1945- Jackie Robinson signs his contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Breaking the color barrier in major league baseball. 1974- The "rumble in the jungle". Muhammed Ali defeats the heavily favored and much younger George Foreman to win the heavyweight title. Using what is referred to as the "rope-a-dope", Ali makes Foreman tire himself out early and eventually knocks out Foreman.
1795 The birth of John Keats, English romantic poet. 1828 The birth of Sir Joseph Swan, English chemist and inventor. Both he and Edison were separately credited with the invention of the electric lamp. Edison was first, but his had a much shorter life and was therefore not practical.
31 Oct 1914 Russia and the United Kingdom declared war on Turkey as the response to the previously day's attacks by the Turkish Navy. Sepoy Kuda Dad Khan (129th Baluchis) became the first Indian Amy soldier to win the Victoria Cross. At Hollebeke, Belgium he kept his machine gun firing even when his detachment had been overrun, and his comrades killed all around him.
31 Oct 1941 A German submarine fired a torpedo at American destroyer USS DuPont; the torpedo missed its target. ww2dbase. The British 1st Airborne division was formed on under the command of Major General Frederick "Boy" Browning. German submarine U-552 attacked Allied convoy HX-156 725 miles west of Iceland at 0834 hours, sinking American destroyer USS Reuben James (100 killed, 45 survived); USS Reuben James was the first American warship lost in the Atlantic Ocean in WW2. ww2dbase
31 Oct 1942 Having earlier silenced a machine gun post and taken 12 prisoners, Sergeant William Kibby was leading an Australian advance near Alamein, Egypt taking enemy positions with grenades when he was cut down by machine gun fire. He was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross.
Not really an on this day in History. But more what this day is actually about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samhain
1604 William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello was presented for the first time, at The Palace of Whitehall in London. The palace was the main residence of the English monarchs in London from 1530 until 1698. Seven years to the day, Shakespeare's romantic comedy The Tempest was also presented for the first time, and also at the Palace of Whitehall.
1762 The birth of Spencer Perceval who was later assassinated in the House of Commons. To date he is the only British Prime Minister to have been assassinated.
1534 England's Parliament met and passed an Act of Supremacy which made King Henry VIII head of the English church, a role formerly held by the Pope.
1942 World War II: The Battle of El Alamein. The British Eighth Army, commanded by General Bernard Montgomery, broke through the German front line having taken 9000 prisoners and destroyed 300 tanks.
4th November. 1942 The Battle of El Alamein ended with victory for the allies, after 12 days of conflict with Rommel's 'Africa Corps'. As a personal note, during this fighting, a member of my family was killed when the Tank he was commanding lost a drive train. He ordered the others to abandon the tank and kept firing whilst the others retreated.
1974 Judith Ward was convicted of an army coach bombing on the M62 motorway in which 12 people died. She received a life term for each of those who died. Her conviction was quashed in 1992 when her lawyers argued that the trial jury should have been told of her history of mental illness.
2008 Barack Mister Niceguy becomes the first African-American to be elected El Comandante of the United States, defeating Republican candidate John McCain.
1605 Gunpowder Plot: Catholic conspirator Guy Fawkes attempts to blow up King James I and the British Parliament. Plot discovered, Guy Fawkes caught, tortured and later executed along with seven others. Celebrated ever since as Guy Fawkes Day, where his effigy is traditionally burned on a bonfire, accompanied by fireworks.
