Today in History: Oct. 22

Some of 75 parachutists sail by Paris' Eiffel Tower Wednesday, Oct. 22, 1997 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first parachute jump. The first parachutist was a 28-year-old French physician named Andre-Jacques Garnerin. In 1797, he flew 1,300 feet above Monceau Park in Paris in a hot-air balloon, when he cut the balloon free and released a parachute that lowered him to the ground safely, except for a sprained ankle. Electric sign on the Eiffel Tower counts down the days until the year 2000. (APPhoto/Michel Lipchitz)
In 1797, French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet over Paris. In this image, some of 75 parachutists sail by Paris’ Eiffel Tower Wednesday, Oct. 22, 1997 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first parachute jump by Garnerin. (APPhoto/Michel Lipchitz)
Herbert Hoover
In 1928, Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover spoke of the “American system of rugged individualism” in a speech at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Herbert Hoover (1874 – 1964), 31st President of the United States from 1928 to 1932. (Photo by General Photographic Agency/Getty Images)
President John F. Kennedy as he appeared on a television set in New York City  Oct. 22, 1962 informing the American people of his decision to set up a naval blockade against Cuba. (AP Photo)
On October 22, 1962, in a nationally broadcast address, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet-built missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the Communist island nation.  (AP Photo)
Nassau Hall 1956
In 1746, Princeton University was first chartered as the College of New Jersey. (Getty Images/iStockphoto/Lawrence Long)
**ADVANCE FOR MONDAY FEB 2** Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd is shown in this 1932 photo, location not known. On the centennial of  Floyd's birth, the notorious bank robber and mass murderer is still remembered as a Robin Hood in his home states of Oklahoma and Arkansas, celebrated in pop culture and credited with bringing the FBI to prominence.  Floyd is immortalized in gangster lore and FBI records for the Kansas City Massacre of June 17, 1933, when he and another man shot two Kansas City police officers,two FBI agents and Frank Nash, a criminal Floyd was trying to spring from federal custody. (AP Photo/file)
In 1934, bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot to death by federal agents and local police at a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio. (AP Photo/file)
In 2014, a gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at a war memorial in Ottawa, then stormed the Canadian Parliament before he was shot and killed by the usually ceremonial sergeant-at-arms. FILE – In a Thursday, Oct. 23, 2014 file photo, Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers receives a standing ovation as he enters the House of Commons in Ottawa. The Canadian Press reported Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015 that Vickers, hailed as a hero for killing the gunman who stormed Canada’s parliament last year will be named ambassador to Ireland. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Adrian Wyld, File)
Ten years ago: Wall Street tumbled again as investors worried that the global economy was poised to weaken. The major indexes fell more than 4 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which finished with a loss of 514 points. FILE- In this Nov. 18, 2010, file photo traders gather near the post where General Motors Co. stock trades at the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 500, the stock market’s benchmark index, has climbed in the 12 months after each of the midterm elections going back to 1946. That’s 18 elections, many of which ended up shuffling the balance of power in Congress.   (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)
(1/7)
Some of 75 parachutists sail by Paris' Eiffel Tower Wednesday, Oct. 22, 1997 to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the first parachute jump. The first parachutist was a 28-year-old French physician named Andre-Jacques Garnerin. In 1797, he flew 1,300 feet above Monceau Park in Paris in a hot-air balloon, when he cut the balloon free and released a parachute that lowered him to the ground safely, except for a sprained ankle. Electric sign on the Eiffel Tower counts down the days until the year 2000. (APPhoto/Michel Lipchitz)
Herbert Hoover
President John F. Kennedy as he appeared on a television set in New York City  Oct. 22, 1962 informing the American people of his decision to set up a naval blockade against Cuba. (AP Photo)
Nassau Hall 1956
**ADVANCE FOR MONDAY FEB 2** Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd is shown in this 1932 photo, location not known. On the centennial of  Floyd's birth, the notorious bank robber and mass murderer is still remembered as a Robin Hood in his home states of Oklahoma and Arkansas, celebrated in pop culture and credited with bringing the FBI to prominence.  Floyd is immortalized in gangster lore and FBI records for the Kansas City Massacre of June 17, 1933, when he and another man shot two Kansas City police officers,two FBI agents and Frank Nash, a criminal Floyd was trying to spring from federal custody. (AP Photo/file)

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 22, the 295th day of 2019. There are 70 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 22, 1962, in a nationally broadcast address, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet-built missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the Communist island nation.

On this date:

In 1797, French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin (gahr-nayr-AN’) made the first parachute descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet over Paris.

In 1811, composer and piano virtuoso Franz Liszt was born in the Hungarian town of Raiding (RY’-ding) in present-day Austria.

In 1934, bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot to death by federal agents and local police at a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio.

In 1979, the U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment _ a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage crisis.

In 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.

In 1986, President Reagan signed into law sweeping tax-overhaul legislation.

In 1991, the European Community and the European Free Trade Association concluded a landmark accord to create a free trade zone of 19 nations by 1993.

In 1995, the largest gathering of world leaders in history marked the 50th anniversary of the United Nations.

In 1998, the government advised parents to remove the batteries from their kids’ “Power Wheels” cars and trucks, made by Fisher-Price, because of faulty wiring that could cause them to erupt into flame.

In 2001, a second Washington, D.C., postal worker, Joseph P. Curseen, died of inhalation anthrax.

In 2002, bus driver Conrad Johnson was shot to death in Aspen Hill, Md., in the final attack carried out by the “Beltway Snipers.”

In 2004, in a wrenching videotaped statement, aid worker Margaret Hassan, kidnapped in Baghdad, begged the British government to help save her by withdrawing its troops from Iraq, saying these “might be my last hours.” (Hassan was apparently killed by her captors a month later.)

Ten years ago: Mortars fired by Islamic militants slammed into Somalia’s airport as President Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed boarded a plane, sparking battles that killed at least 24 people; the president was unhurt. Gunmen kidnapped Gauthier Lefevre, a French staff member working for the International Committee of the Red Cross, in Sudan’s western Darfur region. (Lefevre was released in March 2010.) Comedian Soupy Sales died in New York at age 83.

Five years ago: A gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at a war memorial in Ottawa, then stormed the Canadian Parliament before he was shot and killed by the usually ceremonial sergeant-at-arms.

One year ago: President Donald Trump declared that the U.S. would start cutting aid to three Central American countries he accused of failing to stop thousands of migrants heading for the U.S. border. A bomb was found in a mailbox at the suburban New York home of liberal billionaire philanthropist George Soros; federal agents safely detonated the device after being summoned by a security officer.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up