Today in History
Today is Monday, Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2023. There are 69 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 23, 1983, 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, were killed in a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon, while a near-simultaneous attack on French forces killed 58 paratroopers.
On this date:
In 1707, the first Parliament of Great Britain, created by the Acts of Union between England and Scotland, held its first meeting.
In 1910, Blanche S. Scott became the first woman to make a public solo airplane flight, reaching an altitude of 12 feet at a park in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
In 1915, tens of thousands of women paraded up Fifth Avenue in New York City, demanding the right to vote.
In 1942, during World War II, Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein (el ah-lah-MAYN’) in Egypt, resulting in an Allied victory.
In 1944, the World War II Battle of Leyte (LAY’-tee) Gulf began, resulting in a major Allied victory against Japanese forces.
In 1956, a student-sparked revolt against Hungary’s Communist rule began; as the revolution spread, Soviet forces started entering the country, and the uprising was put down within weeks.
In 1973, President Richard Nixon agreed to turn over White House tape recordings subpoenaed by the Watergate special prosecutor to Judge John J. Sirica.
In 1987, the U.S. Senate rejected the Supreme Court nomination of Robert H. Bork 58-42.
In 1989, 23 people were killed in an explosion at Phillips Petroleum Co.‘s chemical complex in Pasadena, Texas.
In 1995, a jury in Houston convicted Yolanda Saldivar of murdering Tejano singing star Selena.
In 2009, President Barack Obama declared the swine flu outbreak a national emergency, giving his health chief the power to let hospitals move emergency rooms offsite to speed treatment and protect non-infected patients.
In 2014, officials announced that an emergency room doctor who’d recently returned to New York City after treating Ebola patients in West Africa tested positive for the virus, becoming the first case in the city and the fourth in the nation. (Dr. Craig Spencer later recovered.)
In 2017, New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced a civil rights investigation into the Weinstein Co., amid sexual harassment and assault allegations against its founder, Harvey Weinstein.
In 2021, a driver lost control during a Texas drag racing event on an airport runway and slammed into a crowd of spectators, killing two children and injuring eight other people.
Today’s Birthdays: Movie director Philip Kaufman is 87. R&B singer Barbara Ann Hawkins (The Dixie Cups) is 80. Former ABC News investigative reporter Brian Ross is 75. Actor Michael Rupert is 72. Movie director Ang Lee is 69. Jazz singer Dianne Reeves is 67. Country singer Dwight Yoakam is 67. Community activist Martin Luther King III is 66. Movie director Sam Raimi is 64. Parodist “Weird Al” Yankovic is 64. Rock musician Robert Trujillo (Metallica) is 59. Rock musician Brian Nevin (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 57. Actor Jon Huertas is 54. Movie director Chris Weitz is 54. CNN medical reporter Dr. Sanjay Gupta is 54. Bluegrass musician Eric Gibson (The Gibson Brothers) is 53. Country singer Jimmy Wayne is 51. Actor Vivian Bang is 50. Rock musician Eric Bass (Shinedown) is 49. TV personality and host Cat Deeley is 47. Actor Ryan Reynolds is 47. Actor Saycon Sengbloh is 46. Rock singer Matthew Shultz (Cage the Elephant) is 40. TV personality Meghan McCain is 39. R&B singer Miguel is 38. Actor Masiela Lusha (MAH’-see-el-la loo-SHA’) is 38. Actor Emilia Clarke is 37. Actor Briana Evigan is 37. Actor Inbar Lavi is 37. Actor Jessica Stroup is 37. Neo-soul musician Allen Branstetter (St. Paul & the Broken Bones) is 33. Actor Taylor Spreitler is 30. Actor Margaret Qualley is 29. Actor Amandla Stenberg is 25.
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