1. Today in History Word of the Day October 2010

2. October 1 st 1800 Event: Spain ceded Louisiana to France in a secret treaty. Importance: three years later, France sold Louisiana to the United States. DALLY (verb) Waste time

3. October 4 th 2002 Event: Richard Reid pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes. Importance: He became known as the “shoe- bomber” CORRELATION (noun) A relationship between two or more things

4. October 5 th 1902 Event: American businessman Ray A. Kroc was born; he died on Jan. 14, 1984 Importance: Kroc build the McDonald’s Empire. SECT (noun) A subdivision of a larger religious group

5. October 6 th 2004 Event: The top U.S. arms inspector in Iraq, Charles Duelfer, reported his findings. Importance: there was no evidence of Saddam Hussein producing weapons of mass destruction after 1991. CONTENTION (noun) A point asserted as part of an argument

6. October 7 th 1949 Event: The Republic of East Germany was formed. Importance: after WWII Germany was divided into two nations, one being Communist and one being a republic. AUTONOMOUS (adj) Existing as an independent group, country, person, etc.

7. October 8 th 1956 Event: Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series Important: The New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 in Game 5. DISMEMBER (verb) Separate the limbs from the body Divide into pieces

8. October 12 th 1492 Event: Christopher Columbus arrived with his expedition in the present- day Bahamas. Importance: Columbus believed he had found a shorter water route to Asia. ILLUSION (noun) Something people believe to be true that is actually false.

9. October 13 th 1999 Event: The Jon Benet Ramsey grand jury was dismissed after 13 months Importance: prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to charge anyone in the 6-year-old's strangulation. CONSENSUS (noun) An agreement reached by a group as a whole.

10. October 14 th 1964 Event: Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Importance: King won for his efforts in the civil rights movement. DIMINUTION (noun) The act of decreasing or reducing something

11. October 15 th 1969 Event: Peace demonstrators staged activities across the country, in protest of the Vietnam War. Importance: Most Americans no longer supported a continued American military presence in Vietnam. BEMOAN (verb) Regret strongly

12. October 18 th 1962 Event: Doctors James Watson (USA), Francis Crick (Eng) and Maurice Wilkins (Eng) were named winners of the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology. Importance: they discovered the double-helix molecular structure of DNA. ISOTOPE (noun) One of two or more atoms with the same atomic number but with different numbers of neutrons

13. October 19 th 1781 Event: British troops under Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia Importance: this battle ended the American Revolution SYNOPSIS (noun) a summary

14. October 20 th 1967 Event: 7 of 18 defendants were convicted in Mississippi 3 years after 3 young men were murdered while trying to help African Americans register to vote. Importance: they were convicted on violating the dead men’s civil rights. PARADIGM (noun) A standard example

15. October 21 st 1917 Event: American soldiers saw action on the front lines in France. Importance: this was the first time American soldiers fought in WWI. NOCTURNAL (adj) Relating to the night

16. October 22 nd 1962 Event: President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba after Soviet missiles bases were discovered on the island. Importance: this was the beginning of the Cuban Missile Crisis. AMBIVALENCE (noun) Mixed feelings or emotions

17. October 25 th 1760 Event: Britain's King George III became King of England. Importance: he was king during the American Revolution. IRREFUTABLE (adj) Impossible to deny or to prove wrong.

18. October 26 th 2001 Event: President George W. Bush signed the USA Patriot Act Importance: the law gave authorities ability to search, seize, detain or eavesdrop in their pursuit of possible terrorists. EXPLETIVE (noun) Obscene expression, usually of surprise or anger

19. October 27 th 1787 Event: The first of the Federalist Papers was published in a New York newspaper. Importance: they were a series of essays calling for ratification of the US Constitution. FORSWEAR (verb) To formally reject a formerly held belief, usually under pressure

20. October 28 th 1886 Event: The Statue of Liberty was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland. Importance: it was a gift from the people of France to encourage a good relationship with the USA. RESUME (verb) To begin again

21. October 29 th 1969 Event: The first host-to-host connection was made on the Arpanet - an experimental military computer network. Importance: this was the earliest form of the Internet. ASTRAL (adj) Relating to the stars