This Week In History
October 18 - In 1867, the U.S. took possession of Alaska after purchasing the territory from Russia for $7.2 million.
October 19 - In 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value – its biggest-ever percentage drop.
October 20 - In 1818, a treaty was signed settling the Canada - United States border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.
October 21 - In 1879, Thomas Edison invented a workable electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
October 22 - In 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island.
October 23 - In 1983, a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon killed 241 United States Marines and sailors; a near-simultaneous attack on French forces killed 58 paratroopers.
