Scott Allsop's Blog, page 60

11th October 1649: Sack of Wexford in Ireland by English forces under Oliver Cromwell who burn much of the town and kill over 1,500 people

As property was pillaged and buildings were burned, at least 1,500 people died while twice that number were taken ...

10th October 1780: The Great Hurricane of 1780 kills an estimated 22,000 people, making it the deadliest Atlantic hurricane on record

At around 6am on 10 October the hurricane made landfall at Barbados in the Lesser Antilles, where it unleashed its full fury as it moved through the ...

9th October 1919: Black Sox Scandal overshadows the World Series baseball championship win by the Cincinnati Reds

As the series progressed the Reds unexpectedly gained the upper hand, which puzzled fans and raised suspicions that some members of the White Sox team had deliberately thrown the games in exchange for financial rewards from ...

8th October 1871: The Peshtigo Fire in Wisconsin, the most deadly wildfire in recorded history

The Peshtigo Fire killed up to 2,500 people in the deadliest wildfire in recorded ...

7th October 1763: Royal Proclamation of 1763 issued by King George III, banning settlement west of the Appalachian Mountains

The Royal Proclamation of 1763 was issued by King George III, banning settlement west of the Appalachian ...

6th October 1973: Yom Kippur War begins when Egyptian and Syrian forces launch a coordinated attack on Israel

Launched on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar, Egyptian forces went on to cross the Suez Canal and establish a bridgehead, while Syrian troops launched an offensive in the Golan ...

5th October 1970: PBS, the national Public Broadcasting Service in the United States, was launched

With 80% of all American television households watching at least one PBS program each year, it has been consistently rated the most-trusted national institution in the United States according to Roper Opinion Research ...

4th October 1927: Work begins on the USA’s Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota

Washington’s face was the first to be completed, seven years after work began. In July 1939 Roosevelt was the final likeness to be ...

3rd October 1993: The Black Hawk Down incident during the Battle of Mogadishu

During the operation, two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down and 19 Americans lost their lives, while at least 200 Somali militiamen were killed as well as hundreds of ...

2nd October 1627: The Chongzhen Emperor, the last ruler of the Ming Dynasty, ascends the throne

The era name Chongzhen means ‘honourable and auspicious’ but his reign, and the Ming Dynasty, were to end with his suicide in the face of widespread ...