The TIME Magazine Vault

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Oct. 16, 1978: Pope John Paul II Elected

"White smoke was still billowing from the makeshift Sistine Chapel chimney when Pericle Cardinal Felici stepped out on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica," TIME reported the week after the big news. "After the first wisp of smoke had appeared, signifying election of a new Pope, crowds streaming toward the historic square had snarled every street in Rome west of the Tiber River. Now more than 100,000 people waited expectantly below the balcony. 'I announce to you a great joy.' Felici intoned in sonorous Latin. 'We have a Pope!' The crowd roared, then hushed to hear the name."

Oct. 16, 1978: Pope John Paul II Elected

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Oct. 11, 1968

A Rowan and Martin Riot

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Oct. 9, 1940: John Lennon Born

The Beatle's childhood wasn't always easy, as TIME pointed out in one of its first articles about the band: "John Lennon, organizer of the group, never knew his father, who left home when John was three. John went through grammar school and into art college, where he married a classmate," the magazine noted in 1964. "They have a baby son. With Paul McCartney, Lennon has written most of the songs the Beatles sing—and he coined the name Beatle to suggest the steady pounding beat of the rhythms of rock."

Had Lennon lived, he would be turning 78 now.

Oct. 9, 1940: John Lennon Born

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Oct. 9, 1950

The Poetry of Robert Frost

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Columbus and the Pledge of Allegiance

It was June 22, 1942, that the Pledge of Allegiance was formally recognized by Congress. But, as TIME later explained, its origins are much older than that. "The original 22 words of the Pledge of Allegiance were drawn up in 1892 as a promotional vehicle for a Boston magazine called Youth's Companion," the magazine noted. "Composed by a staff writer for the weekly publication, which normally featured morally uplifting anecdotes for young readers, the pledge was intended for recital at ceremonies marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of America."