By Dana Briggs, FAM Museum Coordinator
October, the deceptively named tenth month of the year. For our Floridian museum team, October usually brings a hurricane or two and humid, yet fun, times at fall celebrations. For the residents of much of Earth’s northern hemisphere, October brings increasingly colorful leaves on the trees, brisk mornings, and many cultural celebrations.
Around the world, many October days are spent with loved ones and community members. Holidays with ancient roots such as the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah, the Hindu Festival of Lights, Diwali, the Mexican Welcoming of Spirits, Día de los Muertos, and the Celtic Harvest Welcoming (which gave rise to Halloween), Samhain, all contribute to October’s festive atmosphere.
The ancient world understood October as a time of bounty, as a time of spiritual significance, and as a temporary haven before the upcoming winter months. The modern world has utilized October as a time of progress. October has brought advancements in timekeeping, transportation, and space exploration. Let’s explore these notable October moments in history!
October Progress: Timekeeping
In 1582, October saw the adoption of the Gregorian calendar across the Catholic world, which included much of Europe at the time. Compared to the previously used Julian calendar, the Gregorian calendar used leap years in a more accurate way to account for the extra quarter-day the Earth takes to go around the Sun each year. The Julian calendar was adopted in 45 BCE by the Romans, and it was used for over 1,500 years after. The Julian calendar called for February to have an extra day every 4 years, with no exceptions. By the time the Julian calendar was phased out, the calendar was about 10 days ahead of the seasons. This was causing the holiday of Easter to fall further and further from the Vernal Equinox. To rectify this timekeeping issue, Pope Gregory XIII declared that the day after October 4th, 1582, would be October 15th, 1582, skipping 10 days that year. Also, leap years would no longer be observed every four years without exceptions. To prevent the calendar from adding too many days, leap days would not be observed during years that are divisible by 100 and not divisible by 400. For example, a leap year would be observed in 2000, but not 1700.
This improvement in timekeeping helped people keep track of when to conduct economic activities, plant their crops, practice religious observances, and more in a time without the technologies we have today, like telescopes (invented in 1608) or pendulum clocks (1656).
October Progress: Transportation
On October 1st, 1908, the first Ford Model T was sold. According to Ford Corporate, its inventor, Henry Ford, wanted to create a “universal car” by creating one that was “affordable, simple to operate, and durable.” Automobiles were available for public purchase as early as 1886 when the Benz Patent-Motorwagen was first sold in Germany. This car could only reach speeds of 10 mph and had only three wheels, but it helped bring along more automotive innovations.
Just over 20 years after the introduction of the Motorwagen, the Model T would become one of the most widely available automobiles in the world, with over 15 million being produced between 1908 and 1927. The Model T was also more affordable due to its mass production which allowed more people to experience the convenience and usefulness of driving. Instead of needing to pull carts with horses that required pasture space, breaks when working, and medical care, people could hop into their cars that just needed some gas and some regular maintenance.
The wide availability of automobiles, like the Model T, revolutionized the way the world works and brought about improved interconnectedness, increased personal freedoms, and economic expansion.
October Progress: Space Exploration
October also saw the first man-made satellite, Sputnik 1, enter Earth’s orbit in 1957. This one achievement spurred a decades-long competition between the United States and the Soviet Union known as the Space Race. This rivalry contributed to the already existing tension between the two states and their respective allies, known as the Cold War. In an effort to assert dominance, the United States and the Soviet Union would both make incredible advancements in space exploration.
Just 3 months after Sputnik 1 was launched, the United States would successfully send up a satellite, Explorer 1, into Earth’s orbit. Just a few years after that, the first man entered space in 1961, a Soviet name Yuri Gagarin. Less than one month later, the second man entered space, an American named Alan Shepard. Many more accomplishments were made during the Space Race, and it would eventually lead to space exploration collaborations like the first crewed international space mission, Apollo-Soyuz, in 1975, and the International Space Station that began in 1984 and continues today.
October Progress: Conclusion
Remembering the influential events and accomplishments within this month in history can help inspire and inform us in our endeavors today. Each day brings new opportunities to us as individuals, to our communities, to our societies, and to humankind as a whole. Some of these opportunities will become achievements recorded in history for people to learn about for many years after it has passed, and some opportunities will just affect you. Either way, taking these opportunities is what allows us to make progress, no matter how little or how much.
Check in next month to remember the historical happenings of November!
