October 28

On the 28th in 1886, 1936 and 1986 celebrations were held in New York Harbor marking, respectively, the dedication, 50th anniversary and 100th anniversary of the statue of Liberty Enlightening the World, popularly known as the Statue of Liberty. President Grover Cleveland mc’d in 1886. President Franklin Roosevelt did the honors in 1936. By 1986, the statue must have been downgraded to the B list because President Reagan was a no-show. Although in Reagan’s defense, there was a sign posted on the podium stating “No shoes, no shirt, no service,” and it was a Tuesday and The Gap probably wasn’t open yet.

October 27

On the 27th in1946, the television show Geographically Speaking debuted. Not terribly earthshaking news and I doubt if you will find it running on cable or broadcast television at any time in the near future. Why, then, am I sharing this meaningless bit of trivia? However, I suppose that my use of the adjective meaningless is redundant concerning trivia. What sets Geographically Speaking apart from a zillion other television shows is that it has the distinction of being the first commercially sponsored television program. Its sponsor was Bristol-Meyers. Carveth Wells, intrepid rich guy and explorer traveled the globe extensively with his wife, Zetta. Mrs. Wells was in the habit of lugging a 16mm motion-picture camera on these jaunts across the surface of the planet and used quite often. Actually, she seemed to use it every day. At some point in their travels, Carveth and Zetta become travel weary and their globetrotting jaunts ended. Mrs. Wells put her home movies to good use however and they supplied the material for the show, which had a running time of 15 minutes. When Mrs. Wells ran out of new material for the show, the show was simply cancelled. Re-runs would not be invented for a good ten years.

October 26

Gilles de Rais, nobleman, comrade-in-arms to Joan of Arc, and all around fun guy, kidnapped a clergyman in May of 1440. The disappearance of this cleric would prompt an investigation into de Rais’ behavior, which had long been suspect in his neck of the woods. Ultimately, de Rais would be excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church, a group with a well-deserved reputation for being intolerant of people who kidnap and sexually abuse young boys before killing them. de Rais would face trial for the torture and murder of over 600 boys over the course of many years. On the 25th in 1440, an ecclesiastical court handed down a sentence of excommunication against de Rais and his accomplices. Rather than undergo torture, de Rais readily confessed to the crimes. After tearfully expressing what must surely have been sincere remorse for his crimes, the Church's punishment was rescinded and he was allowed confession. The secular penalty, obtained coincidentally with the Church’s punishment, remained in place however and de Rais was hanged on the 26th in 1440. de Rais would hold the crown for vicious sexual crimes until the beginning of the seventeenth century when the mild mannered bloody Countess Erzsébet Báthory would surpass the scale of de Rais’ horrid crimes.

October 25

On the 25th in 1938, Francis J. L. Beckman, Archbishop of Dubuque, denounced Swing music as “a degenerated musical system turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people.” In addition, the good Archbishop stated with authority that Swing “leads down a primrose path to hell.” Fortunately, for the rest of the listening public, Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald chose to throw caution to the wind and ignore such dire warnings.

Beckman used Diocesan funds to invest in gold. The Archdiocese lost more than $500,000, Beckman was fired, Henry Rohlman was installed as Archbishop and Beckman was sent into retirement as soon as his scheme fell apart.

October 24

On the 24th in 1947, Walt Disney testified before the House Un-American Activities Committee. In the course of his testimony, Disney named animators Herbert Sorrell, David Hilberman and William Pomerance, as employees that he believed to be communists. Walt also singled out the Screen Actors Guild as being a front for communist agitators. Documents released under the Freedom of Information act also reveal that from 1941 until his death in 1966 Disney worked as a spy for the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Ronald Reagan, the president of the Screen Actors Guild at the time, was called to testify at the HUAC hearings but when he did, he refused to name names.

October 23

On the 23rd in 1739, Robert Walpole, a madcap kind of guy, appeared before a session of Parliament in London and in his capacity as Prime Minister of Great Britain declared war on long-time foe Spain, thus marking the beginning of the War of Jenkins’ Ear.

October 22

William Miller was an American Baptist preacher active in the middle of the 19th century. Miller considered himself a bit of a scholar, and through intensive study was convinced that he had figured out the exact date that Jesus would make His Second Coming. That date, determined by meticulous research, was October 22, 1844. It was a sure thing; no doubt about it; Miller and his many followers referred to that date as The Great Anticipation and made every preparation possible for Christ’s return and the end of the world. Well, Miller got it partly right because the sun, not the Son, did rise on the 22nd and on the 23rd as well. Miller’s followers would henceforth know October 23rd as The Great Disappointment.