#Middlebury
On Oct. 4, 1861, President Abraham Lincoln observes a balloon demonstration near Washington, D.C. Both Confederate and Union armies experimented with using balloons to gather military intelligence, but they proved to be dangerous and impractical.- On Oct. 3, 1917, the U.S. Congress passes the War Revenue Act, increasing income taxes to unprecedented levels in order to raise more money for World War I. While only 5% of the U.S. population was required to pay taxes, U.S. tax revenue increased from $809 million in 1917 to $3.6 billion the following year.
- On Sept. 28, 1941, the Boston Red Sox’s Ted Williams plays a double-header against the Philadelphia Athletics and gets six hits in eight trips to the plate, boosting his batting average to .406.
- On Sept. 30, 1962, in Oxford, Mississippi, James Meredith, an African American, is escorted onto the University of Mississippi campus by U.S. Marshals, setting off a riot that left two men dead. The racial violence was quelled by more than 3,000 federal soldiers.
- On Oct. 2, 1971, “Maggie May” becomes Rod Stewart’s first No. 1 hit and tops the U.S. and U.K. pop charts. “Maggie May” was a last-minute addition to the album “Every Picture Tells a Story” and was originally released as the B-side to “Reason to Believe.”
- On Sept. 29, 1988, Stacy Allison of Portland, Oregon, becomes the first American woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, the highest point on earth. Allison climbed the Himalayan peak using the southeast ridge route.
- On Oct. 1, 1993, Polly Klaas is abducted at knifepoint and then murdered by an intruder in Petaluma, California. Her father, Marc Klaas, later lobbied to bring about California’s “three strikes” law, which gave life terms to criminals with three felony convictions, even though those committing less serious crimes also could face life in prison.
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