🎃 October in the Time Tunnel

Every day of October: one big moment from history, famous birthdays and special days. Click a date for the full story and a quiz.

1. October 11890: Yosemite National Park, with giant cliffs and waterfalls, was created in California🎂 Julie Andrews
2. October 21789: The Bill of Rights was sent to the states for approval🎂 Mahatma Gandhi
3. October 31962: Astronaut Wally Schirra orbited Earth six times🎂 Gwen Stefani
4. October 4🐾 World Animal Day1883: The famous Orient Express train made its first full journey🎂 Derrick Rose
5. October 5🍎 World Teachers’ Day1905: The Wright brothers flew for 39 minutes straight — a new world record back then🎂 Neil deGrasse Tyson
6. October 61600: The opera "Euridice" premiered — one of the oldest operas whose music survives🎂 Thor Heyerdahl
7. October 71477: Uppsala University in Sweden opened🎂 Yo-Yo Ma
8. October 81645: Jeanne Mance opened the first hospital of its kind in North America, in Montreal🎂 R. L. Stine
9. October 91604: "Kepler’s Supernova" was seen — the last star explosion visible in our galaxy🎂 John Lennon
10. October 101845: The US Naval Academy opened in Annapolis, Maryland🎂 Giuseppe Verdi
11. October 111811: The Juliana began service as the first steam ferry, in New York🎂 Eleanor Roosevelt
12. October 121492: Christopher Columbus’s expedition landed on an island in the Bahamas🎂 Hugh Jackman
13. October 131792: The cornerstone of the White House was laid in Washington, D.C.🎂 Paul Simon
14. October 141773: The first known Ministry of Education was created, in Poland–Lithuania🎂 Usher
15. October 151783: A Montgolfier hot-air balloon carried a person into the sky for the first time (on a tether)🎂 P. G. Wodehouse
16. October 16🥗 World Food Day1843: Mathematician William Rowan Hamilton invented quaternions, a new kind of number🎂 Noah Webster
17. October 171771: Mozart, only 15, premiered an opera he wrote, in Milan🎂 Mae Jemison
18. October 181851: "Moby-Dick," the novel about the white whale, was first published🎂 Lindsey Vonn
19. October 191386: Heidelberg University, the oldest in Germany, held its first lecture🎂 Philip Pullman
20. October 201910: The giant ocean liner Olympic was launched🎂 Viggo Mortensen
21. October 211824: Portland cement, still used to build houses and bridges, was patented🎂 Alfred Nobel
22. October 221797: André-Jacques Garnerin made the first known parachute jump, in Paris🎂 Ichiro Suzuki
23. October 231906: Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first public airplane flight in Europe🎂 Pelé
24. October 24🌐 United Nations Day1851: William Lassell discovered Umbriel and Ariel, two moons of Uranus🎂 Antonie van Leeuwenhoek
25. October 251616: Dutch captain Dirk Hartog landed on the coast of Australia🎂 Pablo Picasso
26. October 261825: The Erie Canal opened, connecting the Hudson River to Lake Erie🎂 Mahalia Jackson
27. October 271682: The city of Philadelphia was founded🎂 Theodore Roosevelt
28. October 281420: Beijing became the capital of China when the Forbidden City was finished🎂 Bill Gates
29. October 291675: Mathematician Leibniz first used the ∫ sign for integrals🎂 Bob Ross
30. October 301938: Orson Welles broadcast "The War of the Worlds," a story about aliens, on the radio🎂 John Adams
31. October 31🎃 Halloween1923: Marble Bar, Australia, began a record 160 days in a row above 100°F🎂 Michael Collins