Today in History
Today is Monday, Oct. 16, the 289th day of 2023. There are 76 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 16, 1962, the Cuban missile crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of missile bases in Cuba.
On this date:
In 1758, American lexicographer Noah Webster was born in Hartford, Connecticut.
In 1793, during the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded.
In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry in what was then a part of western Virginia. (Ten of Brown’s men were killed and five escaped. Brown and six followers were captured; all were executed.)
In 1934, Chinese Communists, under siege by the Nationalists, began their “long march” lasting a year from southeastern to northwestern China.
In 1964, China set off its first atomic bomb, codenamed “596,” on the Lop Nur Test Ground.
In 1968, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving “Black power” salutes during a victory ceremony after they’d won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race.
In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Cardinal Karol Wojtyla (voy-TEE’-wah) to be the new pope; he took the name John Paul II.
In 1984, Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of non-violent struggle for racial equality in South Africa.
In 1991, a gunman opened fire at a Luby’s Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, killing 23 people before taking his own life.
In 1997, in the first known case in the United States, a Georgia woman gave birth after being implanted with previously frozen eggs.
In 2002, President George W. Bush signed a congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq.
In 2009, agricultural officials said pigs in Minnesota had tested positive for the H1N1 virus, or swine flu, the first such cases in the U.S.
In 2013, Congress passed legislation to avoid a threatened U.S. default and end the partial, 16-day government shutdown.
In 2017, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captured and held by the Taliban for five years after walking away from his post in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to desertion and endangering his comrades.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor-producer Tony Anthony is 86. Actor Barry Corbin is 83. Rock musician C.F. Turner (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 80. Rock singer-musician Bob Weir is 76. Producer-director David Zucker is 76. Record company executive Jim Ed Norman is 75. Actor Daniel Gerroll is 72. Actor Martha Smith is 71. Comedian-actor Andy Kindler is 67. Actor-director Tim Robbins is 65. Actor-musician Gary Kemp is 64. Singer-musician Bob Mould is 63. Actor Randy Vasquez is 62. Rock musician Flea (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 61. Movie director Kenneth Lonergan is 61. Actor Christian Stolte is 61. Actor Todd Stashwick is 55. Actor Terri J. Vaughn is 54. Singer Wendy Wilson (Wilson Phillips) is 54. Rock singer Chad Gray (Mudvayne) is 52. Actor Paul Sparks is 52. Actor Kellie Martin is 48. Singer John Mayer is 46. Actor Jeremy Jackson is 43. Actor Caterina Scorsone is 43. Actor Brea Grant is 42. U.S. Olympic and retired WNBA basketball star Sue Bird is 42. Actor Kyler Pettis is 31. Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper is 31. Tennis star Naomi Osaka is 26.
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