On September 23, 1780, John Andre, a British spy, was captured with papers revealing that Benedict Arnold was going to surrender West Point, NY, to the British...

On September 23, 1806- The Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis from their cross country travels (where they wintered about 15 miles from my house in Oregon.)

On Septenber, 24th, 1960 The USS Enterprise, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, was launched at Newport News, Va.

Also on September 24, 1869, thousands of businessmen were financially ruined after a panic on Wall Street. The panic was caused by an attempt to corner the gold market by Jay Gould and James Fisk...

On September 25, 1513, the Pacific Ocean was discovered by Spanish explorer Vasco Nunez de Balboa when he crossed the Isthmus of Panama. He named the body of water the South Sea. He was truly just the first European to see the Pacific Ocean...

Also on this day... On September 23, 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

On September 26, 1955, the New York Stock Exchange suffered its worst decline since 1929 when the word was released concerning U.S. President Eisenhower's heart attack...

Also on this date, to help celebrate the Bi-Centennial on September 26, 1976 the Phillies clinch their 1st NL East Division title.

On September 27, 1840, Thomas Nast was born. He was a political cartoonist that created the Republican elephant and the Democrat donkey...

On September 28, 1850, the U.S. Navy abolished flogging as a form of punishment...

On September 29, 1951, the first network football game was televised by CBS-TV in color. The game was between the University of California and the University of Pennsylvania...

On September 29, 1789 The U.S. War Department established a regular army with a strength of several hundred men.

On September 30, 1630, John Billington was hanged for murder. He was the first criminal to be executed in the American colonies...

On October 1st, 1896 The U.S. Post Office established Rural Free Delivery.

So, for any of you out there watching TV Land and wondering what the R.F.D. in "Mayberry, R.F.D." stood for, now you know.

Also on October 1, 1903, the first modern World Series took place between the Boston Pilgrims and the Pittsburgh Pirates...

On October 2, 1452, Richard III was born. He married the widow of the Prince of Wales and then imprisoned his mother-in-law for life...

Also On October 2, 1967 Thurgood Marshall was sworn in on the SCOTUS as it's first black justice.

On October 3, 1893, the motor-driven vacuum cleaner was patented by J.S. Thurman...

On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit.

Also on October 4, 1895, the first U.S. Open golf tournament took place in Newport, RI. Horace Rawlins, 19 years old, won the tournament...

On October 5, 1902, Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonald's, was born...

On October 6, 1536, Anglican priest William Tyndale was captured at Antwerp where he was strangled and burnt. He is credited with making the first English translation of the Bible...

On October 7, 1868, Cornell University was inaugurated in Ithaca, NY...

On October 8, 1919, the first transcontinental air race in the U.S. began...

On October 8, 1871The Great Chicago Fire occurred. The blaze destroyed four square miles of the city, it killed nearly 250 people and left some 90,000 homeless.

*missed it by that much this morning

On October 9, 1930 Laura Ingalls became the first woman to fly across the United States as she completed a nine-stop journey from Roosevelt Field in New York to Glendale, Calif.

Also on October 9, 1701, The Collegiate School of Connecticut was chartered in New Haven. The name was later changed to Yale...

On October 10, 1865, the billiard ball was patented by John Wesley Hyatt...

On October 10, 1973 Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigned his office after pleading no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion.

On October 11, 1759, Parson Mason Weems was born. He is remembered for his fictitious stories that he presented as fact. He was responsible for the story about George Washington cutting down his father's cherry tree...

On October 12, 1792, the first monument honoring Christopher Columbus was dedicated in Baltimore, MD...

On October 13, 1775, the U.S. Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet...

Also on October 13, 1943, Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner.

On October 14, 1890, Dwight David Eisenhower, American general who lead the allied forces during D-Day who later became the 34th United States president, was born.

Also, on October 14, 1879, Thomas Edison signed an agreement with Jose D. Husbands for the sale of Edison telephones in Chile...

On October 15, 1914, the Clayton Antitrust Act was passed by the U.S. Congress...

Also on October 15, 1860 Eleven-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, N.Y., wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.

On October 16, 1758, author Noah Webster was born. He was a teacher and journalist whose name is associated with the word "dictionary..."

On October 17, 1918, Rita Hayworth, the legendary Hollywood beauty

On October 17, 1867 The United States took possession of Alaska from Russia.