October 24
1648
The treaties for the Peace of Westphalia were signed, ending the Thirty Years War, ultimately destroying the Holy Roman Empire, and ushering in the modern European state system.
1901
Anna Edson Taylor became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.
1931
The George Washington Bridge, connecting New York and New Jersey, opened to traffic.
1939
Nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Del.
1940
The 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
1945
The United Nations officially came into being as its charter took effect.
1992
The Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-U.S. team to win the World Series.
2003
The last Concordes landed in London, ending supersonic air travel.
2005
Civil rights activist Rosa Parks, 92, died.
Birthdays
Sarah Josepha Hale
1788–1879, American author, editor, and feminist, b. near Newport, N.H.
Antony van Leeuwenhoek
zoologist (1632)
Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood
lawyer, activist (1830)
Moss Hart
dramatist (1904)
Denise Levertov
poet (1923)
George Crumb
composer (1929)
F. Murray Abraham
actor (1939)
Kevin Kline
actor (1947)
Kweisi Mfume
politician (1948)
Wayne Rooney
soccer player (1985)