HISTORY
On this day October 24-30, 2021 (week 43)
October 24, 2021 - October 30, 2021 - Graphics show birthdays and anniversaries for each day of the week. This week features the George Washington Bridge in New York, Pablo Picasso, the Pony Express, the London Stock Exchange, Britain’s parliament vote to join the European Economic Community, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk of Turkey, and the leaders of the Tiananmen Square protests
October 24, 1931: The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York City and New Jersey, opened. The world’s busiest motor vehicle bridge carries over 100m vehicles a year
October 25, 1881: Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, was born. Famous works include Les Demoiselles d’Avignon (1907), and Guernica (1937)
October 26, 1861: The Pony Express closed. It operated for 19 months and was the most direct means of east to west communication before the telegraph was established
October 27, 1986: The “Big Bang” revolutionised the London Stock Exchange with the introduction of computerised dealing and deregulation of many former controls
October 28, 1971: Britain’s parliament voted in favour of joining the then European Economic Community. The decision was reversed by the Brexit vote in June 2016
October 29, 1923: The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed with Mustafa Kemal Ataturk as its first president. His adoption of secularism radically transformed Turkish society
October 30, 1996: Wang Dan, one of the student leaders of the 1989 protests in Tiananmen Square, was jailed for 11 years for “conspiring to subvert China’s government”