On This Day…

Hello.

Welcome to your weekend. We’re glad you are here!

With October slipping by we are starting to feel the chill in the air as our trees pop with those signature Autumn colors. If you want to lay eyes on the leaves, this might be an ideal week for it. Grab your favorite sweater, some apple cider or a pumpkin spice latte and get into fall, ya’ll! CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FULL FIRST ALERT FORECAST WITH WEAU 13!

If you missed the action under the lights lastnight, CLICK HERE FOR YOUR FULL LOCAL FOOTBALL RECAP!

For many folks, this is the best time of year in Wisconsin. But as we know, it goes fast. So, let’s savor it while we can and slow things down this morning with a simple “scroll down memory lane” to start our day. It’s a look back at events that happened on this day in history before we head out to make new history today.

So, grab your favorite sippin’ drink and let’s scroll!

On this day:

In 1867, the U.S. took formal possession of Alaska from Russia. America bought the state for seven-point-two-million-dollars.

In 1892, the first long-distance telephone line between Chicago and New York was formally opened.

In 1898, the U.S. took control of Puerto Rico. In 1922, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the BBC, was established.

In 1931, inventor Thomas Edison died at the age of 84. Known as “The Wizard of Menlo Park,” the great genius held more than 13-hundred patents including those for the phonograph and the incandescent electric lamp..

In 1944, Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia during World War II.

In 1968, the U.S. Olympic Committee suspended Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving the “black power” salute as a protest during a victory ceremony at the Summer Games in Mexico City.

In 1969, Lew Alcindor made his NBA debut, scoring 29 points and pulling down 12 rebounds in a 119-to-110 Milwaukee Bucks victory. Alcindor later changed his name to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

In 1975, Simon and Garfunkel reunited for a performance on “Saturday Night Live.”

In 1977, New York Yankees slugger Reggie Jackson earned the nickname “Mr. October” by hitting three home runs on three successive pitches against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game Six of the World Series. The Yankees went on to win the series four-games-to-two.

In 1982, former First Lady of the U.S. Bess Truman died at the age of 97.

In 1988, the sitcom “Roseanne” made its debut on ABC.

In 2006, the Dow Jones Industrial Average topped 12-thousand for the first time ever.

In 2019, NASA astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir were the first to take part in an all female space walk outside of the International Space Station.

In 2021, former U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell died at the age of 84 from complication of COVID-19. He was the first Black Secretary of State.

In 2022, philanthropist MacKenzie Scott donated 84-point-five-million dollars to Girl Scouts of the USA. It is the largest donation from a single individual in the organization’s history.

That brings us here to this day. Whatever plans you have for your own 10.18.2025 here’s hoping there are moments along the way to record on the pages of your own personal history books.