1927 — Widowed Alberta Stewart, 21, marries Civil War veteran William Jasper Martin, 81, so that he (and his relatively sizable pension) can provide comfort and security for her child from the previous marriage. Ten months following the wedding, Alberta will bear William’s child. Two months following W.J’s death in 1932, Alberta will marry his grandson Charlie, possibly to avoid costly name-changing paperwork. Alberta will achieve fame and renown late in life as the last surviving Civil War widow, becoming a sentimental touchstone for southerners who see her as the last link to a horribly misguided and doomed cause.

1974 — Arkansas Congressman Wilbur D. Mills, 69, resigns as chairman of the Ways and Means Committee following the first major public sex scandal in American politics. On October 7th Washington police stopped the married Democratic Representative, who was driving with his lights off at 2am, visibly intoxicated, his face scratched, and with 38-year-old Annabell Battistella, a popular stripper who went by the names "Fanne Foxe" and the "Argentine Firecracker." Battistella, who had bruised eyes, took off and leapt into the Tidal Basin near the Jefferson Memorial and had to be dragged out by police. This is the first time a Congressman's affair has been heavily publicized; Mills will subsequently be reelected to Congress, but because of the ongoing scandal will retire his chairmanship and announce he won't run for reelection.