250 years ago, on Oct. 31, 1753, George Washington was sent into the wild Ohio territory to represent Virginia territory on a diplomatic mission to the French near Pittsburgh. His mission failed to convince the French to withdraw, but his brave winter expedition established his early reputation.
200 years ago, on Oct. 20, 1803, the U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase, about the time Merriwether Lewis and William Clark met to plan their westward exploration.
125 years ago, on Oct. 15, 1878, the Edison Electric Light Company was incorporated as the first electric light company. Later, Edison pulled the first switch in the offices of Drexel Morgan, his biggest customer, with 106 lamps. Edison was financed by wealthy investors like J.P. Morgan, who thought that staking some bets on Edison, the inventor of the telegraph, was a smart investment.
Though he had failed many times before 1878, Edison vowed he would create the first incandescent lamp. After succeeding on the creative end, Edison then learned the aggressive tactics of vertical integration from Morgan himself, buying out rivals and transforming his company into a successful business. Wall Street was Edison’s first customer, as the "rich" underwrote the capital costs for later customers.
Edison’s firm was later re-christened General Electric (GE), which soon dominated its competitor, Westinghouse. GE became the most successful investment of the 20th Century: $1,000 invested in GE in 1900 (much less back in 1878) was worth $23.2 million a century later.
The World Series Turns 100
100 years ago, on Oct. 1, 1903, the first game of the first modern World Series of baseball pitted the Boston Pilgrims (now called Red Sox) of the American League against the National League champion Pittsburgh Pirates. Cy Young pitched and lost for Boston, but Boston won the series, 5-3.
75 years ago, Oct. 4-9, 1928, the New York Yankees, led by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig, won the 25th World Series, by sweeping the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight games
50 years ago, on Oct. 1-5, 1953, the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, four games to two, to win their fifth straight World Series, a streak never before achieved. In the same month, on October 20, future New York Mets Golden Glove first baseman Keith Hernandez was born.
25 years ago, Oct. 10-17, 1978, the Yankees won yet again, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers four games to two. After trailing by 14 games in August, the Yankees tied Boston and won a one-game playoff, 5-4, on Bucky Dent’s home run. In all, the Yankees have won 26 World Series in 99 years.
