October 13

Continental Navy established (1775); UK Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher born (1925); Italy declares war on Germany (1943); Television host Ed Sullivan dies (1974); 33 Chilean miners rescued after 69 days underground (2010).

October 12

Christopher Columbus reaches the Caribbean, believes he has reached the Indies (1492); American playwright Alice Childress born (1916); Wilt Chamberlain dies (1999); USS Cole is attacked by suicide bombers, killing 17 American sailors (2000); Eliud Kipchoge becomes first person to run a sub-two-hour marathon (2019).

October 11

Earthquake in Aleppo, Syria, kills roughly 230,000 people (1138); Eleanor Roosevelt born (1884); "Saturday Night Live" premieres (1975); Kathryn D. Sullivan becomes first American woman to perform a spacewalk (1984); ... and Alexei Leonov, first person to perform a spacewalk, dies (2019).

October 10

United States Naval Academy opens (1845); American actress Helen Hayes born (1900); Filmmaker Orson Welles dies (1985); Hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship ends (1985); "Superman" actor Christopher Reeve dies (2004).

October 9

John Lennon born (1940); Landslide in Italy kills more than 2,000 (1963); Cuban Revolution figure Che Guevara is executed (1967); Women and girls' education activist Malala Yousafzai survives assassination attempt (2012). 

Dolly Parton

 

Dolly Parton’s rich musicality, joyful demeanor, and keen business sense fueled an illustrious career in entertainment that spanned 60 years. Ever-sparkling, ever-melodic, the singer-songwriter and actress went from performing barefoot for her siblings on the porch of their cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to creating chart-topping records in country and pop that earned her millions. She was loved for her upbeat and genuine songs, her hallmark feminine and bedazzled style, and her quick wit, big smile, and down-to-earth charm.

Dolly Parton’s rich musicality, joyful demeanor, and keen business sense fueled an illustrious career in entertainment that spanned 60 years. Ever-sparkling, ever-melodic, the singer-songwriter and actress went from performing barefoot for her siblings on the porch of their cabin in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee to creating chart-topping records in country and pop that earned her millions. She was loved for her upbeat and genuine songs, her hallmark feminine and bedazzled style, and her quick wit, big smile, and down-to-earth charm.

Music was in her family roots, especially on her mother’s side. Her mother, Avie Lee Parton, sang, played guitar, and encouraged her daughter’s talents. Byy age 10, Parton was writing and singing guitar songs on the radio and television. After she debuted at the Grand Ole Opry at age 13, her star quickly rose, and by the 1970s, she had scored several No. 1 country hits, including “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” (which Whitney Houston later covered to great acclaim).

Parton’s deft songwriting and unique voice still appeal to fans of both country and pop music. Her song “9 to 5,” the title track from her 1980 film debut, was a No. 1 pop hit. She went on to act in several other movies; launch her own theme park, Dollywood; and partner with musical greats like EmmyLou Harris and Alison Krauss on award-winning albums. Her work has been widely recognized and commended, earning her Grammy Awards, Kennedy Center Honors, and a spot in the Country Music Hall of Fame.

From her earliest recordings, Parton was careful to maintain publishing rights to her songs, a decision that secured her fortune and enabled her to give back. She was an active philanthropist for years, funding literacy programs, medicine, and other causes.

October 8

American politician John Hancock dies (1793); Great Chicago Fire begins, killing about 300 people and destroying much of the city (1871); Actor Chevy Chase born (1943); Actress Sigourney Weaver born (1949); New York Yankees' Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in World Series history (1956); Office of Homeland Security is created in the wake of 9/11 attacks (2001).

October 7

Edgar Allan Poe dies (1849); World’s oldest airline still operating under its original name, KLM, is founded (1919); American cellist Yo-Yo Ma born (1955); US invasion of Afghanistan begins (2001); Hamas launches attack into Israel, killing over 1,200 people and taking 250 hostages (2023). 

October 6

Civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer born (1917); Yom Kippur War begins (1973); Pope John Paul II is first pope to visit White House (1979); Anwar Sādāt, president of Egypt, assassinated (1981); Hollywood legend Bette Davis dies (1989).

October 5

Harry Truman makes first US presidential television address from the White House (1947); Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson born (1958); Public Broadcasting Service launches (1970); Actress Kate Winslet born (1975); Steve Jobs dies (2011).

October 4

Rembrandt dies (1669); Orient Express makes first run from Paris to Romania (1883); Hollywood legend Charlton Heston born (1923); Sputnik 1 is first artificial satellite to orbit Earth (1957); Rocker Janis Joplin dies (1970).

October 3

American singer-songwriter Chubby Checker born (1941); Gwen Stefani born (1969); East and West Germany are unified (1990); OJ Simpson acquitted of murdering ex-wife and her friend (1995); "Psycho" actress Janet Leigh dies (2004).

October 2

Mahatma Gandhi born (1869); Fashion designer Donna Karan born (1948); Thurgood Marshall sworn in as first Black Supreme Court justice (1967); Rock Hudson is first major US celebrity to die from AIDS-related complications (1985); Tom Petty dies (2017).

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt served as President of the United States for more than 12 years, helping the nation navigate through times of great difficulty and uncertainty. Roosevelt led Americans out of the Great Depression, enacted a sweeping series of reforms known as the New Deal, and ushered the nation through World War II. Through these trying times, FDR’s words often provided reassurance to the American people, who looked to their leader for regular guidance in an otherwise unpredictable world.

Several FDR quotes maintain a high degree of popularity today, such as his oft-repeated words, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.” Odds are we’ve also all heard him describe the attack on Pearl Harbor as “a date which will live in infamy.”

But Roosevelt’s legacy extends far beyond those two popular quotations. The former President was a prodigious speaker who delivered hundreds — if not thousands — of speeches during his extensive political career. Each time FDR took the dais, he spoke with a level of intelligence and eloquence that made every speech notable and quoteworthy.

Let’s dive in a little deeper and take a look at some of Roosevelt’s words that may be less familiar.

October 1

Yosemite National Park is established (1890); Bonnie Parker, half of the infamous crime duo Bonnie and Clyde, born (1910); President Jimmy Carter born (1924); Actress Dame Julie Andrews born (1935); Walt Disney World opens (1971); 58 killed, 869 injured in mass shooting in Las Vegas (2017).

September 30

American novelist and screenwriter Truman Capote born (1924); Babe Ruth is first player to hit 60 home runs in a season (1927); Actor James Dean dies in a car crash (1955); President John F. Kennedy authorizes federal troops to integrate University of Mississippi (1962); Oscar-winning actress Simone Signoret dies (1985).

September 29

John D. Rockefeller reported as world’s first billionaire (1916); Pope John Paul II is first pope to visit Ireland (1979); Stacy Allison becomes first American woman to climb Mount Everest (1988); Basketball star Kevin Durant born (1988). 

September 28

Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin (1928); Ted Williams is last Major League Baseball player to end season batting over .400 (1941); Jazz legend Miles Davis dies (1991); American tennis great and color barrier breaker Althea Gibson dies (2003); Rapper Coolio dies (2022).

September 27

Rosetta Stone is first deciphered (1822); First Black US senator Hiram Revels born (1827); Production of Ford Model T begins (1908); Legendary athlete Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias dies (1956); Actress Maggie Smith dies (2024). 

September 26

Thomas Jefferson is appointed the first US secretary of state (1789); Albert Einstein publishes paper on the special theory of relativity (1905); Last recorded album by The Beatles, "Abbey Road," is released (1969); Serena Williams born (1981); Actor Paul Newman dies (2008).