Reformation Day

(Wikipedia) Reformation Day is a religious holiday celebrated on October 31 in remembrance of the Reformation, particularly by Lutheran and some Reformed church communities. It is a civic holiday in Slovenia (since the Reformation contributed to its cultural development profoundly, although Slovenes are mainly Roman Catholics) and in the German states of Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. It is also a national holiday in Chile since 2008.

In the United States churches often transfer the holiday, so that it falls on the Sunday (called Reformation Sunday) on or before October 31, with All Saints' Day moved to the Sunday on or after November 1. Continued

The Witch of Pungo

(HMDB) The witchcraft case of Grace Sherwood is one of the best known in Virginia. She was accused of bewitching a neighbor’s crop in 1698. Allegations grew over time until the Princess Anne County government and her accusers decided she would be tested by ducking, since water was considered pure and would not permit a witch to sink into its depths. Sherwood’s accusers on 10 July 1706 tied her hands to her feet and dropped her into the Western Branch of the Lynnhaven River near what is now know as Witch Duck Point. Sherwood floated, a sign of guilt. She was imprisoned, but was eventually released. Sherwood lived the rest of her life quietly and died by 1740.

Photo: The Historical Marker Database 

Anatomy of a Hurricane

Daniel Nathans

Daniel Nathans (October 30, 1928 – November 16, 1999) was an American microbiologist. ... Nathans served as President of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland from 1995 to 1996.
Along with Werner Arber and Hamilton Smith, Nathans received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1978 for the discovery of restriction enzymes. He was also awarded with National Medal of Science in 1993. Continued

Temperance and Prohibition

(LoC) On October 28, 1919, Congress passed the Volstead Act providing for enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution, which was ratified nine months earlier. Known as the Prohibition Amendment, it prohibited the "manufacture, sale, or transportation of intoxicating liquors" in the United States. Continued

Katharine Byron

(Wikipedia)  Katharine Edgar Byron (October 25, 1903 – December 28, 1976), a democrat, was a U.S. Congresswoman who represented the 6th congressional district of Maryland from May 27, 1941 to January 3, 1943. She was the first woman elected to Congress from Maryland. Continued

Stock Market Crash of 1929

(Wikipedia) The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash or the Stock Market Crash of 1929, was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, taking into consideration the full extent and duration of its fallout.
Four phrases—Black Thursday, Black Friday, then Black Monday, and Black Tuesday—are commonly used to describe this collapse of stock values. All four are appropriate, for the crash was not a one-day affair. The initial crash occurred on Thursday, October 24, 1929, but the catastrophic downturn of Monday, October 28 and Tuesday, October 29 precipitated widespread alarm and the onset of an unprecedented and long-lasting economic depression for the United States and the world. This stock market collapse continued for a month. Continued

Photo: Wall Street bubbles; - Always the same / J. Ottmann Lith. Co. ; Kep, 1901. Caricature of John Pierpont Morgan as a bull blowing bubbles "inflated values", for which group of people are reaching. (Library of Congress)

The Lend-Lease Act

(LoC) The Senate passed the $5.98 billion supplemental Lend-Lease bill on October 23, 1941, bringing the United States one step closer to direct involvement in World War II. The Lend-Lease Act, approved by Congress in March 1941, gave President Roosevelt virtually unlimited authority to direct material aid such as ammunition, tanks, airplanes, trucks, and food to the war effort in Europe without violating the nation's official position of neutrality. Continued

The Panic of 1907

(Wikipedia) The Panic of 1907, also known as the 1907 Bankers' Panic, was a financial crisis that occurred in the United States when its stock market fell close to 50 percent from its peak the previous year. Panic occurred during a time of economic recession, when there were numerous runs on banks and trust companies. The 1907 panic eventually spread throughout the nation, and many state and local banks and businesses entered into bankruptcy. Primary causes of the run included a retraction of market liquidity by a number of New York City banks, a loss of confidence among depositors, and the absence of a statutory lender of last resort. Continued

Photo: "A crowd forms on Wall Street during the Bankers Panic of 1907" (New York Public Library).

The Battle of Ball’s Bluff

(NYTimes) The first months of the Civil War had been a series of humiliating lessons for the citizens and soldiers of the Union, highlighted by dramatic defeats at Bull Run and Wilson’s Creek. The war, it was becoming clear, would be neither easy nor quick. But it was also clear that, especially among the Union Army officer corps, those lessons had not yet fully sunk in — a fact made all too clear by the Oct. 21 disaster at the Battle of Ball’s Bluff. Continued

Photo: Discovering the bodies of the slain in the Potomac river, Battle of Balls Bluff (Va.) fought 21 October, 1861 by Alfred Waud (Library of Congress).

Harvest Moon Dinner and Auction to Benefit the Harford Land Trust

(Aegis/Sun) The Harford Land Trust, a nonprofit organization that helps protect farms and forests and create community parks in Harford County, will hold its first Harvest Moon Dinner and Auction fundraiser on Saturday, Oct. 27, at the Bel Air Reckord Armory. The Harvest Moon Dinner and Auction will begin at 5:30 p.m. with live entertainment from The Wallis Brothers Band with Dar Coomes, cocktails, hors d'oeuvres and a silent auction that will continue throughout the evening.
Dinner will be served promptly at 6:45 p.m. and will consist of seasonal and local menu items, including a preset salad bar, pasta station, carving station and seafood station provided by MacGregor's Restaurant of Havre de Grace. A live auction will follow dinner at 8 p.m. Continued

Battle of Cedar Creek

(Wikipedia) The Battle of Cedar Creek, or Battle of Belle Grove, October 19, 1864, was one of the final, and most decisive, battles in the Valley Campaigns of 1864 during the American Civil War. The final Confederate invasion of the North, led by Lt. Gen. Jubal A. Early, was effectively ended. The Confederacy was never again able to threaten Washington, D.C., through the Shenandoah Valley, nor protect the economic base. This victory aided the reelection of Abraham Lincoln and Union Army Maj. Gen. Philip Sheridan won lasting fame. Continued

Image: Sheridan's ride by Alfred Waud, Oct 19th, 1864 (Library of Congress)

Howard Rollins

(Wikipedia) Howard Ellsworth Rollins, Jr. (October 17, 1950 – December 8, 1996) was an American television, film, and stage actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Coalhouse Walker, Jr. in the film Ragtime, and for his portrayal of Virgil Tibbs in the NBC/CBS television series In the Heat of the Night. The youngest of four children, Rollins was born in Baltimore, Maryland where he studied theater at Towson State College nearby. Continued

Goose Goslin

(Wikipedia) - Leon Allen Goslin (October 16, 1900 – May 15, 1971), better known as Goose Goslin, was a left fielder in Major League Baseball known for his powerful left-handed swing and dependable clutch hitting.
... The 20-year-old Goslin was called up to the major leagues to play for the Washington Senators for the last two weeks of the 1921 season. He had a promising .351 on base percentage in 14 games in 1921 and became a starter for the Senators in 1922.
Goslin played 93 games in 1922 and became a fixture for the Senators in left field until 1930. Continued

Jim Palmer

(Wikipedia) James Alvin "Jim" Palmer (born October 15, 1945) is an American retired right-handed pitcher who played all of his 19 years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Baltimore Orioles (1965–1967, 1969–1984) and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1990. The winningest pitcher in the majors during the 1970s with 186, he won at least twenty games in each of eight seasons and received three Cy Young Awards and four Gold Gloves during the decade. His 268 career victories are currently an Orioles record. A six-time American League (AL) All-Star, he was also one of the rare pitchers who never allowed a grand slam in any major league contest. Continued