Which event does this 1931 photograph show?

A suspension bridge opens with nearly twice the span of anything built before it (1931). The George Washington Bridge was dedicated on 24 October 1931 and opened to traffic the next day. Its main span of 1,067 metres was nearly double the previous record, a jump nothing in bridge building had made before. Le Corbusier called it the most beautiful bridge in the world, and thought so partly because the Depression had stripped the money for its stone cladding.

Which event does this 1929 photograph show?

Crowds fill a financial district as share prices collapse in a single morning (1929). Nearly 13 million shares changed hands in New York on 24 October 1929, three times a normal day, and the ticker ran hours behind the actual prices. A group of bankers bought heavily in the afternoon and steadied it, which held for the weekend. The real collapse came the following Monday and Tuesday, and the market did not recover its 1929 level until 1954.

Which event does this 1260 photograph show?

A cathedral rebuilt after a fire is dedicated with two spires that do not match (1260). Chartres was dedicated on 24 October 1260, rebuilt in about twenty-six years after a fire destroyed the earlier church in 1194. The speed is why it is so unusually consistent inside. The two spires are three centuries apart: the plain one is original, the carved one replaced a tower struck by lightning in 1506. Most of the medieval glass survives.

Which event does this 1648 photograph show?

A treaty ends a thirty year war and settles that rulers answer to nobody above them (1648). The treaties signed at Munster and Osnabruck on 24 October 1648 ended the Thirty Years War, which had killed perhaps a third of the population of the German lands. The settlement accepted that each ruler decided the religion of his own territory and that no outside power could overrule him. Historians still date the modern idea of state sovereignty from it.

Which event does this 1861 photograph show?

A telegraph line reaches the far coast and puts a horse relay out of business in two days (1861). The transcontinental telegraph was completed at Salt Lake City on 24 October 1861, and the first message went to President Lincoln the same day. The Pony Express, which had carried mail across the same ground in ten days, announced it was closing two days later. It had been running for eighteen months and never made a profit.

What happened on October 24? the George Washington Bridge, Black Thursday and 3 more

What happened on October 24

All 5 specimens from this file, spanning 1260 to 1931, with the story behind each photograph.

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Engineering · 1931

A suspension bridge opens with nearly twice the span of anything built before it

The George Washington Bridge was dedicated on 24 October 1931 and opened to traffic the next day. Its main span of 1,067 metres was nearly double the previous record, a jump nothing in bridge building had made before. Le Corbusier called it the most beautiful bridge in the world, and thought so partly because the Depression had stripped the money for its stone cladding.
Economics · 1929

Crowds fill a financial district as share prices collapse in a single morning

Nearly 13 million shares changed hands in New York on 24 October 1929, three times a normal day, and the ticker ran hours behind the actual prices. A group of bankers bought heavily in the afternoon and steadied it, which held for the weekend. The real collapse came the following Monday and Tuesday, and the market did not recover its 1929 level until 1954.
Religion · 1260

A cathedral rebuilt after a fire is dedicated with two spires that do not match

Chartres was dedicated on 24 October 1260, rebuilt in about twenty-six years after a fire destroyed the earlier church in 1194. The speed is why it is so unusually consistent inside. The two spires are three centuries apart: the plain one is original, the carved one replaced a tower struck by lightning in 1506. Most of the medieval glass survives.
Politics · 1648

A treaty ends a thirty year war and settles that rulers answer to nobody above them

The treaties signed at Munster and Osnabruck on 24 October 1648 ended the Thirty Years War, which had killed perhaps a third of the population of the German lands. The settlement accepted that each ruler decided the religion of his own territory and that no outside power could overrule him. Historians still date the modern idea of state sovereignty from it.
Technology · 1861

A telegraph line reaches the far coast and puts a horse relay out of business in two days

The transcontinental telegraph was completed at Salt Lake City on 24 October 1861, and the first message went to President Lincoln the same day. The Pony Express, which had carried mail across the same ground in ten days, announced it was closing two days later. It had been running for eighteen months and never made a profit.