History Today

Hello, and Happy Halloween! Here’s what happened on October 31st. It was no Halloween trick--on this day in 1926, Harry Houdini, the most celebrated magician and escape artist of the 20th century, died in a Detroit hospital. Twelve days earlier, Houdini had been talking to a group of students in Montreal when he commented on the strength of his stomach muscles and their ability to withstand hard blows. Suddenly, one of the students punched Houdini twice in the stomach.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 30th. It spawned a best-selling book and a blockbuster movie--on this day in 1991, the so-called “Perfect Storm” hit the North Atlantic, producing 40-to-80-foot waves and causing extensive coastal flooding. The massive storm was formed when remnants of Hurricane Grace collided with a massive low pressure system moving south from Canada.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History brought to you by AARP. Take on today and every day with AARP. Here’s what happened on October 29th. The next time you tell yourself you’re too old to do something, remember what happened on this day in 1998--that’s when Senator John Glenn, a former astronaut, returned to space at age 77. Glenn became the oldest person ever to travel to space, spending nine days aboard the space shuttle Discovery as part of a NASA study on aging.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 28th. It is probably the most recognized symbol of the United States in the world--on this day in 1886, the Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. The 151-foot statue was a gift of friendship from the people of France to the people of the United States.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 27th. Have you ever ridden the New York City subway? If so, you’re one of the more than 1.7 billion people annually that take the train, which first began running on this day in 1904. Although Boston is America’s oldest subway system, the New York subway soon became the country’s largest.

Hello and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 26th. It’s a day fixed in American folklore and it’s been chronicled in countless films and TV shows--138 years ago today, the Earp brothers faced off against the Clanton-McLaury gang in the Shootout at the O.K. Corral.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 25th. He was one of history’s greatest and most influential artists: Say happy birthday to Pablo Picasso, who was born on this day in 1881. Over the course of his career, which began at age 13 and spanned more than 80 years, Picasso produced more than 50,000 paintings, drawings, engravings, sculptures and ceramics.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History brought to you by AARP. Take on today and every day with AARP. Here’s what happened on October 23rd. Sure, there were digital music files and music players before this day in 2001, but none of them held a candle to the soon to be ubiquitous iPod, which was introduced to the world by Apple eighteen years ago today. Although critics questioned Apple’s decision to enter the digital music market, within a few years the iPod was everywhere.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 22nd. It remains the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war--on this day in 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced in a televised address that U.S. spy planes had discovered Soviet missile bases in Cuba that, when completed, would be capable of launching missiles to Washington, D.C., among other U.S. cities. In his speech, Kennedy announced that the U.S.

Hello, and welcome to This Day in History. Here’s what happened on October 21st. It’s one of the most iconic museums in the world: 60 years ago today, thousands of people lined up to be among the first to visit the bizarrely shaped building on New York’s 5th Avenue that was home to the new Guggenheim Museum. Mining tycoon Solomon R. Guggenheim began collecting art seriously when he retired in the 1930s.