On This Date in Minnesota History: October 20

Oct. 20, 1803 - “Although the Constitution did not specifically empower the federal government to acquire new territory by treaty, [President] Jefferson concluded that the practical benefits to the nation [of the Louisiana Purchase] far outweighed the possible violation of the Constitution. The Senate concurred with this decision and voted ratification.”
http://www.gatewayno.com/history/LaPurchase.html

Thomas Jefferson

  http://www.indiana.edu/~libsalc/cartoons/1804.html

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 19

October 19, 1986 – “Marjorie [Congdon] Caldwell Hagen was released from the Shakopee [Minn.] Woman’s prison after serving 21 months for an arson and fraud conviction. She had served about two-thirds of a 2-1/2 year sentence and will remain under court supervision for about nine months.”
Minneapolis Star and Tribune; “Hagen is released from prison”; October 20, 1986; p. 1B, 8B.

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 18

Oct. 18, 1977 – University of Minnesota architectural student Russell Nelson disappeared on this date while on a trip to Chicago with a friend to look at skyscrapers. Nelson’s body was one of 29 victims found in 1978 buried on John Wayne “Gacy’s property in unincorporated Norwood Park Township.”
http://www.suntimes.com/10538835-417/gacy-had-at-least-one-accomplice-two-lawyers-believe.html

John Wayne Gacy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johnwaynegacymug.jpg

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 17

October 17, 1942 – Gary Puckett, of Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, was born in Hibbing, Minn., on this date.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Puckett_%26_The_Union_Gap

Gary Puckett

http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Gary-Puckett-Aug-5-2005.jpg

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 16

October 16, 1880 – “A major blizzard sneaks up on 14-year-old Michael Dowling, who was working on a farm near Canby. Doctors amputate both of his legs and an arm. That's the bad part. The good part: Three years later, Dowling offers a deal to Yellow Medicine County commissioners. If they buy him artificial limbs and pay for one year at Carleton College, he will vow to live independently. They agree and he goes on to become a noted educator, businessman and a state legislator.”
http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2008/07/150-minnesota-moments-wed-just-soon-forget

Michael Dowling

http://www.minnpost.com/politics-policy/2008/06/councils-sesquicentennial-brochure-highlights-lives-early-minnesotans-disabi

Courtesy of the State Council on Disability

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 15

October 15, 1921 – “Jay Cooke Sculpture was dedicated in Duluth. By sculptor Henry M. Shrady who did the Grant Monument on Pennsylvania avenue in Washington, D. C., the statue was a gift to Duluth of J. Horace Harding, spouse of Cooke's granddaughter, of New York. It may not have been said, but 1921 was the 100th anniversary of Cooke's birth.”
http://www.thehistorypeople.com/data/docs/timeline-part2.pdf

http://www.hmdb.org/marker.asp?marker=6379

Jay Cooke

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jay_Cooke

On This Date in Minnesota History: October 14

October 14, 1851 – Chisago County, Minn. was organized on this date.¹ The name is derived from the Native American phrase for the "large and lovely" lakes in the area.^2
1Upham, Warren; Minnesota Geographic Names, Their Origin and Historic Significance; Minnesota Historical Society (St. Paul, Minn., 1969); p. 107.
²http://www.chisagocountyhistory.org/AreaHistory.html