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This Month in NC State History (October) Timeline

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  1. 1890
  2. 1900
  3. 1925
  4. 1950
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  6. 2000
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  1. 10/3/1889 First classes held The first classes are held at the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanic Arts. Fifty-two students, at the minimum age of 14, attend. Tuition was $20 a session. Students could select from two basic curricula: agriculture and mechanics.
  2. 10/15/1921 Student Government established
  3. 10/5/1923 Gymnacrobatic Club founded The Gymnacrobatic Club is founded, hoping to put on "startling exhibitions" such as walking on telephone lines.
  4. 10/24/1924 First telephone installed Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company installs the first telephone exchange at State College.
  5. 10/1/1925 New cafeteria opens The new cafeteria opens (in the old Pullen Hall), allowing students to receive a month of meals for $25.
  6. 10/15/1925 D. H. Hill Library opens in what is now Brooks Hall The original D.H. Hill Library in what is now Brooks Hall was built by Hobart Brown Upjohn and named for Daniel Harvey Hill, Professor of English when NC State first opened.
  7. 10/28/1927 Marching band wears red and white The marching band begins wearing red and white uniforms when performing at athletic events.
  8. 10/1929 Freshman Cap punishment The Court of Customs sentences a freshman football player, whom the Technician refers to as “Comiskey,” to wear a dress for every day he has not worn his freshman cap. Comiskey claims he lost his cap and didn’t have enough money to buy another one.
  9. 10/25/1932 Franklin Delano Roosevelt visits Presidential candidate Franklin Delano Roosevelt makes a campaign stop in Raleigh; State College suspends classes for the day so that students may attend the speech, with the band performing at the event.
  10. 10/14/1933 Riddick Field Concrete Stands State College ties the University of Florida, 0-0, in the first football game held at Riddick Field with its new concrete stands. The field was named for Wallace Carl Riddick.
  11. 10/26/1934 Honor system abolished A faculty vote officially abolishes the honor system at State College; teachers will now have to remain in the classroom during all quizzes and exams.
  12. 10/4/1935 Bell Tower grant The Memorial Bell Tower construction project receives a $37,000 Works Progress Administration grant.
  13. 10/19/1935 New electronic scoreboard in Riddick Stadium A new electric scoreboard and time clock are used at Riddick Stadium for the first time during a game against the University of Georgia. The scoreboard and clock were a donation from the News & Observer.
  14. 10/29/1937 First female Mechanical Engineering student Katharine Stinson, personal friend of Amelia Earhart, is the first woman to enroll in Mechanical Engineering.
  15. 10/20/1938 Free Homecoming tickets The Raleigh Junior Chamber of Commerce distributes free tickets to State's Homecoming football game against Furman by releasing balloons with instructions for the finders on how to claim their free tickets.
  16. 10/3/1939 NC State's 50th Anniversary State College celebrates its 50th anniversary; President Franklin Roosevelt sends a message of congratulations to the college; the City of Raleigh declares it to be "State College Day"; Dean of Students E. L. Cloyd leads an academic procession to Pullen Hall for the college’s 50th anniversary celebration.
  17. 10/7/1942 Scrap metal drive Students gather over 150,000 pounds of scrap metal in 3 hours for the war effort; a banner over the collection pile reads "To Hitler & Co. from NC State College."
  18. 10/1/1943 Engineering fellowships for women Eighteen young women win a fellowship of $1,425 from Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, which will employ them as engineering aides after they complete a 48-week course offered by State College.
  19. 10/4/1946 WNCS broadcast schedule increases Campus radio station WNCS begins broadcasting campus-wide Monday through Friday between the hours of 7:30 PM and 11:30 PM.
  20. 10/18/1946 Trip to Wake Forest football game State College secures a "victory train" to take 6,000 students to go to the football game against Wake Forest (in Winston-Salem); train tickets are $0.65 and tickets to the game are $1.00.
  21. 10/13/1947 New intramurals announced Four new intramural sports to begin NC State: football, volleyball, boxing, and tennis.
  22. 10/17/1947 Beauty Section added to Agromeck The Agromeck announces it is adding a Beauty Section to "offer the average Joe College a chance to show his beauty-getting ability." Men are asked to send in snapshots of their girlfriends to be judged, and the top 10 will appear in the yearbook.
  23. 10/19/1948 President Truman visits President Truman reviews techniques of State College ROTC cadets during a parade.
  24. 10/10/1950 UNC System presidential inauguration In a ceremony at NC State, Gordon Gray is inaugurated as the second president of the UNC System; the new president vows to not tolerate Communism among faculty members.
  25. 10/21/1950 First televised football game A State College football game is televised for the first time; the team takes on the University of Maryland in the contest.
  26. 10/1/1953 Harrelson becomes head of University Archives Former Chancellor John Harrelson begins an appointment as the head of the University Archives collection at D.H. Hill Library.
  27. 10/20/1953 Russian course The Extension Division of NC State College begins offering a night class in Elementary Russian.
  28. 10/15/1954 Hurricane damage Hurricane Hazel destroys the cupola on Becton Hall and the roof of the press box at Riddick Stadium.
  29. 10/7/1957 Matthews Medal established A newly-established scholarship and student award will honor the first student enrolled at State, W.J. Matthews, and be henceforth known as the Matthews Medal.
  30. 10/21/1960 Kingston Trio performs The Kingston Trio performs at Reynolds Coliseum.
  31. 10/26/1960 John Dos Passos visits Novelist John Dos Passos, author of Manhattan Transfer and the U.S.A. trilogy, gives a lecture at the College Union.
  32. 10/17/1962 First analog computer installed The School of Engineering installs the first half of an analog computer system on campus - a PACE computer, manufactured by Electronics Associates.
  33. 10/9/1963 New computer arrives on campus A computer created by professors from NC State and built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology at a cost of $50,000 has arrived on campus. The computer, named Lincy, greeted professors with the message, "I want to be here," and will be used in experiments to measure the distance between heart beats, blood pressure, and brain waves.
  34. 10/10/1963 Stan Getz performs Jazz saxophonist Stan Getz performs at Reynolds Coliseum.
  35. 10/12/1963 Football game broadcast in Reynolds Coliseum For the first time ever, an NC State football game is shown in Reynolds Coliseum via closed-circuit television.
  36. 10/16/1963 Campus Pride Week Campus Pride Week is created in an effort to urge students to walk on the sidewalks through campus and not on the grass. Some students, however, are caught ignoring these efforts put forth by the Student Government.
  37. 10/6/1964 "Lady Bird Special" Whistle-stop Tour President Lyndon Johnson and Lady Bird Johnson are accompanied by UNC System President William Friday at a Democratic presidential campaign rally held in Reynolds Coliseum. More than 14,000 attend the rally, with hundreds more outside. The rally was part of Mrs. Johnson’s whistle-stop tour through the South on the "Lady Bird Special."
  38. 10/6/1964 President Lyndon Johnson campaign speech President Lyndon Johnson made a campaign speech before an audience of 13,000 people in Reynolds Coliseum. The president warned that a victory for opponent Barry Goldwater would mean cuts in farm programs.
  39. 10/11/1964 London Symphony performs The London Symphony performs on campus as a part of the Friends of the College concert series. The orchestra received a standing ovation after their performance, playing music from Stravinsky, Vaughn, Mozart, and Brahms.
  40. 10/8/1966 First game in Carter Stadium Carter Stadium opens as the football team takes on South Carolina; the stadium is dedicated during a halftime ceremony.
  41. 10/8/1966 Live wolf mascot Student government sold 25-cent shares to purchase a timber wolf, which was shown during the first game played at what became Carter-Finley Stadium. The animal howled, making it popular, but it was later discovered to be a coyote.
  42. 10/30/1967 Perfect season The 1967 Freshman Football team finishes the season with a perfect 5-0 record.
  43. 10/31/1967 Halloween activities 70 NC State students take 70 children from the Governor Morehead School and Garner Road School (both schools for the blind) trick-or-treating, and then to the YMCA for hot chocolate afterward. For many of these children, this is their first-ever chance to participate in Halloween traditions.
  44. 10/14/1969 Vietnam Symposium NC State responds to a call for campus protests nationwide, as a "moratorium" against the Vietnam War. A faculty-student committee organizes a Vietnam Symposium, with Chancellor John Caldwell as keynote speaker and several faculty members talking on the impact of the war.
  45. 10/7/1971 Ralph Nader visits Ralph Nader addresses over 800 people about the formation of a North Carolina Research Group (NC-PIRG) in the Union Ballroom.
  46. 10/3/1972 Dedication of D.H. Hill Library North Tower The original eleven-story bookstack tower (now the North Tower) of the D. H. Hill Library is dedicated. With the addition, the bookstacks are opened to all users (previously, the library had had closed bookstacks).
  47. 10/6/1972 Cleveland Orchestra performance The Cleveland Orchestra opens up the Friends of the College program at the Reynolds Colliseum with a performance in front of 21,000 people.
  48. 10/14/1972 New football record NC State quarterback Bruce Shaw passes for 294 yards against Wake Forest, breaking the team's previous record for single-game passing yardage.
  49. 10/17/1972 Fundraiser An auction is held on campus selling off men to the service of women for one day, and raising $175 for the Morehead School of the Blind.
  50. 10/12/1973 Film showing The controversial film "Birth of a Nation" is shown in Stewart Theatre.
  51. 10/17/1973 North Carolina Award for Science Dr. Ellis Brevier Cowling is awarded the North Carolina Award for Science.
  52. 10/20/1973 Lili Kraus performance Hungarian pianist Lili Kraus performs on campus.
  53. 10/27/1973 International Fair An International Fair is held in the Student Center, exposing students to cultures and customs from around the world.
  54. 10/5/1992 President Bill Clinton visits Presidential candidate Bill Clinton addressed 600 people in Stewart Theatre. He announced his support for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).