October 29: Black Tuesday Crash and Hurricane Sandy Defined the Calendar
Historical events from late October to early November range from market collapses and space dogs to the first hydrogen bomb test.
By Owen Turner ·
The period from October 29 through November 4 holds a dense collection of events that shaped American and global history. These dates cover financial disasters, scientific milestones, and political shifts that altered the trajectory of the 20th century.
On October 29, 1929, the New York Stock Exchange crashed in an event known as Black Tuesday. This market collapse precipitated the Great Depression. Exactly 83 years later, on the same date in 2012, Hurricane Sandy struck the region. The storm caused widespread disruption across the northeastern United States.
The following days brought distinct cultural and political moments. On October 30, 1938, a radio broadcast of The War of the Worlds starring Orson Welles caused nationwide panic among listeners. In 1974, Muhammad Ali knocked out George Foreman in the eighth round of a 15-round bout in Kinshasa, Zaire. The fight is commonly known as the Rumble in the Jungle.
Construction on the Mount Rushmore memorial finished in 1941. That year, the Roman Catholic Church admitted it had erred in convicting Galileo of heresy 350 years earlier. In 1952, the United States exploded its first hydrogen bomb in a test in the Marshall Islands. Clarence Birdseye marketed the first frozen peas that same year.
The calendar continues with statehood and space exploration. North Dakota and South Dakota became the 39th and 40th states in 1889. In 1957, the Soviet Union sent the first animal, a dog named Laika, into space aboard Sputnik II. Laika died in orbit. In 2008, Barack Obama won the presidential election against Sen. John McCain. Obama took 338 electoral votes to McCain’s 161.
Source: Rockaway Times
