Category: Note

November 4, 1841: The first emigrant wagon train arrived in California after a five-and-a-half-month, 1,730-mile journey over the Sierra Nevada Mountains, from Missouri. This was the Bartleson–Bidwell Party. John Bidwell’s mansion property (pictured above, before the destructive December, 2024 fire) is now a state park. — November 4th is the birthday of Medal of Honor recipient John Basilone. He was born in 1916 in Buffalo, New York. The 2025 Basilone Parade was held in Raritan, New Jersey, Sunday, September 21st. Locals should try to attend in 2026, to honor his 110th birthday. — I just heard that Jase Medical (one …

On November 3, 1917, the price of U.S. postage stamps was raised to 3 cents per ounce. — November 3, 1917: Flooding from a tropical storm killed 84 people in the Winooski River Valley, Vermont. Several flood control dams were eventually constructed, to prevent a similar disaster. — And November 3, 1987, Gordon Gould was issued US patent US4704583 for the laser, ending his 30-year battle to be credited as the inventor of the laser. — Today’s feature piece is by SurvivalBlog Field Gear Editor Tom Christianson.

November 2, 1907: US banker J. P. Morgan locked more than 40 bankers in his library to force them to find ways to avert a New York banking crisis. (The Panic of 1907.) — November 2, 1948: Holland ended its rationing programs started during WWII for the distribution of textiles, meat, and cheese. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course (a …

November 1st, 996: The first noted use of the modern name for Austria, in the “Ostarrîchi Document”. — November 1, 1911: The first aerial bomb is dropped by an Italian pilot on Turkish troops in Libya during the Italo-Turkish War. This was the first recorded operational aerial bombardment. — November 1st is also the birthday of economist Martin A. Armstrong. For many years he was a prisoner of conscience, in part because he refused to turn over his proprietary trading algorithms to Federal prosecutors. After seven years in prison without a trial, the longest Federal incarceration for contempt in American …

Today, while most of America celebrates the pagan Halloween, our family celebrates Reformation Day. — On this day in 1517, Martin Luther sent his Ninety-five Theses to Albert of Brandenburg, Archbishop of Mainz, precipitating the Protestant Reformation. — And on October 31, 1952: The first thermonuclear (fusion) bomb was aboveground test-detonated at the Marshall Islands. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or three-day course …

On October 30, 1864, in the midst of both a mining boom and the Civil War, Helena, Montana was founded. — On this day in 1938: A nationwide panic over the War of the Worlds broadcast. — October 30th, 1735 was the birthday of President John Adams. (Some sources cite his birthdate as October 19, 1735.) — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round include: First Prize: A Gunsite Academy Three Day Course Certificate. This can be used for any of their one, two, or …

October 29, 1929: Stocks crashed on Wall Street. This became known as “Black Tuesday”. This event triggered the Great Depression. — October 29, 1940: Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson drew the first number – #158 – in the first peacetime military draft in US history. — October 29th is the birthday of fighter pilot Vermont Garrison, an American who fought in three wars – WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in 1915 and died on February 14th, 1994, in Mountain Home, Idaho. — Please pray for the residents of Jamaica and Bermuda enduring Category 5 Hurricane Melissa. — …

On October 28, 1628, after a long siege, the Huguenot bulwark at La Rochelle surrendered to Catholic prelate Cardinal Richelieu. A large diaspora of Huguenots (French Calvinist Reformed Protestants) began soon after. They became known as Europe’s first refugees. Facing severe persecution in France and Wallonia, Huguenots arrived in South Africa as early as 1671. By 1692, more than 200 French Huguenots had settled at the Cape of Good Hope. More than 700 Huguenot refugees arrived in Virginia in 1690s. With their wide diaspora, Huguenot surnames are now fairly common in England, Canada, South Africa, Zimbabwe, the United States, and …

On October 27, 1553, Condemned as a heretic, Spanish-born physician and Christian church reformer Michael Servetus was burned at the stake, just outside Geneva. — October 27, 1702: British troops plundered St Augustine, Florida. — October 27th 1858: The birthday of President Theodore “Teddy” Roosevelt. He died January 6, 1919. — Some great news! There are new owners of the famed Harvest Guard company — makers of reusable canning lids. The company is now owned by the same folks who own and operate USA Berkey Filters.  They are generously providing a new prize that was just added to the First …

Reader D.S.V. wrote to tell me of the passing of actress June Lockhart, at age 100. JWR’s Comment: Not mentioned in the brief obituary is that June Lockhart was a devoted Christian. — On October 26, 1826, the Erie Canal between the Hudson River and Lake Erie opened. — October 26, 1881: A feud between the Earp brothers (Wyatt, Virgil, and Morgan) and an outlaw gang led by Ike Clanton escalated into a celebrated gunfight at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Arizona Territory. — Today is the birthday of Henry Deringer (October 26, 1786 – February 28, 1868) was an …

60 years ago today, on October 25, 1965: Bobby Hatfield’s solo performance of “Unchained Melody” on The Andy Williams Show went down in music history as perhaps the greatest live television love song performance by a male vocalist ever recorded. The then-25-year-old Hatfield still sounds amazing today, even though the recording was made with a low-quality microphone. — This is the birthday of explorer and pilot Admiral Richard Byrd (1888–1957). His autobiography titled Alone is a must-read. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 121 of the SurvivalBlog non-fiction writing contest. The prizes for this round …

On October 24, 1836, the earliest American patent was issued for a phosphorus friction match to Alonzo Dwight Phillips of Springfield, Massachusetts — October 24th is the anniversary of the firing squad execution of Norwegian traitor Vidkun Quisling, in 1945. His ignominious place in history was to have his surname become a noun. “Quisling” is now a moniker synonymous with treason and alliance with an invading army. — And on October 24, 1946, a camera on board the V-2 No. 13 rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico captured the first photograph of Earth from outer space. — SurvivalBlog Writing …

October 23, 1813: The Pacific Fur Company trading post in Astoria, Oregon was turned over to the rival British North West Company. The lucrative fur trade in the Pacific Northwest was dominated for the next three decades by the United Kingdom. — October 23, 1970: Gary Gabelich set an auto speed record of 622.4 mph (1,001 km/h). — Today, we also remember the 220 Marines, 18 U.S. Navy Sailors, and three U.S. Army Soldiers who died on this day in 1983 when terrorists attacked the Beruit Barracks. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry for Round 121 of …

On October 22, 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first elected President of the Republic of Texas. — On October 22, 1934, infamous criminal Charles (“Pretty Boy”) Floyd was fatally shot in a field near East Liverpool, Ohio, by FBI agents. — On October 22, 1797, André-Jacques Garnerin, an inspector in the French army who encouraged the use of balloons for military purposes, made a balloon ascent in order to give his first exhibition of parachuting, when he jumped from a height of about 3,200 feet (1,000 meters). — And today is the birthday of painter and book illustrator …

On October 21, 1520, Explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his fleet reached Cape Virgenes after transiting the Strait of Magellan between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, thus becoming the first Europeans to sail into the Pacific. — October 21, 1803: English scientist John Dalton read his paper “On the Absorption of Gases by Water and Other Liquids” to the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. This was the first outline of his landmark atomic theory. — And on October 21, 1915: The first transatlantic radiotelephone message was transmitted from Arlington, Virginia, to Paris. — SurvivalBlog Writing Contest Today we present another entry …