This Week in History
Issue date: 10/14/05 Section: News
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October 14, 1857
Automobile pioneer Elwood Haynes was born in Portland, Indiana. After preparations as a chemist and engineer, he returned to Indiana to begin a test on a carriage motorized by an internal engine. Haynes had finished building such a device in 1894, equipping it with one horsepower and one cylinder, and by that Independence Day he drove it though the streets of Kokomo, Indiana on a test run. Later on, Haynes continued to enhance the science of automobile construction with the first utilization of aluminum in automobile engines, the first muffler and a productive carburetor. His test automobile is now on display at the Smithsonian Institute.
October 15, 1822
Famed writer Victor Hugo married his childhood sweetheart Adele Foucher.Their marriage not only produced several children, but was almost marred by infidelity on the parts of both individuals. Hugo had written works such as the 1827 play Cromwell and his first novel, Han d'Islande, which he composed one year after his marriage to Foucher. Sometime after the publication of Cromwell, Hugo wrote two other plays despite having an agreement to begin work on another novel, Notre Dame de Paris.
October 16, 1854
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up there and then traveled to England to attend Oxford, where he graduate with honors in 1878. Wilde's wit and flashy personality made him a popular figure. In 1881, he went on to publish his first book of poetry. Wilde went to the United States to give speeches on poetry, but his wardrobe and broad devotion to art drew great criticism. When Wilde returned from England, he married and bore two children, for who he wrote fairy tales. Those writings were published in 1888, where Wilde reviewed and edited Women's World. Two years later, he published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which eventually appeared in book form. Some of Wilde's other works include the two plays The Duchess of Paula (1891) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
October 17, 1777
British General John Burgoyne surrenders to American Patriot General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y., along with 5,000 British and Hessian soldiers. Gates had retreated north of the town with 5,000 troops, and by Oct. 13 an approximate 20,000 Americans had enveloped the British forces. Burgoyne was forced to succumb to the first broad-range surrender in the Revolutionary War. When word of this reached the ears of French King Louis XVI, he agreed to acknowledge the independence of the U.S. French Foreign Minister Comte de Vergennes arranged to provide French help to the Patriots with the help of U.S. Ambassador Benjamin Franklin.
October 18. 1983
The gigantic automotive company General Motors consented to terms after a discrimination lawsuit was filed against it. After much argument with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, GM agreed to raise its employment of women and minorities for five years.
October 19, 1966
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. , dealing with business enterprises, shifted its focus when the company bought Paramount Pictures Corp. and began centering around increasingly on media. The newly formed organization produced numerous hits, especially The Godfather and Indiana Jones trilogies. Some time later, Gulf and Western, then renamed Paramount Communications, was absorbed by another massive media organization, Viacom, Inc.
October 20, 1930
The Sherlocke Holmes radio program debuted, running without interruption until 1956. Sir Arthur Conan-Boyle's clever detective was first introduced in print around the beginning of the 20th century in England. During the late 1920s, mystery addict Edith Meiser, an actress and writer, proposed that NBC start a radio show based on Holmes' adventures. When Meiser hired her own sponsor, the networked consented. She then spent 12 years writing for the show, where both Holmes and Watson always mentioned the sponsor's name--George Washington coffee--in every episode.
Automobile pioneer Elwood Haynes was born in Portland, Indiana. After preparations as a chemist and engineer, he returned to Indiana to begin a test on a carriage motorized by an internal engine. Haynes had finished building such a device in 1894, equipping it with one horsepower and one cylinder, and by that Independence Day he drove it though the streets of Kokomo, Indiana on a test run. Later on, Haynes continued to enhance the science of automobile construction with the first utilization of aluminum in automobile engines, the first muffler and a productive carburetor. His test automobile is now on display at the Smithsonian Institute.
October 15, 1822
Famed writer Victor Hugo married his childhood sweetheart Adele Foucher.Their marriage not only produced several children, but was almost marred by infidelity on the parts of both individuals. Hugo had written works such as the 1827 play Cromwell and his first novel, Han d'Islande, which he composed one year after his marriage to Foucher. Sometime after the publication of Cromwell, Hugo wrote two other plays despite having an agreement to begin work on another novel, Notre Dame de Paris.
October 16, 1854
Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin, Ireland. He grew up there and then traveled to England to attend Oxford, where he graduate with honors in 1878. Wilde's wit and flashy personality made him a popular figure. In 1881, he went on to publish his first book of poetry. Wilde went to the United States to give speeches on poetry, but his wardrobe and broad devotion to art drew great criticism. When Wilde returned from England, he married and bore two children, for who he wrote fairy tales. Those writings were published in 1888, where Wilde reviewed and edited Women's World. Two years later, he published his only novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which eventually appeared in book form. Some of Wilde's other works include the two plays The Duchess of Paula (1891) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1895).
October 17, 1777
British General John Burgoyne surrenders to American Patriot General Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y., along with 5,000 British and Hessian soldiers. Gates had retreated north of the town with 5,000 troops, and by Oct. 13 an approximate 20,000 Americans had enveloped the British forces. Burgoyne was forced to succumb to the first broad-range surrender in the Revolutionary War. When word of this reached the ears of French King Louis XVI, he agreed to acknowledge the independence of the U.S. French Foreign Minister Comte de Vergennes arranged to provide French help to the Patriots with the help of U.S. Ambassador Benjamin Franklin.
October 18. 1983
The gigantic automotive company General Motors consented to terms after a discrimination lawsuit was filed against it. After much argument with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, GM agreed to raise its employment of women and minorities for five years.
October 19, 1966
Gulf and Western Industries, Inc. , dealing with business enterprises, shifted its focus when the company bought Paramount Pictures Corp. and began centering around increasingly on media. The newly formed organization produced numerous hits, especially The Godfather and Indiana Jones trilogies. Some time later, Gulf and Western, then renamed Paramount Communications, was absorbed by another massive media organization, Viacom, Inc.
October 20, 1930
The Sherlocke Holmes radio program debuted, running without interruption until 1956. Sir Arthur Conan-Boyle's clever detective was first introduced in print around the beginning of the 20th century in England. During the late 1920s, mystery addict Edith Meiser, an actress and writer, proposed that NBC start a radio show based on Holmes' adventures. When Meiser hired her own sponsor, the networked consented. She then spent 12 years writing for the show, where both Holmes and Watson always mentioned the sponsor's name--George Washington coffee--in every episode.
