Things that happened October 29: 1929 - The stock market crashed, losing $14 billion in value, or about 12%. The crash followed several days of severe losses, and thus heralded the beginning of the Great Depression. The market would not return to pre-crash high until 1954. 1948 - The Donora Fog continued. Since October 26, 1948, a heavy fog filled the Monongahela River valley at Donora, PA, trapping pollutants from the towns steel mills and zinc smelting plant. 20 people died before a cleansing rain washed away the pollution away on October 31. The incident lead to the Clean Air Act of 1955, and was the subject of NHD in PA student Gabriel Schroeders 2011 paper, which made him the National Champion in the Senior Paper category. 1956 - The Suez Crisis - Israel invaded Egypt after Egyptian leader Gamel Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal. Eventually joined by British and French troops, the invasion caused a serious crisis as the Soviet Union began talking about coming to Egypts aid. The U.S. warned the Soviets not to intervene, and President Eisenhower pressured the invaders to leave, which they eventually did. 1998 - 77 year old John Glenn became the oldest man in and first sitting U.S. Senator to fly in space. Glenn returned to orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery 36 years after becoming the first American to orbit the Earth in the Mercury spacecraft Friendship 7. Glenn, now 92, is the last surviving Mercury Seven astronaut.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 12:47:39 +0000