September 30, James Dean died in a car crash in 1955 -- American-actor James Dean was a cultural symbol of teenage angst in an era of the strict, nuclear family. He forgoed societal norms for danger and recklessness, allowing teens to live vicariously through him. His death, speeding down a highway in a car crash, only seemed representative of his life and place as a cultural icon. Read more ...

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October 1, the People's Republic of China is established in 1949 -- the People's Republic of China is established by Mao Zedong and the Communist People's Liberation Army in Beijing. The declaration ended the civil war between the Chinese Communist and Nationalist Parties, which had been involved in conflict since the 1920s. The Chinese Constitution currently describes the system of government as a "people's democratic dictatorship," yet the size of provinces within the country allow for some subnational autonomy.  Read more...​

 

October 2, Thurgood Marshall is sworn into office, 1967 -- Thurgood Marshall was the first black justice on the Supreme Court, and an extremely prominent lawyer and civil rights activist. His most well-known case was his successful appeal of Brown v. Board of Education, which declared racial segregation as unconstitutional in public schools. Later in his career, he became known as the "Great Dissenter" as the Supreme Court shifted to a conservative majority. Read more...

 

October 3rd, Germany was reunified in 1990 -- Germany is reunified 41 years after the end of WWII and some 30 years after the creation of the Berlin Wall. On this day, Berlin was reinstated as the capital of Germany. The fall of the Berlin Wall further marked a change in international relations that would soon be further changed at the end of the Cold War that would occur a year later. Read more...

 

October 4, the Crimean War began in 1853 -- The Crimean War, fought mainly between Russia and the allies comprising the Ottoman Empire, England, and France, resulted from disputes over Russian protection of Orthodox Christians living in the Ottoman Empire. Lasting around 3 years, the outcomes of the war saw Russian territory losses and Ottoman gains, as well as tensions between European powers that contributed to circumstances that eventually led to WWI. Read more... 

 

October 5th, Women's March on Versailles 1789 -- As tensions between the French monarchy and its people rose due to worsening conditions for the working class, 7,000 armed French women marched on Versailles, demanding that the king distribute bread and to sanction the Declaration of the Rights of Man, and demanding that the royals return to Paris to witness the plights of the masses.  Read more...