October 18 in History

Russia sold Alaska to the United States on October 18, 1867, for $7.2 million, roughly two cents per acre for 586,412 square miles of territory. Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the deal. Critics mocked it as 'Seward's Folly' and 'Seward's Icebox.' Russia wanted to sell because it couldn't defend the territory against Britain in a potential war and preferred selling to the Americans rather than losing it to the British. The purchase added more territory than Texas to the United States. For decades, Alaska seemed worthless. Then gold was discovered in the Klondike in 1896, oil at Prudhoe Bay in 1968, and the strategic value of the territory became obvious during the Cold War. At two cents per acre, it may be the greatest real estate bargain in history after the Louisiana Purchase.

The British Broadcasting Company was formed on October 18, 1922, by a consortium of wireless manufacturers who wanted to stimulate demand for radio receivers by providing something worth listening to. The first regular broadcast came from 2LO in London on November 14. John Reith, a Scottish engineer with no broadcasting experience, was hired as general manager. His vision transformed the BBC from a sales gimmick into a national institution. Reith believed radio should educate, inform, and entertain, in that order. The company became a public corporation in 1927 under a Royal Charter, funded by license fees rather than advertising. That model gave the BBC editorial independence from both government and commercial pressure, establishing a template for public broadcasting that dozens of countries eventually adopted.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos stood on the medal podium at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics on October 16 and raised black-gloved fists during the American national anthem. Smith wore a black scarf for Black pride. Carlos wore a bead necklace 'for those who were lynched.' Both went shoeless to represent Black poverty. Australian silver medalist Peter Norman wore an Olympic Project for Human Rights badge in solidarity. The International Olympic Committee demanded the U.S. team expel Smith and Carlos. They were sent home within 48 hours. Norman was ostracized by the Australian Olympic establishment for the rest of his life. Smith and Carlos both received death threats and struggled professionally for years. The image of their raised fists became one of the most iconic photographs of the twentieth century.

Herman Melville published Moby-Dick on October 18, 1851, under the title The Whale in London. The British edition sold poorly. The American edition, published in November with the now-famous title, sold worse: roughly 3,000 copies in Melville's lifetime. Critics called it rambling and incoherent. Melville had staked his career on the book after modest successes with Typee and Omoo. The failure devastated him financially and professionally. He spent the next 40 years working as a customs inspector on the New York waterfront. The novel was rediscovered in the 1920s during the 'Melville Revival' and is now considered the great American novel. 'Call me Ishmael' is among literature's most recognizable opening lines. Captain Ahab's monomania has become a metaphor so universal that people who've never read the book understand it.

Colin Powell grew up in the South Bronx, the son of Jamaican immigrants. He joined the ROTC at City College, served two tours in Vietnam, and rose through the Army to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff — the first Black man to hold the position. He commanded the Coalition forces in the Gulf War. As Secretary of State he presented evidence of Iraqi weapons programs to the UN Security Council in February 2003. Much of it was wrong. He called it a blot on his record for the rest of his life. He died in October 2021 of COVID-19 complications, having been immunocompromised.