What Happened on October 29

The Financial Desk

1929 — Market Panic Ends Bull Run of 1920s

The Great Bull Market of the 1920s ended in a single session of frantic selling — the New York Stock Exchange saw its worst collapse in history as crowds mobbed Broad Street in despair.

The era of boundless American optimism found its violent end today on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, where the Great Bull Market collapsed in a torrent of panic selling that eclipsed even the dark record of Black Tuesday. Brokers' clerks scrambled through mountains of unexecuted orders as prices plummeted without check. Crowds gathered outside the exchange at Broad and Wall Streets, watching their fortunes evaporate. The roar of the trading floor gave way to stunned silence, then desperate shouting. The crash ended the speculative fever that had gripped the nation since the war, when margin buying had carried share prices to dizzying heights.

• Black Tuesday: The New York Stock Exchange crashes, ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and eventually contributing to the Great Depression.

Source: Wikipedia — Wall Street crash of 1929

The Science & Space Beat

1969 — First Computer Link Opens Path to Wired World

UCLA and Stanford researchers connect mainframes in milestone Defense Department networking test.

The first computer-to-computer link on ARPANET, precursor to the Internet, was established tonight. A UCLA programmer sent the initial data packet toward Stanford. The system crashed after two letters, but the connection held long enough to make history. The breakthrough advances Defense Department networking research.

• The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.

Source: Wikipedia — Computer

The Jersey Shore Bureau

2012 — Sandy Slams Jersey Shore as Largest Atlantic Hurricane on Record

Sandy's 1,150-mile girth drove 13.31 feet of surge past a 1960 mark and wrecked 346,000 homes along the Jersey Shore.

Hurricane Sandy struck the Jersey Shore on October 29 as the largest Atlantic hurricane on record. Its 1,150-mile span of gale-force winds pushed a devastating surge onto coastal communities. A tide gauge at Sandy Hook recorded 13.31 feet above low tide before the pier collapsed, breaking a 1960 record. Over two million households lost power and 346,000 homes were damaged or destroyed. Governor Chris Christie called the shore devastation the worst ever seen.

• Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Brigantine in Atlantic County, just north of Atlantic City, at about 6:30 p.m. EDT on October 29.
• The storm produced wind gusts as strong as 91 mph (146 km/h) in Atlantic City.
• Over two million households in New Jersey lost power, 346,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and 38 people were killed.
• Governor Chris Christie said the losses were 'going to be almost incalculable' and called the devastation on the Jersey Shore 'the worst we've ever seen.'
• A tide gauge at Sandy Hook recorded a water level of 13.31 ft (4.06 m) above average low tide before the pier collapsed, breaking the previous record set by Hurricane Donna in 1960.

Source: Wikipedia — Hurricane Sandy

The Continental Correspondence

1863 — Geneva Congress Establishes International Red Cross

Eighteen nations adopt a treaty for neutral relief in war — the wounded shall be protected, and aid societies recognized under a common emblem.

GENVA, October 29 — Eighteen countries met here this month and agreed to form the International Red Cross, establishing permanent societies for the relief of wounded soldiers and securing neutral status for medical personnel on battlefields.

The conference, convened at the invitation of the Swiss Federal Council, adopted resolutions that will govern the conduct of future wars.

• Eighteen countries meet in Geneva and agree to form the International Red Cross.

Source: Wikipedia — Geneva

War Desk — North Sea

1918 — German Fleet Mutinies; Sailors Refuse Orders to Sail

Grey warships steam cold in Wilhelmshaven harbour this morning as crews massed on decks refuse the command to put to sea, the contagion having spread from Kiel.

WILHELMSHAVEN, October 29 — Grey warships steam cold in harbour this morning, their crews massed on decks refusing the command to put to sea. The German High Seas Fleet, pride of the Kaiserliche Marine, has been seized from within.

Sailors at Kiel broke discipline first, then the contagion reached Wilhelmshaven. Men who manned turrets at Jutland now hoist red flags.

• World War I: the German High Seas Fleet is incapacitated when sailors mutiny, an action which would trigger the German Revolution of 1918–19.

Source: Wikipedia — German Empire

Middle East Command

1956 — Israeli Forces Drive Into Sinai; Suez Canal Threatened

Israeli armor advanced dozens of miles into the Sinai Peninsula by evening.

TEL AVIV, October 29 — The balance of power in the Middle East shifted overnight as Israeli armoured columns punched deep into the Sinai Peninsula, forcing Egyptian forces into disorderly retreat toward the Suez Canal.

Tanks came ashore from landing craft along the Sinai coast before dawn. By evening, Israeli units had advanced dozens of miles. Egyptian commanders radioed urgent requests for reinforcement.

• Suez Crisis begins: Israeli forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.

Source: Wikipedia — Suez Crisis

Space Science

1998 — Glenn Returns to Space at 77 Aboard Discovery; Oldest Astronaut in History Rides STS-95

Discovery lifted at 2:19 p.m. Eastern on October 29 with Glenn, 77, and six crewmates aboard STS-95 for a nine-day mission studying aging and space flight.

CAPE CANAVERAL, October 29 — The Mercury generation and the shuttle era merged into a single ascending arc this afternoon when Discovery's rockets lit the Florida sky, carrying John Glenn back to orbit.

Glenn, 77, first circled Earth in Friendship 7 in 1962. Today he rides STS-95 as payload specialist, the oldest human ever to venture beyond the atmosphere. The nine-day mission carries scientific instruments to study aging and space flight.

Six crewmates accompany the Ohio senator. Discovery's launch at 2:19 p.m. Eastern drew thousands to the coast, many old enough to remember his first flight.

• Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year-old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space at that time.

Source: Wikipedia — Space Shuttle Discovery

Philosophical Transactions

1675 — Leibniz Devises New Symbol for Calculus; The Long S (∫) First Appears in His Manuscript

German philosopher-mathematician in Paris invents notation to denote the integral — a sign that will bind the new analysis.

PARIS, October 29 — Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, the Saxon polymat presently resident in this city, has inscribed in his private papers a new character for the mathematical art he calls calculus: the elongated s, ∫, signifying the integral, or summation of infinitesimals.

The symbol appears today in manuscript notes dated at Paris. Leibniz, thirty years of age, has spent these autumn months developing methods to measure curves, areas, and motions too subtle for common geometry. His ∫ denotes the operation inverse to the differential, which he marks with the d.

• Leibniz makes the first use of the long s (∫) as a symbol of the integral in calculus.

Source: Wikipedia — Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

Constantinople Diplomatic

1914 — Turkey Throws Sword With Germany; Sultan Declares Holy War on Entente

Ottoman Empire joins Central Powers — fleet shells Russian ports — kaiser gains eastern ally

CONSTANTINOPLE, October 29 — The Ottoman Empire this day cast its lot with the Central Powers, hurling the Sultan's fleet against Russian Black Sea ports and binding the Crescent to the Iron Cross.

German officers, long stationed here to modernize the Turkish army, directed the naval bombardment that opened hostilities against Russia. The Goeben and Breslau, transferred from Berlin's Mediterranean squadron, led the attack on Sevastopol and Odessa. Turkey's ministers signed alliance with Germany weeks past, but kept the pact sealed until this hour.

The Sultan now proclaims jihad against Britain, France, and Russia. Constantinople's mosques resounded with the call to holy war. The Dardanelles stand closed to Allied shipping; the grain route from Odessa is severed.

• World War I : the Ottoman Empire enters the war on the side of the Central Powers.

Source: Wikipedia — World War I