Wow! It's already October, the "Harvest Month", when fall really begins to show itself in the chilly mornings and crisp sunny days of Autumn, with the beauty of the turning leaves. Those of us lucky enough to have a cloudless night on the 27th of last month saw the rare "blood moon" in conjunction with the harvest moon.

Football season is in full swing during the month of October. In fact, October will see four major professional sports seasons with regular games during the month.

October is the 10th month of the year (the Romans measured it as the eighth month, hence the "oct" (for octo (8)) in the name.

October has been recognized as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month , Hispanic Heritage Month , German-American Heritage month, Polish-American Heritage Month, and Italian-American Heritage Month.

Columbus Day (Monday, 12 Oct) is the only national holiday celebrated this month. However, we can take cheer from the knowledge that that day is also:

• National Native American Day
• National Kick Butt Day
• National Farmers' Day
• National Gumbo Day
• National Cheese Curd Day

Flivver First Marketed

On 1 Oct 1908, Mr. Ford first marketed his Model-T ("Flivver") Ford. The "Tin Lizzie" went on to become one of the most popular automobiles of all time (over 15 million were made between 1908 and 1927). Henry Ford said of his creation:

"I will build a car for the great multitude. It will be large enough for the family, but small enough for the individual to run and care for. It will be constructed of the best materials, by the best men to be hired, after the simplest designs that modern engineering can devise. But it will be so low in price that no man making a good salary will be unable to own one – and enjoy with his family the blessing of hours of pleasure in God's great open spaces."

And the price? The table below shows the prices for the standard 4-seat open tourer. Note that during the same periods, competing automobiles were going for $2,000-$3,000 (equivalent to $48,726–$73,089 today):

In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay.

Sales were:

Sputnik Launched

On 4 Oct 1957, the Soviet Union caught the world by surprise when they launched the world's first artificial sattelite, "Sputnik". This event launched the space race.

Finance Service Leaves the Quartermaster Corps

During WWI, the Finance Corps' predecessor organization was under the aegis of the Quartermaster Corps. Then, on 11 Oct 1918, Congress authorized the Finance Service and in June 1920, it approved the Finance Department to become a separate branch of the War Department under Brigadier General Herbert M. Lord. Unlike its predecessors, the Finance Department handled not only military pay and travel expenses, but also all financial activities of the War Department, including centralized disbursing, auditing, and budgeting.

Six Finance Soldiers (POWs) Casualties of US Sub Attack

On 11 October 1944 the Japanese ship, Arisan Maru, left Manila with about 1,800 prisoners of war in the cargo holds. That ship turned south to Palawan Island and anchored off Palawan until 20 October, when it returned to Manila to join Convoy MATA-30 which sailed on 21 October. On 23 October, when the convoy was about 200 miles northwest of Luzon, two packs of US submarines (total of nine submarines) began their attacks on this convoy. About 5:30 p.m. on 24 October1944 the USS Shark sent three torpedoes into the Arisan Maru. The ship broke in two pieces which floated for a while; however, the net result was death for all except nine of the POWs. This was the largest loss of American lives in a single disaster at sea. Aboard the Arisan Maru and listed as missing were Finance Corps soldiers Private First class Herbert K. Ballew, Technician Grade Fourth Class Robert Lee Cohen, Staff Sergeant Meridith L. Hough, Private Paul Henry Miller, Staff Sergeant Paul F. Moyer, and Staff Sergeant Harold M. Williams

Columbus "Discovers America" 12 Oct 1492

During his first voyage in 1492, Christopher Columbus, instead of reaching Japan as he had intended, landed in the Bahamas archipelago, at a locale he named San Salvador. Over the course of three more voyages, Columbus visited the Greater and Lesser Antilles, as well as the Caribbean coast of Venezuela and Central America, claiming them for the Spanish Empire.

Though Columbus was not the first European explorer to reach the Americas, having been preceded, five centuries earlier, by the Norse expedition, led by Leif Ericson, that established the short-lived colony of Vinland in what is now Newfoundland,[6] Columbus' voyages led to the first lasting European contact with America and inaugurated a period of European exploration and colonization of foreign lands that lasted for several centuries and had, therefore, an enormous impact in the historical development of the modern Western world. Columbus himself saw his accomplishments primarily in the light of the spreading of the Christian religion.

17 October - Burgoyne Surrenders

British general John Burgoyne surrendered his army at Saratoga, 17 Oct 1777. This marked a turning point in the Revolutionary War. News of Burgoyne's surrender was instrumental in formally bringing France into the war as an American ally, although it had previously given supplies, ammunition and guns, some of which were used at Saratoga. Formal participation by France changed the war to a global conflict. This battle also resulted in Spain contributing to the war on the American side. The hero of that battle? Benedict Arnold!

17 October 1859 - Harper's Ferry Arsenal Siezed

Abolitionist John Brown and his men seized the United States arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Va. (now W. Va.), 17 October 1859. The arsenal was wrested from Brown's raiders by a detachment of Marines. Their commander: Brevet colonel Robert E. Lee, of the 2nd US Cavalry, aided by his voluntary aide-de-camp, Lieutenant JEB Stuart.

Yorktown - 19 October 1781

Following the last major land battle of the American Revolutionary War in North America, British troops under LTG Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, 19 October 1781. The 9,000 British regulars were defeated by a combined American and French force numbering nearly 16,000 regulars, supported by a 29 ship French Naval blockade of the port.

The surrender of Cornwallis' army prompted the British government eventually to negotiate an end to the conflict, resulting in the Treaty of Paris in 1783.

22 Oct 2015 - cAPS lOCK dAY

22 OCT 2015 IS INTERNATIONAL CAPS LOCK DAY, A DAY WHEN WE SHOW APPRECIATION TO THAT USELESS AND OFTEN OBNOXIOUS FUNCTION ON A KEYPOARD.

Black Tuesday - 29 October 1929

The Wall Street Crash of October 1929 was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States, if one considers the full extent and duration of its fallout. The crash ended a huge stock market bubble, fueled by promiscuously low margin requirements. The crash signaled the beginning of the 12-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries and that did not end in the United States until the onset of American mobilization for World War II at the end of 1941.

Sadly, reading the history of this event through the lens of current economic events can give one an uncanny sense of déjà vu.

• Nevada (36), October 31, 1864