“Pouring hot Paraplastic. Precast duct work containing 15 KV cable at Elevation 2000 +/-. Note the good workmanlike-finished job. GSL is the contractor.” Boundary Dam in Washington state October 16, 1967 from Seattle Municipal Archives via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

Abolitionist John Brown and 21 supporters seized the federal armory at Harpers Ferry, Virginia on October 16, 1859. Three of Brown’s sons accompanied him, two of whom did not survive the failed raid. Brown was convicted of murder, treason, and inciting a slave insurrection and executed six weeks later. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US {PD-US}.

On today’s date October 16, 1987: Rescuers freed 18-month-old Jessica McClure from an abandoned well in Midland, TX. She was trapped for 58 hours. Photo: George H. W. Bush holds McClure in the White House. Susan Biddle via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Portrait of American playwright Eugene O’Neill as a child c.1892-1894 He was born on October 16, 1888 in New York City. “Man is born broken. He lives by mending. The grace of God is glue!” – Eugene O’Neill Out of more than 50 plays that Eugene O’Neill wrote in his lifetime, only one was a comedy and it was titled “Ah, Wilderness!” Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On the morning of October 16, 1962 President Kennedy was briefed on the presence of Soviet missiles in Cuba using aerial reconnaissance images like this one. The Cuban Missile Crisis of the following two weeks brought the US and USSR to the brink of nuclear war. Image via JFK Library via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

Honor & Remember Army nurse, Frances Bartlett, of Maine was only 22 years old when she died of pneumonia in France during WWI on 10/16/1918. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

The first African American diplomat, Ebenezer Bassett, was born on October 16, 1833 in Derby, Connecticut. He was U.S. Ambassador (official title was U.S. Minister Resident) to Haiti from 1869-1877. Image via NYPL Digital Collections, no known restrictions

Boston’s Tremont House opened on October 16, 1829 and was regarded as the first modern hotel. What made it modern? It featured indoor toilets and baths, a reception area, bellboys, rooms that locked, and free soap! Guests included Charles Dickens, Andrew Jackson, Daniel Webster, and Davy Crockett. Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

The animation business that was started by two brothers and eventually became known as The Walt Disney Company was founded on October 16, 1923. Image: Walt Disney stamp from 1968 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Born October 16, 1758 Noah Webster is best remembered for “A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language” published in 1806. Webster, who learned 28 languages (!), sought to standardize the English spoken and written in the US (Color and honor really don’t need that “u”, do they?) Image by LOC via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US