Today in History
Today is Saturday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2023. There are 64 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 28, 1922, fascism came to Italy as Benito Mussolini took control of the government.
On this date:
In 1636, the General Court of Massachusetts passed a legislative act establishing Harvard College.
In 1726, the original edition of “Gulliver’s Travels,” a satirical novel by Jonathan Swift, was first published in London.
In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy opened his first New York store at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan.
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.
In 1914, medical researcher Jonas Salk, who developed the first successful polio vaccine, was born in New York.
In 1919, Congress enacted the Volstead Act, which provided for enforcement of Prohibition, over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto.
In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt rededicated the Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary.
In 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of missile bases in Cuba; in return, the U.S. secretly agreed to remove nuclear missiles from U.S. installations in Turkey.
In 1991, what became known as “The Perfect Storm” began forming hundreds of miles east of Nova Scotia; lost at sea during the storm were the six crew members of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat from Gloucester, Massachusetts.
In 2001, the families of people killed in the September 11 terrorist attack gathered in New York for a memorial service filled with prayer and song.
In 2012, the San Francisco Giants won their second World Series title in three years, beating the Detroit Tigers to complete a four-game sweep.
In 2013, Penn State said it would pay $59.7 million to 26 young men over claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
In 2016, the FBI dropped what amounted to a political bomb on the Clinton campaign when it announced it was investigating whether emails on a device belonging to disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of one of Clinton’s closest aides, Huma Abedin, might contain classified information.
In 2018, The Boston Red Sox beat the Los Angeles Dodgers to win the World Series in five games.
In 2021, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said his company was rebranding itself as Meta, an effort to encompass its virtual-reality vision for the future, while keeping the same name for the social network itself.
In 2022, Tesla CEO Elon Musk took control of Twitter for $44 billion after a protracted legal battle and months of uncertainty.
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz singer Cleo Laine is 96. Actor Joan Plowright is 94. Actor Jane Alexander is 84. Actor Dennis Franz is 79. Actor Telma Hopkins is 75. Caitlyn Jenner is 74. Actor Annie Potts is 71. Songwriter/producer Desmond Child is 70. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is 68. The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE’-neh-zhahd), is 67. Rock musician Stephen Morris (New Order) is 66. Rock singer-musician William Reid (The Jesus & Mary Chain) is 65. Actor Mark Derwin is 63. Actor Daphne Zuniga (ZOO’-nih-guh) is 61. Actor Lauren Holly is 60. Talk show host-comedian-actor Sheryl Underwood is 60. Actor Jami Gertz is 58. Actor Chris Bauer is 57. Actor-comedian Andy Richter is 57. Actor Julia Roberts is 56. Country singer-musician Caitlin Cary is 55. Actor Jeremy Davies is 54. Singer Ben Harper is 54. Country singer Brad Paisley is 51. Actor Joaquin Phoenix is 49. Actor Gwendoline Christie is 45. Singer Justin Guarini (TV: “American Idol”) is 45. Pop singer Brett Dennen is 44. Actor Charlie Semine is 43. Actor Matt Smith is 41. Actor Finn Wittrock is 39. Actor Troian Bellisario is 38. Singer/rapper Frank Ocean is 36. Actor Lexi Ainsworth (TV: “General Hospital”) is 31. Actor Nolan Gould is 25.
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