Oct 1 in History

1829 — The inauguration of the South African College, a high school for boys, is held and classes begin at the Weeshuis (Orphanage) on Long Street, Cape Town. The school relocates to its new premises, now known as the Egyptian Building, in the Gardens district of Cape Town in 1841. In 1874 it is separated into a college, which becomes the University of Cape Town in 1918, and the South African College Schools (SACS).

1861 — “Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management” is published, selling 60,000 copies in its first year. It remains in print. The extensive guide to running a household in Victorian Britain, edited by Isabella Beeton, was serialised in 24 monthly instalments since 1859 in her husband Samuel Orchart Beeton’s publication The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine. The October 1 collection of the instalments is published with a 56-word title. Beeton gives birth to a son, Mayson Moss, on January 29 1865 . She dies of puerperal fever on February 6, aged 28.

1869 — Austria-Hungary issues the world’s first postal card. It was suggested by Austrian national economist Dr Emanuel Herrmann, who described the advantages of a Correspondenz-Karte, on January 26.

1903 — Baseball: The Boston Americans play the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first game of the modern World Series.

1908 — The Ford Model T hits the market at $825. Reducing the price of automobiles, previously regarded as a toy of the rich, it fluctuates over the years, dipping below $300 in 1924 and 1925. The model is discontinued on May 26 1927 after over 15-million had been produced.

1928 — The Soviet Union introduces its first fiveyear plan. By 1990, when the USSR dissolves, it has had 12 five-year plans.

1949 — Tiananmen Square, Beijing: Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, proclaims the founding of the People’s Republic of China. Of the more than 400 ethnic groups in the country, only 56 are henceforth recognised.

1958 — The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) is replaced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa).

1971 — CT scanning is introduced into medical practice with the first successful scan on a patient with a cerebral cyst at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, London.

1979 — The MTR, Hong Kong’s rapid transit railway system, opens.