This Day In History

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 29, 1998, John Glenn returned to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. At the age of 77, he was the oldest person to go into space.

On October 28, 1956, Elvis Presley received a widely publicized polio vaccination before appearing on The Ed Sullivan Show. The event put a familiar face behind a public health message: teenagers, too, needed protection from polio.

On October 27, 1964, Ronald Reagan took a campaign speech for Barry Goldwater to a national television audience. His address introduced many Americans to Reagan as a political speaker and helped bring him wider attention.

On October 29, 1998, John Glenn returned to space aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery. At the age of 77, he was the oldest person to go into space.

On September 28, 1990, the US Postal Service issued two stamps commemorating the Compacts of Free Association with the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands. The stamps marked a relationship that recognized the two Pacific territories as self-governing and sovereign while maintaining close ties with the United States.

On September 21, 1866, the US Army organized six new Black regiments: the 9th and 10th Cavalry and the 38th, 39th, 40th, and 41st Infantry. Created during Reconstruction, they gave African American soldiers a continuing place in the peacetime Regular Army and began the history of the troops later known as the Buffalo Soldiers.

Businessman and philanthropist Milton Snavely Hershey was born on September 13, 1857, in Derry Township, Pennsylvania. After several failed attempts at business, he built a profitable caramel company, then used its sale to pursue a larger goal: making milk chocolate affordable for ordinary Americans.

On October 31, 1941, the Atlantic became a battlefield for the United States even before the country had formally entered World War II. The German submarine attack on the USS Reuben James marked the first time an American Navy ship was destroyed during the conflict, foreshadowing the coming fight across the globe.

On October 31, 1975, the USPS issued the first stamp in the Americana Series. The patriotically themed stamps picture symbols of our nation as well as Revolution-era objects and buildings.

On October 31, 1941, work on Mount Rushmore was completed 14 years after it began. The final monument was quite different than it was originally planned.

Do you know some of the early origins of Halloween? Or how Jack-o’-lanterns got their name? Read on to discover lots of neat Halloween history…