October 04

Coverdale's Bible assembled William Tyndale's groundbreaking New Testament and his own translations from Latin and German sources. Printed clandestinely due to Tudor-era censorship, it reached English audiences hungry for vernacular scripture. Its publication was a milestone of the English Reformation, empowering laypeople to read and interpret the Bible directly. While later editions like the Geneva and King James Bibles surpassed it in popularity, Coverdale's work influenced every subsequent translation. The Coverdale Psalter endured, remaining a component of Anglican worship for centuries.

On October 4, 1927, American artist Gutzon Borglum and his team started work on the granite face of George Washington high in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The ambitious project aimed to honor four U.S. presidents—Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln—by carving their likenesses at a scale of 60 feet per head. Borglum used dynamite for rough shaping and fine chiseling teams to refine features over the next 14 years. The site was chosen for its sturdy granite and its symbolic significance to the nation’s frontier spirit. Funding challenges and harsh weather conditions slowed progress, but the project spurred the local economy and attracted thousands of visitors. When completed in 1941, Mount Rushmore became an enduring symbol of American history, artistry, and ambition.

On October 4, 1941, famed illustrator Norman Rockwell unveiled Willie Gillis, a fictional U.S. Army private, on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post. Gillis became an icon of the American home front, appearing in a series of covers that tracked his journey from induction through training, service overseas, and return home. Rockwell’s warm, narrative paintings captured the hopes, anxieties, and camaraderie of millions of Americans during World War II. Each installment offered a snapshot of daily military life, humanizing the soldier’s experience for a civilian audience. The enduring popularity of Willie Gillis cemented Rockwell’s reputation as a storyteller and chronicler of 20th-century American culture. The character’s legacy endures in exhibitions and publications celebrating Rockwell’s work.