James Knox Polk was born on a North Carolina farm on November 2, 1795. By 1849, he had led the country through war with Mexico and expanded its territory to the Pacific, but his presidency left a bitter question unresolved: whether slavery would spread into the new lands.
On October 30, 1629, the Carolina Province was named, and plans were made for early settlement. That settlement would be delayed for many years, but the name was retained.
On October 26, 1881, the Earp brothers took on the Clanton-McLaury Gang at the OK Corral in Tombstone, Arizona. The shootout became one of the most famous events in the Old West.
Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa was established on October 25, 1949. The monument protects and interprets the history behind about 200 mounds built by Native Americans centuries ago.
On October 22, 1996, the USPS issued its first Hanukkah stamp. The joint issue with Israel also launched the Holiday Celebrations Series, which broadened the Postal Service’s holiday stamp program beyond Christmas.
On October 21, 1892, Chicago dedicated the grounds and buildings of the World’s Columbian Exposition. The fair would not open to visitors until the following May, but its three-day dedication celebration drew huge crowds and put the unfinished exposition on the national stage.
On October 20, 1964, Herbert Hoover, America’s 31st president, died at age 90. Before the Great Depression defined his presidency, he had built a career as a mining engineer and organized relief efforts for people in several countries.
On October 18, 1937, the US Post Office issued the first stamp in a new series honoring the overseas territories of the United States. These stamps chronicled decades of US territorial expansion.
Poet and reformer Julia Ward Howe died in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, on October 17, 1910. Best known for “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” she also spent decades organizing for women’s rights and peace.