159 years ago today
United States Takes Possession of Alaska
On October 18, 1867, the United States formally took possession of Alaska from Russia in a transfer ceremony at Sitka, completing the $7.2 million purchase negotiated by Secretary of State William Seward. Critics at the time mocked the acquisition as "Seward's Folly" or "Seward's Icebox," viewing the vast territory as worthless frozen wilderness. The purchase proved to be one of the greatest bargains in American history, as Alaska later yielded enormous reserves of gold, fish, oil, and natural gas. At roughly two cents per acre, it nearly doubled the size of the United States. The transfer also marked Russia's permanent withdrawal from the North American continent.
This day, across time
- 1009EventChurch of the Holy Sepulchre Destroyed
- 1648EventFirst American Labor Organisation Founded
- 1851EventMelville's Moby-Dick Published
- 1867FeaturedUnited States Takes Possession of Alaska
- 1871DiedCharles Babbage
- 1919BornPierre Trudeau
- 1922EventBritish Broadcasting Company Founded
- 1926BornChuck Berry
- 1929EventCanadian Women Declared "Persons" Under Law
- 1931DiedThomas Edison
- 1954EventTexas Instruments Announces First Transistor Radio
- 1956BornMartina Navratilova
- 1961BornWynton Marsalis
- 1963EventFélicette Becomes First Cat in Space
- 1977EventGerman Autumn: GSG 9 Rescues Lufthansa Hostages
- 1982DiedBess Truman
- 1987BornZac Efron
- 2019EventFirst All-Female Spacewalk
Alive in 1867
OverlapSame years; not influence
Marie Curieborn this year
Charles John Huffam Dickensturned 55 this year
Charles Robert Darwinturned 58 this year
Friedrich Nietzscheturned 23 this year
Henry Fordturned 4 this year
Karl Marxturned 49 this year
Nikola Teslaturned 11 this year
Oscar Wildeturned 13 this year
Otto von Bismarckturned 52 this year
Queen Victoriaturned 48 this year
11 more figures were alive that year
On This Day in History
9 EventsChurch of the Holy Sepulchre Destroyed
Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the complete destruction of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The act of desecration shocked the Christian world and contributed to later calls for the Crusades.
First American Labor Organisation Founded
Boston shoemakers established the first labour organisation in American colonial history, forming a guild to protect wages and working conditions — an early stirring of workers' collective identity.
Melville's Moby-Dick Published
Herman Melville's masterpiece was first published in London as "The Whale." Now regarded as the great American novel, it was initially a commercial failure and was not fully appreciated until decades after Melville's death.
British Broadcasting Company Founded
The British Broadcasting Company — later the British Broadcasting Corporation — was founded in London, beginning a new era of public radio that would make the BBC one of the most respected media organisations in the world.
Canadian Women Declared "Persons" Under Law
The Judicial Committee of the British Privy Council ruled that women were legally "persons" under the British North America Act, a landmark victory in Canadian and international women's rights brought by the Famous Five activists.
Texas Instruments Announces First Transistor Radio
Texas Instruments unveiled the Regency TR-1, the world's first commercially produced transistor radio, launching the consumer electronics revolution that would define the second half of the 20th century.
Félicette Becomes First Cat in Space
French scientists launched a street cat named Félicette aboard a Véronique AG1 rocket, making her the first — and only — cat to travel to space. She survived the 15-minute suborbital flight and was safely recovered.
German Autumn: GSG 9 Rescues Lufthansa Hostages
West German counterterror unit GSG 9 rescued all hostages aboard hijacked Lufthansa Flight 181 in Mogadishu, Somalia, ending the Red Army Faction's attempt to free imprisoned terrorists by holding passengers hostage.
First All-Female Spacewalk
NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch completed the first all-female spacewalk in history outside the International Space Station, spending over seven hours replacing a faulty battery charge-discharge unit.
Born on This Day
Chuck Berry
American Musician
Often called the father of rock and roll, Chuck Berry's guitar riffs and song craft defined the genre in its formative years. Hits like "Johnny B. Goode" influenced every major rock act that followed, from the Beatles to the Rolling Stones.
Pierre Trudeau
Canadian Prime Minister
One of Canada's most transformative leaders, Trudeau served as Prime Minister for over 15 years, patriating the Canadian Constitution and implementing the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, creating a phenomenon known as "Trudeaumania."
Martina Navratilova
Czech-American Tennis Player
Navratilova won 18 Grand Slam singles titles and dominated women's tennis for nearly two decades, renowned for her serve-and-volley game. She was also a pioneering advocate for LGBT rights in professional sport.
Wynton Marsalis
American Trumpet Player & Composer
Marsalis became the first jazz musician to win the Pulitzer Prize for Music and revitalised traditional jazz through his artistry and advocacy, winning nine Grammy Awards across both jazz and classical music categories.
Zac Efron
American Actor
Efron rose to fame in the "High School Musical" franchise before establishing himself as a versatile dramatic and comedic actor in films like "Neighbors" and "The Greatest Showman."
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Thomas Edison
American Inventor
The holder of 1,093 US patents, Edison invented the phonograph, motion picture camera, and practical incandescent light bulb, and built the world's first industrial research laboratory. He died aged 84 in West Orange, New Jersey.
Charles Babbage
English Mathematician & Inventor
Babbage conceived of the first mechanical general-purpose computer — the Analytical Engine — over a century before the digital computer was built. His designs, though never completed in his lifetime, laid the conceptual groundwork for modern computing.
Bess Truman
American First Lady
Wife of President Harry S. Truman, known for her fierce privacy and steadfast partnership with the president during the early Cold War years. She lived to 97, one of the longest-lived First Ladies in American history.
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