This Day In History: October 23, 1091 Tornadoes aren’t the first thing to leap to mind when picturing Merry Olde England, but a whopper of a twister tore through London on October 23, 1091. It is thought to be the largest known tornado in the UK, as well as the earliest – at least that we know about. From contemporary […]

This Day In History: October 22, 1934 One of America’s most colorful folk bandits was Charles Arthur Floyd, also known as “Choc” Floyd or “Pretty Boy.” Hailing from Oklahoma, he became one of the country’s most notorious criminals, immortalized by Woody Guthrie and in John Steinbeck’s novel Grapes of Wrath. More of a Robin Hood figure to most than a […]

This Day In History: October 20, 1882 Be’la Ferenc Dezso Blasko, aka Bela Lugosi, was born on October 20, 1882, in Lugos, Hungary. At the outbreak of World War I, he volunteered for service and was commissioned as an infantry lieutenant. During the war, he was seriously wounded three times, with the treatment of his injuries facilitating a morphine addiction […]

This Day In History: October 19, 1985 In the early 1980s, video rental stores were small-time operations that offered a very limited selection of titles. At a time when buying pre-recorded VHS movies was prohibitively expensive for many people, renting them was the perfect solution for the dedicated movie fan or couch potato. (See: The Origin and Trademarking of “Couch Potato”) […]

This Day In History: October 16, 1931 Winnie “Ruth” Judd was the 26-year-old wife of a physician who spent much of his time away from home, including leaving Ruth in Phoenix while he was off in L.A. To kill time, Ruth kept company with 44-year-old “Happy Jack” Halloran, an influential – and also married – businessman. According to a Phoenix […]

This Day In History: October 14, 1977 On the early evening of October 14, 1977, legendary entertainer Bing Crosby died of a massive heart attack after doing what he loved best – playing 18 holes of golf. Bing was in Madrid, Spain playing on the La Moraleja Golf course at the time of his death. He defeated two Spanish golf […]

This Day In History: October 13, 1975 If the kids today think Kanye West invented behaving badly at awards ceremonies when he interrupted Taylor Swift’s acceptance speech at the 2009 VMAs – they are sadly mistaken. At the Country Music Awards held on October 13, 1975, Charlie Rich, the reigning CMA “Entertainer of the Year,” caused quite the ruckus announcing […]