator it was airborne. Thus, the first takeoff from a U.S. carrier.”

    17 October 1974: Sikorsky Chief Pilot James R. (Dick) Wright and project chief test pilot John Dixson made the first flight of the prototype YUH-60A, 73-21650, at the company’s Stratford, Connecticut, facility. This helicopter was the first of three prototypes.
    While operating with an Army crew on the night of 9 August 1976, YUH-60A 73-21650 developed a significant vibration. An emergency landing was made. Because of darkness and mist, the pilots thought they were landing in a corn field, but it was actually a pine tree plantation. The helicopter’s rotors cut down more than 40 trees with trunk diameters up to 5 inches (12.7 centimeters).
    Close inspection by Army and Sikorsky personnel found that the only visible damage was to the four main and four tail-rotor blades other than nicks and dents to the airframe that were of no structural concern. All gearboxes and engines turned freely, and all flight controls responded properly. The blades were replaced on-site and the helicopter was flown out the following day.
    The Black Hawk has been in production since 1978. More than 4,000 of the helicopters have been built and the type has been continuously improved. The current production model is the UH-60M.
     
  19. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ALSO ON OCTOBER 15th:

    In 1783, the first manned balloon flight took place in Paris as Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier ascended in a basket attached to a tethered Montgolfier hot-air balloon, rising to about 75 feet.

    In 1793, Queen Marie Antoinette of France was tried and convicted in a swift, pre-determined trial in the Palais de Justice, Paris, and condemned to death the following day.

    In 1881, author/humorist P.G. Wodehouse, creator of Bertie Wooster and Jeeves, was born in Guildford, Surrey, England.

    In 1914, the Clayton Antitrust Act, which expanded on the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.

    In 1917, Dutch dancer Mata Hari, convicted of spying for the Germans, was executed by a French firing squad outside Paris.

    In 1924, actor Mark Lenard was born in Chicago. He’d later be the first actor to portray a Romulan, a Vulcan and a Klingon for some sci-fi franchise.

    In 1928, the airship Graf Zeppelin completed its first trans-Atlantic flight, landing at Lakehurst, NJ.

    In 1940, the Charlie Chaplin movie “The Great Dictator” premiered in New York City. It was the second movie to openly mock the Third Reich. (The Three Stooges short “You Nazty Spy”, released in January of 1940, was the first.)

    In 1946, Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering fatally poisoned himself hours before he was to have been executed.

    In 1951, the situation comedy "I Love Lucy," starring Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz, premiered on CBS-TV.

    In 1959, the crime drama "The Untouchables" made its debut on ABC-TV.

    In 1965, the drama “The Cincinnati Kid”, starring Steve McQueen and Edward G. Robinson, was released in the U.S.

    In 1994, on “Mystery Science Theater 3000” the Western “Last of the Wild Horses” was broadcast on Comedy Central. The episode includes (as part of a spoof of the “Star Trek” episode “Mirror, Mirror”) the only time Dr. Clayton Forrester and TV’s Frank appeared in the theater to riff on a movie.

    In 2003, China launched Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission.
     
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  20. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ALSO ON OCTOBER 16th:

    In 1781, during the Revolutionary War, the Continental Army, led by Gen. George Washington, captured Yorktown, VA after the Siege of Yorktown.

    In 1793, during the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded.

    In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of 21 men in a raid on Harpers Ferry in western Virginia. (Ten of Brown's men were killed and five escaped. Brown and six followers were captured; all were executed.)

    In 1895, artist George Rozen was born in Chicago. He’s best-known for his pulp magazine covers, particularly for “The Shadow Magazine”.

    In 1923, The Walt Disney Company was founded by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney.

    In 1924, actor Gerard “Gerry” Parkes was born in Dublin, Ireland. He’s best-known for playing Doc on “Fraggle Rock”, if you saw the show in the U.S. or Canada.

    In 1924, cinematographer Alan Hume was born in London. His credits include cinematographer for “Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi”.

    In 1925, actress Angela Lansbury, DBE was born in Regent’s Park, London, England. Her career includes starring in “Murder, She Wrote”, one of my Mom’s favorite TV shows.

    In 1928, the Rahway Theater opened in Rahway, NJ. Now known as the Union County Performing Arts Center, it’s one of your humble correspondent’s favorite theaters, especially when they show silent movies with the Wurlitzer providing the music.

    In 1931, lawyer/author/evangelist Charles Colson was born in Boston, MA. After serving as Special Counsel to President Richard Nixon, and serving a prison sentence for his role in the Watergate scandal, he founded the ministry Prison Fellowship.

    In 1934, Chinese Communists, under siege by the Nationalists, began their "long march" lasting a year from southeastern to northwestern China.

    In 1943, Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly officially opened the city's new subway system during a ceremony at the State and Madison Street station.

    In 1946, the John Ford western “My Darling Clementine” premiered in San Francisco. A re-telling of the Gunfight at the OK Corral, it starred Henry Fonda, Victor Mature and Walter Brennan.

    In 1951, Johnnie Ray and the Four Lads recorded "Cry" (written by Churchill Kohlman) and "The Little White Cloud That Cried" (written by Ray) in New York for Okeh Records.

    In 1959, the fantasy movie “Sampo” was released in Finland, its country of origin. A re-edited, dubbed version of the movie, titled “The Day the Earth Froze”, would be memorably MSTed.

    In 1962, President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of missile bases in Cuba.

    In 1964, China detonated its first nuclear weapon.

    In 1965, the Beatles recorded the single “Day Tripper” at EMI Studios in London.

    In 1966, the film version of the musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”, starring Zero Mostel, was released in the U.S.

    In 1968, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving "black power" salutes during a victory ceremony after they'd won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race.

    In 1969, the New York Mets capped their miracle season by winning the World Series, defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3, in Game 5 played at Shea Stadium.

    In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to be the new pope; he took the name John Paul II.

    In 1984, Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of non-violent struggle for racial equality in South Africa.

    In 1987, a 58-1/2-hour drama in Midland, Texas, ended happily as rescuers freed Jessica McClure, an 18-month-old girl trapped in an abandoned well.

    In 1995, between 400,000 and 800,000 people attended the “Million Man March” gathering at the National Mall in Washington, DC.

    In 1996, Eighty-four people were killed and more than 180 injured when 47,000 football fans attempted to squeeze into the 36,000-seat Estadio Mateo Flores in Guatemala City.

    In 1998, former Chilean dictator General Augusto Pinochet was arrested in London on a warrant from Spain requesting his extradition on murder charges.

    In 1999, author/humorist/actor/radio & TV personality Jean Shepherd died on Sanibel Island, FL at age 78.
     
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  21. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

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    Apr 27, 2005
  22. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
  23. Kenneth Morgan

    Kenneth Morgan Chosen One star 5

    Registered:
    May 27, 1999
    If I may...

    ALSO ON OCTOBER 17th:

    In 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, NY, in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

    In 1814, the London Beer Flood inundated the St. Giles district of the British capital as vats of beer ruptured, sending more than 320,000 gallons of liquid into the streets; up to nine people were reported killed.

    In 1914, writer Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, was born in Cleveland, OH.

    In 1919, the Radio Corp. of America was chartered.

    In 1926, actress Beverly Garland was born in Santa Cruz, CA. Years later, two of her movies would be suitable for MSTing, but she’d earn high praise for her performances therein.

    In 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion. (Sentenced to 11 years in prison, Capone was released in 1939.)

    In 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

    Also in 1933, pilot/engineer/astronaut William Anders, LM Pilot for Apollo 8, was born in British Hong Kong.

    In 1939, the first part of the sci-fi serial “The Phantom Creeps”, starring Bela Lugosi, was released in the U.S.

    In 1939, the Frank Capra dramedy “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington”, starring James Stewart, premiered in Washington, D.C..

    In 1956, the movie "Around the World in 80 Days," produced by Michael Todd and featuring seemingly everyone, had its world premiere in New York.

    Also in 1956, the first commercial nuclear power station was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafied, Cumbria, England.

    In addition in 1956, astronaut/physician/engineer Mae Carol Jemison born in Decatur, AL. She’d later fly aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour, becoming the first African-American woman in orbit.

    In 1957, the Elvis movie "Jailhouse Rock" premiered in Memphis, TN.

    In 1963, the third group of NASA astronauts was selected. Of the group of fourteen, four would die in accidents, while all of the remaining ten would fly in the Apollo program.

    In 1966, the game show "Hollywood Squares" premiered on NBC-TV.

    In 1968, the crime drama “Bullitt”, starring Steve McQueen and a 1968 Ford Mustang 390 GT 2+2 Fastback, was released in the U.S.

    Also in 1968, during the Summer Olympic Games in Mexico City, Bob Beamon set a world record in the long jump with a distance of 29 ft., 2 ½ in. (8.90 m.) The record would stand until 1991.

    In 1979, Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

    Also in 1979, The Department of Education Organization Act was signed into law creating the U.S. Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services.

    In 1989, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck northern California, killing 63 people and causing $6 billion worth of damage.

    In 1990, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) was created.

    In 2015, on “Doctor Who”, the episode “The Girl Who Died” was broadcast on BBC 1. It featured the first appearance of Maisie Williams as Ashildr.
     
  24. Juliet316

    Juliet316 Chosen One star 10

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  25. devilinthedetails

    devilinthedetails Fiendish Fanfic & SWTV Manager, Interim Tech Admin star 6 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Jun 19, 2019
    On October 16th...

    In 1384, the woman Jadwiga was crowned King of Poland.

    In 1758, Noah Webster, maker of the famous American dictionary, was born.

    In 1793, Marie Antoinette died.

    In 1813, at the Battle of Leipzing, the largest battle in Europe prior to the outbreak of World War I, the combined forces of Russia, Austria, and Prussia defeated Napoleon's army.

    In 1854, Oscar Wilde was born.

    In 1934, Mao Zedong and 25,000 troops began their 6,000 mile Long March from south China.

    In 1962, President John F. Kennedy was shown photos of Soviet missiles in Cuba, beginning the Cuban Missile Crisis.

    In 1968, American gold medalist Tommie Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos famously made the Black Power salute on the 200 meter podium at the Mexico City Olympics.

    In 1978, Pope John Paul II was elected.

    In 1998, former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet was arrested in London on charges of murder.

    On October 17th....

    In 1469, Crown Prince Ferdinand of Aragon married Princess Isabella of Castile.

    In 1749, American revolutionary Samuel Adams wed Elizabeth Checkley.

    In 1849, Chopin died.

    In 1854, French and British forces bombarded Sevastopol during the Crimean War.

    In 1907, Guglielmo Marconi's company began the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Nova Scotia, Canada, and Clifden, Ireland.

    In 1915, playwright Arthur Miller was born.

    In 1963, the Beatles recorded "I Want to Hold Your Hand" at EMI Studios in London.

    In 2006, the US population reached 300 million.

    On October 18th...

    In 1867, with the Alaska Purchase, the US acquired formal possession of Alaska from Russia for $7.2 million.

    In 1900, Count Bernard von Bulow became Chancellor of Germany.

    In 1919, Canadian Prime Minster Pierre Trudeau was born.

    In 1922, the BBC was founded.

    In 1931, American gangster Al Capone was convicted on tax evasion charges.

    Also in 1931, Thomas Edison died.

    In 1946, Aaron Copland's third symphony premiered.

    In 1962, James Watson, Francis Crick, and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for their research in determining the structure of DNA.
     
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