October 28 brings together three stories about influence and the choices that shape public life. In 1886, President Grover Cleveland dedicated the Statue of Liberty, a gift from France that became a striking symbol in New York Harbor. In 1962, a far less celebratory moment reached a peaceful turn: Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev announced that the Soviet Union would withdraw its missiles from Cuba, bringing the Cuban Missile Crisis toward resolution. One event marked a lasting public monument; the other showed how a dangerous international standoff could be eased.
The date also marks the 1955 birth of Bill Gates, whose role in co-founding Microsoft helped make him one of the world’s wealthiest people. He later devoted himself to global health and education through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Taken together, these events span civic symbolism, diplomacy, and technology—and suggest that influence can take very different forms. Late October, with autumn settling in, offers a natural moment to look back; this list, in particular, moves from a dedication to a crisis resolved and a birth whose significance unfolded over time.