Great Chicago Fire begins

On October 8, 1871, the Peshtigo Fire, now considered the most devastating fire in United States history, burns in Wisconsin. Some 1,200 people lost their lives and 2 billion trees were consumed by flames. Despite the massive scale of the blaze, it was overshadowed by the Great Chicago Fire, which began later that night about […]

On Oct. 8, 1945, Raytheon Manufacturing Company filed a patent for what’s now a staple kitchen appliance in homes around the world: the microwave oven. The appliance, invented by Raytheon employee Percy Spencer, now sits in more than 90 percent of American homes. Spencer, who dropped out of grammar school at the age of 12 to […]

On October 8, 1957, bible-school-dropout-tuned-rockabilly-pianist Jerry Lee Lewis laid down the definitive version of “Great Balls Of Fire,” amid a losing battle with his conscience—and with the legendary Sam Phillips, head of Sun Records. Lewis was not the only early rock-and-roller from a strict Christian background who struggled to reconcile his religious beliefs with the […]

The Communist delegation in Paris rejects President Richard Nixon’s October 7 proposal as “a maneuver to deceive world opinion.”  Nixon had announced five-point proposal to end the war, based on a “standstill” cease-fire in place in South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. He proposed eventual withdrawal of U.S. forces, unconditional release of prisoners of war, and […]

The Office of Homeland Security is founded on October 8, 2001, less than one month after the September 11 terrorist attacks. Now a cabinet department, Homeland Security is now one of the largest organs of the federal government, charged with preventing terror attacks, border security, immigrations and customs, disaster relief and prevention and other related […]

On October 8, 2009, two people die and more than a dozen others are hospitalized following a botched sweat lodge ceremony at a retreat run by motivational speaker and author James Arthur Ray near Sedona, Arizona. A third participant in the ceremony died nine days later. The sweat lodge exercise was part of a five-day […]