#Middlebury
On Oct. 6, 1683, encouraged by William Penn’s offer of 5,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania and the freedom to practice their religion, the first Mennonites arrive in America. The group founded Germantown, now part of the city of Philadelphia.- On Oct. 1, 1864, Confederate spy Rose O’Neal Greenhow drowns off the North Carolina coast. Greenhow was carrying Confederate dispatches and $2,000 in gold when captured. Insisting that she be taken ashore, she boarded a small lifeboat that overturned in the rough surf. The weight of the gold pulled her under, and her body washed ashore the next morning.
- On Oct. 5, 1919, Enzo Ferrari makes his debut as a race car driver. In the mid-1920s, Ferrari retired from racing cars to pursue his dream – building them. In 1947, the first Ferraris appeared on the market. In 1949, a Ferrari won the Le Mans 24-hour race.
- On Oct. 3, 1932, with the admission of Iraq into the League of Nations, Britain terminates its mandate, making the Arab nation independent after 17 years of British rule and centuries of Ottoman rule.
- On Oct. 4, 1944, Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower distributes to his combat units a “shell shock” report by the U.S. Surgeon General that reveals the hazards of prolonged exposure to combat. U.S. commanders judged that the average soldier could last about 200 days in combat before suffering serious psychiatric damage.
- On Oct. 7, 1955, poet Alan Ginsberg reads his poem “Howl” at a poetry reading in San Francisco. The poem’s book publication led to the arrest of publisher Lawrence Ferlinghetti for obscenity. He was later tried and acquitted.
- On Oct. 2, 1968, St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson strikes out 17 Detroit Tigers in the first game of the World Series, breaking Sandy Koufax’s record.
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