23 October, 1998 – Swatch announces Internet Time

The Swiss watch company invented a new unit of time called the .beat, which corresponds to one minute and 26.4 seconds. Under the Internet Time system, a day is divided into 1000 .beats.

24 October, 1926 – Last performance of Houdini

The world famous escape artist performed for the last time at the Garrick Theater in Detroit, Michigan.

25 October, 1854 – Battle of Balaclava

An alliance of Britain, France, and the Ottoman Empire fought the Battle of Balaclava against the Russian Empire during the Crimean War.

26 October, 1863 – The Football Association is formed

The world’s oldest governing football body was created in London. The foundation was instrumental in creating and formalising rules of the game.

27 October, 1904 – New York City Subway begins operations

The oldest underground subway system in the United States, construction of the transit system began in 1902. Today, the NYC subway is one of the largest and the most used rapid transit systems in the world.

28 October, 1918 – Czechoslovakia gains independence

The country had been a part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire since the late 1700s. With the end of the Empire on the horizon, nationalists under the leadership of Thomas Masaryk pushed for independence.

29 October, 1863 – Red Cross founded

Also known as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Red Cross is a humanitarian institution that has been a three-time recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.