The next capital to visit is Trenton, New Jersey.

The photos are: 1) the Trenton skyline during the Delaware River Flood of April, 2005; 2) the Trenton skyline at night; 3) the New Jersey State House; 4) the Delaware River; 5) the Lower Free Bridge (known to the locals as the "Trenton Makes Bridge"); and 6) the Sovereign Bank Arena (aka the Mercer County Arena).

Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of 2007, the United States Census Bureau estimated that the City of Trenton had a population of 82,804.
Trenton dates back to June 3, 1719, when mention was made of a constable being appointed for Trenton, while the area was still part of Hunterdon County. Boundaries were recorded for Trenton Township as of June 3, 1719. Trenton became New Jersey's capital as of November 25, 1790, and the City of Trenton was formed within Trenton Township on November 13, 1792. Trenton Township was incorporated as one of New Jersey's initial group of 104 townships by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on February 21, 1798. Portions of the township were taken on February 22, 1834, to form Ewing Township. A series of annexations took place over a fifty-year period, with the city absorbing South Trenton borough (April 14, 1851), portions of Nottingham Township (April 14, 1856), Chambersburg and Millham Township (both on March 30, 1888) and Wilbur borough (February 28, 1898).

The first settlement which would become Trenton was established by Quakers in 1679, in the region then called the Falls of the Delaware, led by Mahlon Stacy from Handsworth, Sheffield, UK. Quakers were being persecuted in England at this time and North America provided the perfect opportunity to exercise their religious freedom.
By 1719, the town adopted the name "Trent-towne", after William Trent, one of its leading landholders who purchased much of the surrounding land from Stacy's family. This name later was shortened to "Trenton".

During the American Revolutionary War, the city was the site of George Washington's first military victory. On December 26, 1776, Washington and his army, after crossing the icy Delaware River to Trenton, defeated the Hessian troops garrisoned there (see Battle of Trenton). After the war, Trenton was briefly the national capital of the United States in November and December of 1784. The city was considered as a permanent capital for the new country, but the southern states favored a location south of the Mason-Dixon Line.
Trenton became the state capital in 1790, but prior to that year the Legislature often met here. The town was incorporated in 1792.

Trenton is located in almost the exact geographic center of the state (the official geographic center is 5 miles southeast of Trenton). Due to this, it is sometimes included as part of North Jersey and as the southernmost city of the Tri-State Region. Others consider it a part of the South Jersey and as the northernmost city of the Delaware Valley. Following the 2000 U.S. Census, Trenton was shifted from the Philadelphia metropolitan area to the New York metropolitan area. However, Mercer County constitutes its own metropolitan statistical area, formally known as the Trenton-Ewing MSA. Locals consider Trenton to be a part of ambiguous Central Jersey, and thus part of neither region. These same locals are generally split as to whether they are within New York or Philadelphia's sphere of influence.

The City of Trenton is home to numerous neighborhoods and sub-neighborhoods. The main neighborhoods are taken from the four cardinal directions (North, South, East, and West) Trenton was once home to large Italian, Hungarian, and Jewish communities, but since the 1960s demographic shifts have changed the city into a relatively segregated urban enclave of poorer African Americans. Italians are scattered throughout the city, but a distinct Italian community is centered in the Chambersburg neighborhood, in South Trenton. This community has been in decline since the 1970s, largely due to economic and social shifts to the more prosperous, less crime-ridden suburbs surrounding the city. There are still a few old time Italians scattered throughout Chambersburg.
The North Ward, once a mecca for the city's middle class, is now one of the most economically distressed, torn apart by race riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968. Nonetheless, the area still retains many important architectural and historic sites. North Trenton has a large Polish-American neighborhood that borders Lawrence Township, many of whom attend St Hedwigs Roman Catholic Church on Brunswick Ave. St. Hedwigs church was built in 1904 by Polish immigrants,many of whose families still attend the church. North Trenton is also home to the historic Shiloh Baptist Church--one of the largest houses of worship in Trenton and the oldest African American church in the city founded in 1888. The church is currently pastored by Rev. Darrell L. Armstrong, whom has carried the olympic torch in 2002 for the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Also located just at the southern tip of North Trenton is the city's Battle Monument, also known as "Five Points". It is a 150 ft. structure that marks the spot where George Washington's Continental Army launched the Battle of Trenton during the American Revolutionary War. It faces downtown Trenton and is a symbol of the city's historic past.
South Ward is the most diverse neighborhood in Trenton and is home to many residents with Latin American, Italian-American, as well as a sizable African American community. The Chambersburg neighborhood is contained within South Ward, and was once noted in the region as a destination for its many Italian restaurants and pizzerias.
East Ward is the smallest neighborhood in Trenton and is home to the Trenton's Train Station as well as Trenton Central High School. Recently, two campuses have been added, Trenton Central High School West and Trenton Central High School North, respectively, in those areas of the city. West Ward is the home of Trenton's more suburban neighborhoods, including Hiltonia, Glen Afton, Berkeley Square, and the area surrounding Cadwalader Park.
In addition to these neighborhoods, other notable sections include the "The Island" (a small neighborhood between Route 29 and the Delaware River that is prone to flooding - and did so in 2005 and again in 2006) and historic Mill Hill located next door to downtown Trenton. Kingsbury Towers (a high rise apartment complex technically in South Ward) is also semi-autonomous or neutral. the Fisher-Richey-Perdicaris neighborhood comprises a little-known district sandwiched between West State Street and Route 29 with large several-story residences dating from ca. 1915.

Today's Jumble (10/31/08):

JUGED = JUDGE; CIEPE = PIECE; CRAHNB = BRANCH; PLOATS = POSTAL

CIRCLED LETTERS = UDPEERNCOSA

What mom did when her son needed a Halloween costume.

"SCARED ONE UP"

Of course, today is Halloween. Spooks, goblins, and ghosts.All Hallow's Eve, the Eve of All Saints' Day (originally the Eve of All Hallow's Day).

Other things on this day in history:

475 – Romulus Augustulus was proclaimed Western Roman Emperor.
1517 – Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther posts his 95 theses on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg.
1587 – Leiden University Library opens its doors after its founding in 1575.
1822 – Emperor Agustín de Iturbide attempted to dissolve the Mexican Empire.
1861 – American Civil War: Citing failing health, Union General Winfield Scott resigns as Commander of the United States Army.
1863 – The Maori Wars resumed as British forces in New Zealand led by General Duncan Cameron began their Invasion of the Waikato.
1864 – Nevada is admitted as the 36th U.S. state.
1876 – A monster cyclone ravages India, resulting in over 200,000 human deaths.
1892 – Arthur Conan Doyle publishes The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
1913 - Dedication of the Lincoln Highway, the first automobile road across America.
1917 – World War I: Battle of Beersheba – "last successful cavalry charge in history"
1918 – Banat Republic founded
1923 – 160 consecutive days of 100 degrees at Marble Bar, Australia begins.
1924 – World Savings Day was announced in Milano/Italy by the Members of the Association at the 1st International Savings Bank Congress (World Society of Savings Banks).
1926 – Magician Harry Houdini dies of gangrene and peritonitis that developed after his appendix ruptured.
1936 – The Boy Scouts of the Philippines was formed.
1938 – Great Depression: In an effort to try restore investor confidence, the New York Stock Exchange unveils a fifteen-point program aimed to upgrade protection for the investing public.
1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain ends – The United Kingdom prevents Germany from invading Great Britain.
1941 – After 14 years of work, drilling is completed on Mount Rushmore.
1941 – World War II: The destroyer USS Reuben James is torpedoed by a German U-boat near Iceland, killing more than 100 United States Navy sailors. It is the first U.S. Navy vessel sunk by enemy action in WWII.
1941 – Clothing factory fire in Huddersfield, England kills 49
1943 – World War II: F4U Corsair accomplishes the first successful radar-guided interception.
1954 – Algerian War of Independence: The Algerian National Liberation Front begins a revolt against French rule.
1956 – Suez Crisis: The United Kingdom and France begin bombing Egypt to force the reopening of the Suez Canal.
1959 – Lee Harvey Oswald attempted to renounce his American citizenship at the US Embassy in Moscow, USSR.
1961 – In the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin's body is removed from Lenin's Tomb.
1963 – Indiana State Fair Coliseum (now Pepsi Coliseum) explosion in Indianapolis kills 74 people during an ice skating show. The mammoth explosion injured 400. A faulty propane tank connection in a concession stand was blamed.
1968 – Vietnam War October surprise: Citing progress with the Paris peace talks, US President Lyndon B. Johnson announces to the nation that he has ordered a complete cessation of "all air, naval, and artillery bombardment of North Vietnam" effective November 1.
1973 – Mountjoy Prison helicopter escape. Three Provisional Irish Republican Army members escape from Mountjoy Prison, Dublin, Republic of Ireland after a hijacked helicopter landed in the exercise yard.
1984 – Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is assassinated by two Sikh security guards (riots soon broke out in New Delhi and nearly 2,000 innocent Sikhs were killed).
1986 – The 5th congress of the Communist Party of Sweden is inaugurated. During the course of the congress the party name is changed to the Solidarity Party and the party ceases to be a communist party.
1994 – An American Eagle ATR-72 crashes in Roselawn, Indiana, after circling in icy weather, killing 68 passengers and crew.
1996 – The Fokker F100 on TAM Transportes Aéreos Regionais Flight 402 crashes into several houses in São Paulo, Brazil killing 98 including 2 on the ground.
1997 – 19-year-old British au pair Louise Woodward, convicted by a Cambridge, Massachusetts, jury of second-degree murder the day before, is sentenced to life in prison.
1998 – Iraq disarmament crisis begins: Iraq announces it would no longer cooperate with United Nations weapons inspectors.
1999 – EgyptAir Flight 990 traveling from New York City to Cairo crashes off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, killing all 217 on-board.
1999 – Roman Catholic Church and Lutheran Church leaders sign the Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification, ending a centuries-old doctrinal dispute over the nature of faith and salvation.
1999 – Yachtsman Jesse Martin returns to Melbourne after 11 months of circumnavigating the world, solo, non-stop and unassisted.
2000 – A Singapore Airlines Boeing 747-400 operating as Flight 006 collides with construction equipment upon takeoff in Taipei, Taiwan killing 79 passengers and four crew members
2000 – A chartered Antonov An-26 explodes after takeoff in Northern Angola killing 50
2000 – The last Multics machine was shut down.
2002 – A federal grand jury in Houston, Texas formally indicted former Enron Corp. chief financial officer Andrew Fastow on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering, conspiracy and obstruction of justice related to the collapse of his ex-employer.
2003 – A bankruptcy court approves MCI's reorganization plans, essentially clearing the telecommunications company to exit bankruptcy.
2003 – Mahathir bin Mohamad resigns as Prime Minister of Malaysia and is replaced by Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, marking an end to Mahathir's 22 years in power.

Today it is off to the capital city of Albany, New York.

The photos are: 1) the Albany skyline as viewed from across the Hudson River; 2) the New York State Capitol Building; 3) the Empire State Plaza and surrounding buildings; 4) The Egg (a performing arts center) and the Erastus Corning Tower (the tallest structure in Albany and the tallest in New York State outside of those in New York City), both of which are in the Empire State Plaza; 5) the Reflecting Pool and the Capitol Building; 6) the Annual Tulip Festival in Washington Park; and 7) sunset over Buckingham Lake.

Albany is the capital of the State of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is 136 miles (219 km) north of New York City, and slightly to the south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city has a population of 94,172 (July 2007 est.).
Albany has close ties with the nearby cities of Troy, Schenectady, and Saratoga Springs, forming a region called the Capital District. This area makes up the bulk of the Albany-Schenectady-Troy Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) with a population of 850,957, making it the fourth largest urban area in New York State, and the 56th largest MSA in the United States.
Albany is built on the site of the Dutch Fort Orange and its surrounding community of Beverwyck. The English acquired the site from the Dutch in 1664 and renamed it Albany, in honor of James II, Duke of Albany. A 1686 document issued by Thomas Dongan granted Albany its official charter. This date makes Albany the second oldest city in the state in terms of its date of incorporation, after New Amsterdam.

Albany is the fourth oldest city (behind Santa Fe, St. Augustine, and Jamestown, Virginia), and the second oldest state capital (behind Santa Fe) in the United States. The original native settlement in the area was called Penpotawotnot. Its colonial history began when Englishman Henry Hudson, exploring for the Dutch East India Company on the Halve Maen (or Half Moon), reached the area in 1609. In 1614, the Dutch company constructed Fort Nassau, its first fur trading post near present-day Albany and left Jacob Eelkens in charge. Commencement of the fur trade provoked hostility from the French colony in Canada and amongst the native tribes, who vied to control the trade. In 1624, Fort Orange was established in the area. Both forts were named in honor of the Dutch House of Orange-Nassau. Nearby areas were incorporated as the village of Beverwyck in 1652.

When the land was taken by the English in 1664, the name was changed to Albany, in honor of the Duke of York and Albany, who later became King James II of England and James VII of Scotland. Duke of Albany was a Scottish title given since 1398, generally to a younger son of the King of Scots. The name is ultimately derived from Alba, the Gaelic name for Scotland. Albany was formally chartered as a municipality by Governor Thomas Dongan on July 22, 1686. The "Dongan Charter" was virtually identical in content to the charter awarded to New York City three months earlier. Pieter Schuyler was appointed first mayor of Albany the day the charter was signed.

In 1754, representatives of seven British North American colonies met in the Albany Congress. Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania presented the Albany Plan of Union, the first formal proposal to unite the colonies. Although it was never adopted by Parliament, it was an important precursor to the U.S. Constitution. Albany native Philip Livingston was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. William Alexander, a general in the Revolutionary War, died in Albany in 1783. Several US Navy ships have since been named USS Albany in honor of the City's historical and military importance.

In 1777, the state capital of New York was moved from Kingston to Albany, about 50 miles (80 km) north. The State Capitol building was constructed between 1867 and 1899 and inspired by the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) in Paris, France. Notable architectural features include its "Million Dollar Staircase."

Albany's location on the Hudson River made it a center of transportation from the outset. In 1807, Robert Fulton initiated a steamboat line from New York City to Albany. On October 26, 1825 the Erie Canal was completed, forming a continuous water route from the Great Lakes to New York City. The Mohawk and Hudson Railroad between Albany and Schenectady, New York opened on September 24, 1831 and subsequently became part of the New York Central Railroad. Erastus Corning, a noted industrialist and founder of the New York Central, called Albany home and served as its mayor from 1834 to 1837. His great-grandson, Erastus Corning II, served as mayor of Albany from 1942 until 1983, the longest single mayoral term of any major city in the United States.

Between 1965 and 1978, the Empire State Plaza was constructed in Albany's Midtown, west of Downtown and south of the Capitol building. It was, and remains, controversial, in large part because it required the demolition of several historical neighborhoods and the forced removal of Jewish, Italian, Black, and Latino inhabitants. The Plaza was conceived by Governor Nelson Rockefeller and is now named in his honor. The Erastus Corning Tower stands 589 feet (180 m) high and is the tallest building in New York State outside New York City. Four other smaller towers, the Legislative Office Building, the Cultural Education Center (which houses the State Library and Museum), the Justice Building, and the impressive performing arts center known as "The Egg" make up the rest of the Empire State Plaza. The design of the Empire State Plaza is based loosely on the National Congress complex in the Brazilian capital of Brasilia.

Today's Jumble (10/30/08):

NUEQE = QUEEN; VIRTE = RIVET; ABAANN = BANANA; CLOMPY = COMPLY

CIRCLED LETTERS = ETAAPL

Used for taste when eating.

"(A) PALATE

Today/tonight is Mischief Night. Historically, examples of mischief that are somwhat harmless are: soaping windows, egging houses and cars (not really harmless I guess), tossing a few rotten tomatoes,toilet papering houses and trees, etc., knocking on doors, then running away. Of course, nowadays these might get you into trouble.

It is also National Candy Corn Day and Buy a Doughnut Day.

Also, Orson Welles famous radio broadcast of "War of the Worlds" occurred n this day in 1938.

Other things on this day in history:

637 - Antioch surrenders to the Muslim forces under Rashidun Caliphate after the Battle of Iron bridge.
1137 - Battle of Rignano between Ranulf of Apulia and Roger II of Sicily.
1270 - The Eighth Crusade and siege of Tunis end by an agreement between Charles I of Sicily (brother to King Louis IX of France, who had died months earlier) and the sultan of Tunis.
1340 - Battle of Rio Salado.
1470 - Henry VI of England returns to the English throne after Earl of Warwick defeats the Yorkists in battle.
1485 - Henry VII of England is crowned.
1501 - Ballet of Chestnuts - a banquet held by Cesare Borgia in the Papal Palace where fifty prostitutes or courtesans were in attendance for the entertainment of the guests.
1502 - Vasco da Gama returns to Calicut for the second time.
1831 - In Southampton County, Virginia, escaped slave Nat Turner is captured and arrested for leading the bloodiest slave rebellion in United States history.
1863 - Danish Prince Wilhelm arrives in Athens to assume his throne as George I, King of the Hellenes.
1864 - Second war of Schleswig ends. Denmark renounces all claim to Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg, which come under Prussian and Austrian administration.
1864 - Helena, Montana is founded after four prospectors discover gold at "Last Chance Gulch".
1894 - Domenico Melegatti obtains a patent for a procedure to be applied in producing pandoro industrially.
1905 - Czar Nicholas II of Russia grants Russia's first constitution, creating a legislative assembly.
1918 - The Ottoman Empire signs an armistice with the Allies, ending the First World War in the Middle East.
1920 - The Communist Party of Australia is founded in Sydney.
1922 - Benito Mussolini is made Prime Minister of Italy.
1925 - John Logie Baird creates Britain's first television transmitter.
1929 - The Stuttgart Cable Car is constructed in Stuttgart, Germany.
1938 - Orson Welles broadcasts his radio play of H. G. Wells's The War of the Worlds, causing anxiety in some of the audience in the United States.
1941 - World War II: Franklin Delano Roosevelt approves U.S. $1 billion in Lend-Lease aid to the Allied nations.
1941 - 1,500 Jews from Pidhaytsi (in western Ukraine) are sent by Nazis to Belzec extermination camp.
1944 - Anne Frank and sister Margot Frank are deported from Auschwitz to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.
1945 - Jackie Robinson of the Kansas City Monarchs signs a contract for the Brooklyn Dodgers to break the baseball color barrier.
1947 - The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which is the foundation of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), is founded.
1950 - Pope Pius XII witnesses "The Miracle of the Sun" while at the Vatican.
1953 - Cold War: U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally approves the top secret document National Security Council Paper No. 162/2, which states that the United States' arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the communist threat.
1960 - Michael Woodruff performs the first successful kidney transplant in the United Kingdom at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.
1961 - Nuclear testing: The Soviet Union detonates the hydrogen bomb Tsar Bomba over Novaya Zemlya; at 58 megatons of yield, it is still the largest explosive device ever detonated, nuclear or otherwise. Nikita Kruschev announces that the scientists had planned to make it 100 megatons, but had reduced the yield to reduce fallout over the Soviet Union.
1961 - Because of "violations of Lenin's precepts", it is decreed that Joseph Stalin's body be removed from its place of honour inside Lenin's tomb and buried near the Kremlin wall with a plain granite marker instead.
1965 - Vietnam War: Just miles from Da Nang, United States Marines repel an intense attack by wave after wave of Viet Cong forces, killing 56 guerrillas. Among the dead, a sketch of Marine positions was found on the body of a 13-year-old Vietnamese boy who sold drinks to the Marines the day before.
1970 - In Vietnam, the worst monsoon to hit the area in six years causes large floods, kills 293, leaves 200,000 homeless and virtually halts the Vietnam War.
1972 - A collision between two commuter trains in Chicago, Illinois kills 45 and injures 332.
1973 - The Bosporus Bridge in Istanbul, Turkey is completed, connecting the continents of Europe and Asia over the Bosporus for the first time.
1974 - The Rumble in the Jungle boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman takes place in Kinshasa, Zaire.
1975 - Prince Juan Carlos becomes Spain's acting head of state, taking over for the country's ailing dictator, Gen. Francisco Franco.
1980 - El Salvador and Honduras sign a peace treaty to put the border dispute fought over in 1969's Football War before the International Court of Justice.
1983 - The first democratic elections in Argentina after seven years of military rule are held.
1985 - Space Shuttle Challenger lifts off for mission STS-61-A, its final successful mission.
1987 - In Japan, NEC releases the first 16-bit home entertainment system, the TurboGrafx-16, known as PC Engine.
1988 - Philip Morris buys Kraft Foods for U.S. $13.1 billion.
1991 - The Madrid Conference for Middle East peace talks opens.
1995 - Quebec sovereignists narrowly lose a referendum for a mandate to negotiate independence from Canada (vote was 50.6% to 49.4%).
2002 - British Digital terrestrial television (DTT) Service Freeview begins transmitting in parts of the United Kingdom.
2005 - The rebuilt Dresden Frauenkirche (destroyed in the firebombing of Dresden during World War II) is reconsecrated after a thirteen-year rebuilding project.

Off to Hartford, Connecticut today.

The photos are: 1) Hartford's downtown district seen from across the Connecticut River; 2) a view of the southern portion of downtown Hartford; 3) the Connecticut State Capitol building; 4) the Harriet Beecher Stowe house; 5) the Mark Twain house; 6) the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch; 7) Bushnell Park in the Spring; and 8) Elizabeth Park during the Annual Rose Festival.

Hartford is the capital of the State of Connecticut. It is located in Hartford County on the Connecticut River, north of the center of the state and 24 miles south of Springfield, Massachusetts. Its 2006 population of 124,512 ranks Hartford as the state's second-largest city, after Bridgeport. New Haven, located 40 miles south of the city, has a population nearly identical to that of Hartford. Greater Hartford is also the largest metro area in Connecticut and 45th largest in the country (2006 census estimate) with a metropolitan population of 1,188,841.
Nicknamed the 'Insurance Capital of the World,' Hartford houses many of the world's insurance company headquarters, and insurance is the region's major industry. At almost 400 years old, Hartford is one of the oldest cities in the United States, and, following the American Civil War took the mantle of the country's wealthiest city from New Orleans . In 1868, Mark Twain described the city as follows: "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see, this is the chief".
With a brand new convention center and hotel, upcoming science center, reclaimed river front and an infusion of residential and commercial ventures in the city, Hartford has begun to attract new development, especially to its downtown, after years of relative stagnation. It is home to the nation's oldest public art museum (Wadsworth Atheneum), the oldest public park (Bushnell Park), the oldest continuously published newspaper (Hartford Courant), the second-oldest secondary school (Hartford Public) and the sixth-oldest opera company in the nation (Connecticut Opera). Its vibrant arts scene, ethnic and cultural diversity, as well as the region's highly educated workforce, have added to the city's appeal as a regional hub of economic and social activity.
In 2004, the Hartford metropolitan area ranked second in per capita economic activity nationwide, behind San Francisco, California. Hartford is ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production and generates more economic activity than sixteen U.S. states.

After Dutch explorer Adriaen Block visited the area in 1614, fur traders from the New Netherland colony set up trade at Fort Goede Hoop (Good Hope) at the confluence of the Connecticut and Park Rivers as early as 1623, but abandoned their post by 1654. Today, the neighborhood near the site is still known as Dutch Point. The first English settlers arrived in 1635 and their settlement was originally called Newtown, but was renamed Hartford in 1637. The name "Hartford" was chosen to honor the English town of Hertford.

The leader of Hartford's original settlers from what is now Cambridge, Massachusetts, Pastor Thomas Hooker, delivered a sermon which inspired the writing of the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, a document (ratified January 14, 1639) investing the people with the authority to govern, rather than ceding such authority to a higher power. Hooker's conception of self-rule embodied in the Fundamental Orders went on to inspire the Connecticut Constitution, and ultimately the U.S. Constitution. Today, one of the Connecticut's nicknames is the 'Constitution State'.
On December 15, 1814, delegations from throughout New England gathered at the Hartford Convention to discuss possible secession from the United States. Later in the century, Hartford was a center of abolitionist activity. Harriet Beecher Stowe, daughter of Lyman Beecher and author of Uncle Tom's Cabin, lived in Nook Farm, part of the Asylum Hill section of the city.
In July 6, 1944, the Hartford Circus Fire destroyed the big top at the Ringling Brothers, Barnum & Bailey, the deadliest circus fire in the history of the United States.
On November 3, 1981, Thirman L. Milner became the the first black mayor elected in New England. In 1987, Carrie Saxon Perry was elected mayor of Hartford, the first female African-American mayor of a major American city.
Starting in the late 1950s the suburbs of Hartford grew while the capital city began its long, slow decline. This decline may have been accelerated by construction of highways (including I-84 & I-91 which intersect in downtown Hartford). Many residents moved out of the city and into the suburbs, and as this trend continues. During the 1980s, Hartford experienced an economic boom of sorts and by the late 1980s, almost a dozen new skyscrapers were proposed to be built in the city's downtown. For various concerns, including the economic recession that followed in the early 1990s, many of these buildings were never built. By the beginning of the twenty-first century, many workers in Hartford lived in towns located more than a twenty-minute drive from the city. In the last few years, development, both commercial and residential, has increased downtown.

Today's Jumble (10/29/08):

CURCO = OCCUR; LEEXI = EXILE; LAASSI = ASSAIL; DIMPOU = PODIUM

CIRCLED LETTERS = REISSOU

When the aging beauty queen developed laugh lines, it was---

"SERIOUS"

Today is Hermit Day (a quiet day to spend by yourself).

It is also the Internet's Birthday. 39 years ago today the first connection was made between remote computers at UCLA and Stanford Research Institute in which bits of data was transfered.This connection would lead to ARPNET, the forbearer of the Internet.

Finally, in this time of financial crisis one should note that on this day in 1929, the stock market suffered the second catastrophic crash (Black Tuesday) resulting in the Great Depression.

Other things on this day in history:

437 - Valentinian III, WesternWestern Roman Emperor, marries Licinia Eudoxia, daughter of his cousin Theodosius II, Eastern Roman Emperor in Constantinople. This unifies the two branches of the House of Theodosius
969 - Byzantine troops occupy Antioch Syria
1268 - Conradin, the last legitimate male heir of the Hohenstaufen dynasty of Kings of Germany and Holy Roman Emperors, is executed along with his companion Frederick I, Margrave of Baden by Charles I of Sicily, a political rival and ally to the hostile Roman Catholic church.
1390 - First trial for witchcraft in Paris.
1422 - Charles VII of France becomes king in succession to his father Charles VI of France
1467 - Battle of Brusthem: Charles the Bold defeats Liege
1618 - English adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded for allegedly conspiring against James I of England.
1658 - Action of 29 October 1658 (Naval battle)
1665 - Battle of Ambuila, where Portuguese forces defeated the forces of the Kingdom of Kongo and decapitated king Antonio I of Kongo, also called Nvita a Nkanga..
1675 - Leibniz makes the first use of the long s (∫) as a symbol of the integral in calculus.
1787 - Mozart's opera Don Giovanni receives its first performance in Prague.
1792 - Mount Hood (Oregon) is named after the British naval officer Alexander Arthur Hood by Lt. William E. Broughton who spotted the mountain near the mouth of the Willamette River.
1859 - Spain declares war on Morocco.
1863 - Sixteen countries meeting in Geneva agree to form the International Red Cross.
1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Wauhatchie - Forces under Union General Ulysses S. Grant ward off a Confederate attack led by General James Longstreet. Union forces thus open a supply line into Chattanooga, Tennessee.
1881 - Judge (U.S. magazine) first published.
1886 - The ticker-tape parade is invented in New York City when office workers spontaneously throw ticker tape into the streets as the Statue of Liberty is dedicated.
1901 - In Amherst, Massachusetts nurse Jane Toppan is arrested for murdering the Davis family of Boston with an overdose of morphine.
1901 - Capital punishment: Leon Czolgosz, the assassin of US President William McKinley, is executed by electrocution.
1913 - Floods in El Salvador kill thousands.
1921 - The Link River Dam, a part of the Klamath Reclamation Project, is completed.
1921 - Second trial of Sacco and Vanzetti in USA.
1921 - The Harvard University football team loses to Centre College, ending a 25 game winning streak. This is considered one of the biggest upsets in college football.
1922 - The King of Italy, Victor Emmanuel III, appoints Benito Mussolini as Prime Minister.
1923 - Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire.
1929 - The New York Stock Exchange crashes in what will be called the Crash of '29 or "Black Tuesday," ending the Great Bull Market of the 1920s and beginning the Great Depression.
1941 - Holocaust: In the Kaunas Ghetto over 10,000 Jews are shot by German occupiers at the Ninth Fort, a massacre known as the "Great Action".
1942 - Holocaust: In the United Kingdom, leading clergymen and political figures hold a public meeting to register outrage over Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews.
1944 - Breda in the Netherlands is liberated by 1st Polish Armoured Division
1945 - Getulio Vargas, president of Brazil, resigns.
1948 - Safsaf massacre
1955 - The Soviet battleship Novorossiisk strikes a World War II mine in the harbor at Sevastopol.
1956 - Suez Crisis begins: Israel forces invade the Sinai Peninsula and push Egyptian forces back toward the Suez Canal.
1956 - Tangier Protocol signed: The international city Tangier is reintegrated into Morocco.
1957 - Israel's prime minister David Ben Gurion and five of his ministers are injured as a hand grenade is tossed into Israel's parliament, the Knesset.
1960 - In Louisville, Kentucky, Cassius Clay (who later takes the name Muhammad Ali) wins his first professional fight.
1961 - Syria exits from the United Arab Republic.
1964 - Tanganyika and Zanzibar join to form the Republic of Tanzania.
1964 - A collection of irreplaceable gems, including the 565 carat (113 g) Star of India, is stolen by a group of thieves (among them is "Murph the surf") from the American Museum of Natural History in New York City.
1967 - London criminal Jack McVitie is murdered by the Kray twins, leading to their eventual imprisonment and downfall.
1967 - Montreal's World Fair, Expo 67, closes with over 50 million visitors.
1969 - The first-ever computer-to-computer link is established on ARPANET, the precursor to the Internet.
1971 - Vietnam War: Vietnamization - The total number of American troops still in Vietnam drops to a record low of 196,700 (the lowest level since January 1966).
1980 - Demonstration flight of a secretly modified C-130 for an Iran hostage crisis rescue attempt ends in crash landing at Eglin Air Force Base's Duke Field, Florida leading to cancellation of Operation Credible Sport.
1983 - Over 500,000 people demonstrate against cruise missiles in The Hague, The Netherlands.
1985 - Major General Samuel K. Doe is announced the winner of the first multiparty election in Liberia.
1986 - British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher opens the last stretch of the M25 motorway.
1988 - Pakistan's General Rahimuddin Khan resigns from his post as Governor of Sindh, following the efforts by President of Pakistan Ghulam Ishaq Khan to limit the powers Rahimuddin had accumulated.
1991 - The American Galileo spacecraft makes its closest approach to 951 Gaspra, becoming the first probe to visit an asteroid.
1994 - Francisco Martin Duran fires over two dozen shots at the White House (Duran was later convicted of trying to kill US President Bill Clinton).
1998 - Apartheid: In South Africa, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission presents its report, which condemns both sides for committing atrocities.
1998 - Space Shuttle Discovery blasts off on STS-95 with 77-year old John Glenn on board, making him the oldest person to go into space.
1998 - ATSC HDTV broadcasting in the United States is inaugurated with the launch of STS-95 space shuttle mission.
1998 - While en route from Adana to Ankara, a Turkish Airlines flight with a crew of 6 and 33 passengers is hijacked by a Kurdish militant who orders the pilot to fly to Switzerland. The plane instead lands in Ankara after the pilot tricked the hijacker into thinking that he was landing in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia to refuel.
1998 - Hurricane Mitch, the second deadliest Atlantic hurricane in history, made landfall in Honduras.
1998 - The Gothenburg nightclub fire in Sweden claims 63 lives and injures 200.
1999 - A large cyclone devastates Orissa, India.
2002 - Ho Chi Minh City ITC Inferno, a fire destroys a luxurious department store with 1500 people shopping. Over 60 people died and over 100 are missing. It is the deadliest disaster in Vietnam during peacetime.
2004 - The Arabic news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a video of Osama bin Laden in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election.
2004 - In Rome, European heads of state sign the Treaty and Final Act establishing the first European Constitution.
2005 - 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings kill more than 60.
2007 - Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is elected the first woman President of Argentina.