Category: Note

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 …

On October 20, 1600, the Battle of Sekigahara established the Tokugawa clan as Japan’s rulers (Shoguns.) — October 20, 1634: King of England Charles I levied the “Ship Money” tax on all English and Welsh counties. — October 20, 1906: Dr Lee DeForest demonstrated his electrical vacuum tube. (Soon commonly called a radio tube.) — Today is the birthday of the late Tom Petty. (Born October 20, 1950, died October 2, 2017). He was a great singer-songwriter and a passable actor. — Today is also the birthday of shootist Ed McGivern (born 1874, died December 12, 1957.) He was born …

October 19, 1987: Black Monday. Stock market indices around the world crashed, including the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), which fell 508.32 points (22%). That was 4½ times the previous daily record. — October 19th also marks the anniversary of Operation Gatling; the famous “Green Leader” raid in 1978 in which Rhodesia attacked ZIPRA (Zimbabwe People’s Revolutionary Army) in retaliation for ZIPRA shooting down a scheduled passenger flight, Rhodesia flight 825, during the Rhodesian Bush War. The Rhodesian military suffered only minor casualties in the raid, but claimed to have killed 1,500 ZIPRA personnel as well as some Cuban military …

October 18th 1356: The Basel Earthquake. This was the most significant historically recorded seismological event north of the Alps. It destroyed the city of Basel, Switzerland. It was rebuilt with many of the buildings that can still be seen today. — October 18th, 1662 was the birthday of Matthew Henry (died 22 June 1714). He was a Presbyterian minister who lived primarily in Chester, England. Matthew Henry’s six-volume Exposition of the Old and New Testaments (commonly called Matthew Henry’s Commentary) (1708–1710) is a must for the bookshelf of any serious Bible scholar. — Today’s feature article is short piece by …

On October 17, 1814:  The London Beer Flood: A burst vat at Meux & Company Brewery floods city streets with over 300,000 gallons of porter ale, killing eight, with a possible ninth death from alcohol poisoning — October 17, 1967: USAF test pilot William “Pete” Knight set a record, reaching an altitude of 102,100 feet (31.1 km) in the experimental X-15 spaceplane. — Today’s feature article is a guest post by A.C. of the Stakeholder Prepping Podcast. Since he is a SurvivalBlog advertiser, this article is not eligible for our writing contest. — We need entries for Round 121 of …

On October 16, 1846, dentist William T. G. Morton demonstrated the effectiveness of inhaled ether as a surgical anesthetic. — October 16, 1923: John Harwood patented the self-winding watch in Switzerland. — Mark your calendar for December 29, 2025 to pre-order your 20th Anniversary Edition SurvivalBlog archive USB sticks. – JWR — 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 $1,095 value), …

On October 15, 1764, Edward Gibbon observed a group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome. This inspired him to begin work on writing The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. — Herbert W. McBride, the author of A Rifleman Went To War, was born in Waterloo, Indiana October 15, 1873. He died in Indianapolis of a heart attack on March 17, 1933, shortly after finishing writing A Rifleman Went To War. — On October 15, 1529, Ottoman armies under Suleiman ended their siege of Vienna and turned back to Belgrade. — …

October 14, 1834: In Philadelphia, Whigs and Democrats staged a gun, stone, and brick battle for control of a Moyamensing Township election, resulting in one death, several injuries, and the burning of a block of buildings. — On October 14,1899, Morning Post reporter Winston Churchill departed to South Africa, toting a Broomhandle Mauser pistol. His goal was to report on the Second Boer War. He was later taken prisoner of war, but escaped. He recounted his exploits in an autobiography titled My Early Life. — The Cuban Missile Crisis began on October 14, 1962, bringing the United States and the …