On this day in:

D’angelo died Oct. 14 2025

Controversy is the fourth studio album by the American singer-songwriter and musician Prince, released on October 14, 1981

1721 The Governor of the Colony of Connecticut, Gurdon Saltonstall, proclaimed November 8, 1721 as a day of "Publick Thanksgiving"

1834 Henry Blair of Glenross, Maryland received a U.S. patent for a corn planter.  He is one of the first African Americans to be granted a patent.

1926 'Winnie-the-Pooh' by A. A. Milne is published. Tales about his son Christopher Robin and his stuffed animals: the honey loving Pooh Bear, Eeyore the donkey, Piglet the pig and Tigger the tiger.

1953 Clarence Saunders died (born Aug 9, 1881). Founder of Piggly Wiggly grocery store chain in Memphis, Tennessee, the first true self-service grocery store (see also Sept 6, 1916).

1955 Thomas Keller was born. Award winning American chef, restaurateur and cookbook author. His 'French Laundry' restaurant in California has been awarded 3 Michelin stars since 2006. He has been awarded several Best Chef awards from the James Beard Foundation, and a long list of accolades and awards as a Chef and for his several restaurants.

1957 Canada celebrates the first Thanksgiving Day as a statutory holiday; officially the 2nd Monday in October. (It had been an annual holiday since 1879 with varying dates).

1962 Irma S. Rombauer died (born Oct 30, 1877).  Author of 'The Joy of Cooking' - one of the most published cookbooks, she originally had to pay to have the book privately published in 1931. Finally in 1936, publisher Bobbs-Merril Co. published the cookbook and it has been in print ever since.

1966 A hailstone 16 inches in diameter crashed through a truck windshield in Dodge County, Minnesota.

1972 'Everybody Plays The Fool' by Main Ingredient is #1 on the charts.

1978 President Jimmy Carter signed a bill legalizing home brewing.  The bill allowed brewing 100 gallons per adult, up to 200 gallons per household.  However states could still set there own limits.

2013 Gary Miller won the 40th Annual Safeway World Championship Pumpkin Weigh-Off with a pumpkin that weighed 1,985 pounds. Miller of Napa, California took home a cash prize of $11,910, or $6 a pound. (Newer records have been set).