In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI.
In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War and effecively destroyed the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent as Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln.
In 1901, Anna Edson Taylor, a 43-year-old widow, became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel and live to tell about it. Mrs. Taylor's dreams of fame and fortune failed to materialize, however and she died in poverty in 1921.
In 1931, the George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, opened to traffic.
In 1939, the first nylon stockings went on sale, in Wilmington, Del.
In 1940, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
In 1945 , the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect. The world began with 51 members in 1945, a figure that has more than tripled since then.
In 1952, in a speech in Detroit, Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declared, "I shall go to Korea" as he promised to end the war.
In 1962, the U.S. blockade of Cuba during the missile crisis officially began under a proclamation signed by President John F. Kennedy the day before.
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October 24
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American Leage President Bobby Brown (1925)
Football hall of famer Y.A. Tittle (1926)
Actor/Producer David Nelson (1936)
Rock musician Bill Wyman (1941)
Actor Kevin Kline (1947)
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"There has never been any 30-hour week for men who had anything to do."
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Charles F. Kettering, American inventor (1876-1958)