October 6, 2026
The Yom Kippur War Begins (1973)
Tensions between Israel and the surrounding Arab states have existed since the establishment of the former in 1948 and have come to a head in several armed conflicts over the years. In 1973, on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur—which fell during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan—Egyptian troops attacked Israel across the Suez Canal while Syrian forces advanced from the north. Though caught off guard, Israel managed to repel the attacks. Why might attacking on this day have been a tactical mistake?
October 5, 2026
British Airship Crashes near Beauvais (1930)
In 1920s Britain, airships were envisioned as a way to make the most remote parts of the British Empire accessible. Two starkly different teams of engineers were employed to create two crafts for passenger travel, one conservative and one more experimental. However, British use of airships effectively ended when the ambitious R101 crashed in France during its maiden overseas voyage, killing 48 people—12 more than the infamous Hindenburg disaster. What was R101's destination?
October 4, 2026
T. A. Gillespie Company Shell Loading Plant Explosion (1918)
On the night of October 4, 1918, an explosion rocked the T.A. Gillespie Company's ammunition plant in Sayreville, New Jersey, one of the largest such plants in the world at the time. The blast triggered a series of explosions, which continued for three days, killing 100 people. Sayreville and nearby South Amboy and Perth Amboy were evacuated, displacing about 62,000 people who thus became more vulnerable to the catastrophic flu epidemic of 1918. What remnant of the accident was found in 2007?
