History
George Washington Carver statute. Photo: Tonya Fitzpatrick
“A traveler without observation is a bird without wings.”
— Moslih Eddin Saadi
No matter where you go, every place has a story and historical travel unpacks those stories.
From great struggles against oppressive forces to human ingenuity, the people and the places who have defined significant eras in human history move many to travel see where history was made. Travel through the historical places, see and observe what was then and how things are now. Every place has evolved over ages and become what it is today , hence you must visit history to understand the struggles and changes that came through with time.
Being able to walk where history was made, seeing the places that shaped legendary figures or experiencing life as our ancestors did, historical travel allows history to come to life in ways that transcend a history book.
It was October 27, 1904 when the first underground line of the New York City subway opened. The construction methods at the time involved digging up the earth, digging the tunnel, building the subway and then re-covering the construction. 150,000 people rode the subway when it opened to the public for the first time, regarding the new form of public transit more as a circus act than as part of the drudgery of daily life.
On October 22, 1797, André-Jacques Garnerin, a French innovator, climbed into a hot air balloon and rose 3000 feet over Paris. A crowd gathered to watch. Then, Garnerin climbed over the balloon's basket and jumped. Behind him a large silken fabric trailed, then opened, filled with a rush of air. He floated to earth safely, the first parachutists.
On October 14th in the year 1066, a battle took place in England - Battle of Hastings, that in many ways determined the course of the next one thousand years of western history. The Norman army of Duke William of Normandy in France fought the English Army of King Harold II. Harold had been on the throne only a few months, and contested Duke William's right to rule England.
The Chicago Fire of 1871, also called the Great Chicago Fire, started on October 8 and lasted until October 10, 1871. The flaming blaze destroyed thousands of buildings and home dwellings and claimed hundreds of lives. Legend has it that a cow kicked over a lantern in a barn owned by Catherine O'Leary.
Founded on October 7, 1919, KLM is the oldest airline in the world operating under its original name. The first flight was on May 17, 1920 from London Croydon to Amsterdam on a press flight.
Little recognized by most people, Jason Lewis on October 6, 2007 became the first human to circumnavigate the planet entirely under his own power, using no motors and no sails.
On October 6, 1889, the famous Moulin Rouge opened its doors in Paris’s 18th district. The Eiffel Tower was constructed the same year, showcasing the cultural pioneering that dominated Paris at the time.
Following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989, East Germany began facing mass emigration and protests, which eventually led to holding free elections and negotiations with West Germany regarding unification.
On October 2, 1950 seven newspapers, including the Seattle Times, the Washington Post and the Chicago Tribune ran the very first Peanuts comic strip written and illustrated by Charles M. Schulz. The strip and its associated books, merchandise and television specials earned its creator over one billion dollars. Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and, of course, Charlie Brown are American icons. The comic strip ran until February 13, 2000, the day after Shultz died. Schulz was posthumously given the Congressional Gold Medal, the body's highest honor given to a civilian. In the Peanuts comic strip, Charlie Brown walks by two friends, one of whom remarks, "Well! Here comes 'ol Charlie Brown! Good 'ol Charlie Brown ... yes, sir! Good 'ol Charlie Brown ... how I hate him!" By the end of the decade, Peanuts comic had been picked up by hundreds of newspapers and had won Schulz a Reuben award, the highest honor given [...]
Walt Disney World Resort opened on this date near Orlando, Florida in 1971. As the largest recreational resort in the world, Disney World Resort now consists of four theme parks, two waterparks and 23 hotels. Walt Disney began looking for an appropriate location as early as 1959. Unhappy with the many businesses that had cropped up around the Anaheim Disneyland, Walt Disney wanted a much larger parcel of land to control the development in the immediate vicinity of his project.
Construction on the Washington National Cathedral was begun on this date in 1907. Located at Wisconsin and Massachusetts Avenues in Washington, DC, the National Cathedral is a Gothic edifice belonging to the Episcopal Church USA. President Theodore Roosevelt presided over the laying of the foundation stone and construction continued for 83 years. The Catheral is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The 1859 Yellowstone Expedition first reported the find of an amazing rock formation, know by local Native Americans as the "Bear's Lodge". It was during this expedition that the name "Devils Tower" originated.
