Good morning! Some days ask us to take a leap; others remind us how much work goes into a safe landing. October 22 has room for both, from a parachute over Paris to a spacecraft returning to Earth. Our 1968 visit also brings a poolside triumph, a Beatles favorite, and a very different sort of space adventure at the movies.
📅 On This Day
1797 — André-Jacques Garnerin made a parachute descent from a balloon over Paris.
1836 — Sam Houston was sworn in as the elected president of the Republic of Texas, then an independent nation.
1883 — New York's original Metropolitan Opera House opened with Gounod's Faust. This was the Broadway and 39th Street home, long before the move to Lincoln Center.
1962 — President John F. Kennedy addressed the nation about Soviet missile installations in Cuba and announced a naval quarantine, bringing the crisis into American living rooms.
1964 — Jean-Paul Sartre was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, which he declined.
1975 — The Soviet Venera 9 lander touched down on Venus and sent back a photograph of the planet's surface.
Turn the page, tune the dial, and let's visit 1968…
⏪ REWIND: 1968
It is Tuesday, October 22. The Mexico City Olympics are still underway, “Hey Jude” is topping the singles chart, and television viewers have been watching American astronauts work in orbit. Today, those astronauts are coming home.
📰 The Headlines
Apollo 7 returns with a crucial test completed.
Wally Schirra, Donn Eisele, and Walter Cunningham splashed down in the Atlantic on October 22 after nearly 11 days in Earth orbit. A helicopter carried the crew to the recovery ship, USS Essex.
Their mission had tested the Apollo command and service spacecraft, including the engine future crews would need for journeys to and from lunar orbit. The crew also sent live television pictures home, giving viewers a look at life and work inside the capsule.
Apollo 7 had stayed near Earth. The flight showed that the spacecraft could support a crew through demanding work in orbit and bring them home safely. The Moon remained ahead, but an important piece of the journey had been proved.
🎬 At the Movies
Barbarella led Variety's National Boxoffice Survey dated October 23, 1968, the report arriving the day after our Rewind date. The ranking reflected sampled key-city theater business.
Jane Fonda's space fantasy offered a colorful, decidedly grown-up version of the future. Looking back at the full year, the film earned about $2.5 million in North American theatrical rentals in 1968—the distributors' share, rather than total ticket sales or one week's receipts.
Real spacecraft in the news and a wildly imagined future on screen: 1968 had more than one way to travel beyond Earth.
🎵 On the Charts
The Beatles' “Hey Jude” was No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 dated October 19, 1968.
Its extended singalong ending made the record feel like an invitation to join in. Which song from your own younger years still turns a roomful of listeners into a chorus?
🏁 In Sports
Debbie Meyer won the women's 200-meter freestyle on October 22, swimming 2:10.5 at the Mexico City Olympics. She was just 16.
It was her second individual gold of these Games. She would finish with three, winning the 200-, 400-, and 800-meter freestyle events. On this Tuesday, she reached the wall ahead of the field, with another race still to come.
📺 On Television
Tuesday's evening offered undercover police work, a Western, and a family comedy. Local affiliate schedules could vary.
ABC — The Mod Squad: “When Smitty Comes Marching Home.”
CBS — Lancer: “The Lawman.”
NBC — Julia: “Who's a Freud of Ginger Wolfe?”
A glance at the listings could take you from city streets to a ranch and back to family life—all without leaving the sofa.
🏰 Disney Vault
Coming up Sunday, October 27: Brimstone, the Amish Horse tells of an Amish minister who nurses an injured steeplechase horse back to health.
The horse still longs for the racetrack, setting up a gentle clash between a quiet way of life and an animal bred to run. Directed by Larry Lansburgh and filmed in Pennsylvania's Amish country, the television story offers a countryside change of pace for our 1968 week.
🗞️ The Everday Family
❤️ Health Snap
Choose a little movement you actually enjoy—a walk, a dance to a favorite song, or another activity that fits your abilities. CDC guidance encourages enjoyable activities you can keep doing and reminds us that some physical activity is better than none. A familiar daily cue can help you make room for it.
🎂 October 22 Birthdays
Franz Liszt — would have turned 215 (born 1811). The Hungarian composer and virtuoso pianist left works including the Hungarian Rhapsodies, bringing dramatic flair to the concert hall.
Christopher Lloyd — 88 (born 1938). Doc Brown in Back to the Future and Jim Ignatowski in Taxi, he has made eccentric characters feel unforgettable. On our Rewind date in 1968, he was turning 30.
Catherine Deneuve — 83 (born 1943). The French actress's films include The Umbrellas of Cherbourg and Belle de Jour. She was turning 25 in our Rewind year.
Jeff Goldblum — 74 (born 1952). Known for Jurassic Park and The Fly, the actor brings his own distinctive rhythm to a scene.
Have an October 22 birthday in the family? Share today's edition and let the date start a conversation.
A parachute descent, a spacecraft's return, and a swimmer's finish all come down to reaching the next place. Our 1968 travelers had plenty to listen to and watch along the way. Which sound would you choose for the trip: an orchestra, a Beatles singalong, or the cheers beside the pool?
Until tomorrow,
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