What Happened in October?

Walt Disney signed a contract with M. J. Winkler to produce a series of Alice Comedies — the date is used as the start of the Disney company, first known as “The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio.” More

Proclamation of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and the official dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. The celebration also takes place on the half day in the afternoon of the previous day.

Artist and sculptor, Gutzon Borglum, begins sculpting Mount Rushmore. Work on the monument finished 14 years later on October 31, 1941: when due to WWII, federal funding was pulled from Mount Rushmore and it was declared complete, although it did not match the original models made by Gutzon Borglum. Construction involved the efforts of nearly 400 men and women. The duties involved varied greatly from the call boy to drillers to the blacksmith to the housekeepers. More Expand +

The German airship Graf Zeppelin, lands in Lakehurst, New Jersey, on October 15, 1928, after a four-day transatlantic flight from Germany. The first commercial passenger flight across the Atlantic, began in Friedrichshafen, Germany, took 111 hours and 44 minutes and carried 20 passengers.

The Teapot Dome scandal; Albert B. Fall, who served as secretary of the interior in President Warren G. Harding's cabinet, is found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office. More

"Black Tuesday" marks the start of the Wall Street Crash of 1929, leading to the Great Depression. It was preceded by the crash of the London Stock Exchange. It is considered the most disastrous market crash in the history of the United States characterized by panic sell-offs on the New York Stock Exchange and dramatic declines in major market indices. More

Notorious American gangster Al Capone is convicted of federal income-tax evasion. He was subsequently sentenced to 11 years in federal prison and was later transferred to the high-security Alcatraz prison. He was released early in 1939 due to health issues, including advanced syphilis. He died in 1947, suffering from the effects of his illness. More

Iraq Independence day - Britain ends its 17 year mandate and Iraq is admitted to the League of Nations, making Iraq an independent nation after centuries of Ottoman rule. More

The Red Army brakes through the first Nationalist enemy lines which were surrounding it and sets out on its Long March, a year-long trek to the west and to the north. More

Italy invades Ethiopia, initiating the Second Italo-Ethiopian War.

The Second Italo-Ethiopian War begins as Italy invades Ethiopia on October 3, 1935, when Fascist Italy, led by Benito Mussolini, launched a full-scale invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (Abyssinia) from its colonies in Eritrea and Somalia, marking a significant act of aggression. 

The Hoover Dam begins transmitting electricity to Los Angeles, marking the start of its electrical generation and transmission service. The first generator at the dam had been officially activated by President Roosevelt. almost a month earlier on September 11, 1936.

"The War of the Worlds", the CBS Radio Network, 1938 Halloween episode, narrated and performed live by Orson Welles, incites a panic by convincing some members of the listening audience that a Martian invasion was taking place, Expand +

Italy declares war on Greece and starts the invasion. The people of Greece answer the call to defend the country and drive the Italian army back into Albania, placing Hitler in the position of having to delay his invasion of Russia to commit troops to attack and occupy Greece. More

The Mount Rushmore Monument is declared finished on October 31, 1941, fourteen years after the work began on October 4, 1927, since due to WWII, the federal funding was pulled from the Mount Rushmore project, although the work did not match the original models made by Gutzon Borglum.

The V-2 first successful launch takes place. It flew at speeds in excess of 3,500 miles per hour and delivered a 2,200-pound warhead to a target 200 miles away. Beginning in September 1944, it was employed against targets in Western Europe, including London, Paris, and Antwerp. More

Japanese planes critically damage and sink the U.S.S Hornet in the Battle of Santa Cruz Island. Approximately 140 of her sailors and air crews were killed that day. The Hornet was a Yorktown-class aircraft carrier. She was in service for just over one year.  Expand +

The Kingdom of Italy, which was now based outside of Mussolini's control declares war on Germany, its one-time ally. and is granted the status of a co-belligerent by the United Nations. The war declaration, came 35 days after Italy signed the armistice that removed her from the ranks of nations giving military assistance to Germany. The Italian forces fought alongside the Allies against the Germans for the rest of the war. More

General Douglas MacArthur lands on the Philippine island of Leyte and delivers his famous “I Have Returned” speech. It is one of the most iconic phrases of the war, coupled with one of the most famous photographs, that captured the moment he waded ashore. More

The WWII Battle of Leyte Gulf begins. It was fought from October 23 to 26, 1944 between the U.S and its allies and the Empire of Japan. It was considered the largest naval battle in history in terms of tonnage marking a decisive turning point in World War II. It was a decisive Allied victory in the Pacific that crippled the Japanese Navy, enabling the U.S. to retake the Philippines and securing control of the Pacific. More