It was on this date in 1942 that the Alaska Highway was completed. The 1,600-mile highway was completed in just eight months. And it was on this date in 1998 that John Glenn made his return into orbit on the space shuttle.
Mark Pennell sits at the helm of his time machine.Mark's Almanac is a 90-second time travel that highlights the world's history from the very serious to the sometimes sublime.
Mark's Almanac for October 29, 2021
![NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin during a news conference to announce the return to the space program of Sen. John Glenn.](https://npr.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/6cdf414/2147483647/strip/true/crop/326x213+0+0/resize/880x575!/quality/90/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fnpr-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fbb%2Fa4%2F77dd944345d18fbc8a6faa3bdd89%2Fservice-pnp-ppmsca-61800-61801v.jpg)
DOUGLAS GRAHAM
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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS