On this day: October 12
POSTED: 10:50 AM PDT Oct 11, 2012
UPDATED: 11:00 PM PDT Oct 11, 2012
Christopher Columbus lands in the New World, Oktoberfest finds its roots, Sid is arrested for allegedly killing Nancy, and Matthew Shepard dies, all on this day.
Public domain
1773: Eastern State Hospital, America's first insane asylum, opens for "Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds" in Williamsburg, Va. By 1968, all of the hospital's patients had been moved to a newer facility on the outskirts of the city, but in 1985 the original hospital was rebuilt on its excavated foundations and now operates as a museum.
