Events
of the day
69
– Second Battle of Bedriacum,
forces under Antonius
Primus, the commander
of the Danube armies,
loyal to Vespasian,
defeat the forces of
Emperor Vitellius.
1147 – After a siege
of 4 months crusader
knights led by Afonso
Henriques reconquered
Lisbon.
1260 – The spectacular
Cathedral of Chartres
is dedicated in the
presence of King Louis
IX of France; the cathedral
is now a UNESCO World
Heritage Site.
1260 – Saif ad-Din Qutuz,
Mamluk sultan of Egypt,
is assassinated by Baibars,
who seizes power for
himself.
1360 – The Treaty of
Brétigny is ratified
at Calais, marking the
end of the first phase
of the Hundred Years'
War.
1590 – John White, The
governor of the second
Roanoke Colony, returns
to England after an
unsuccessful search
for the "lost"
colonists.
1648 – The Peace of
Westphalia is signed,
marking the end of the
Thirty Years' War.
1795 – Partitions of
Poland: The Polish-Lithuanian
Commonwealth is completely
divided among Austria,
Prussia, and Russia
1812 – Napoleonic Wars:
The Battle of Maloyaroslavets
takes place near Moscow.
1851 – William Lassell
discovers the moons
Umbriel and Ariel (moon)
orbiting Uranus.
1857 – Sheffield F.C.,
the world's first football
club, is founded in
Sheffield, England.
1861 – The First Transcontinental
Telegraph line across
the United States is
completed, spelling
the end for the 18-month-old
Pony Express.
1901 – Annie Edson Taylor
becomes the first person
to go over Niagara Falls
in a barrel.
1911 – Orville Wright
remains in the air 9
minutes and 45 seconds
in a Wright Glider at
Kill Devil Hills, North
Carolina.
1912 – First Balkan
War: The Battle of Kumanovo
concludes with the Serbian
victory.
1917 – Battle of Caporetto;
Italy suffers a catastrophic
defeat by the forces
of Austria-Hungary and
Germany on the Austro-Italian
front of World War I
(lasts until 19 November
- also called Twelfth
Battle of the Isonzo).
1926 – Harry Houdini's
last performance, which
is at the Garrick Theatre
in Detroit, Michigan.
1929 – "Black Thursday"
stock market crash on
the New York Stock Exchange.
1930 – A bloodless coup
d'état in Brazil ousts
Washington Luís Pereira
de Sousa, the last President
of the First Republic.
Getúlio Dornelles Vargas
is then installed as
"provisional president."
1931 – The George Washington
Bridge opens to public
traffic.
1944 – World War II:
The Japanese aircraft
carrier Zuikaku, and
the battleship Musashi
are sunk in the Battle
of Leyte Gulf.
1945 – Founding of the
United Nations
1946 – A camera on board
the V-2 No. 13 rocket
takes the first photograph
of earth from outer
space.
1947 – Walt Disney testifies
before the House Un-American
Activities Committee,
naming Disney employees
he believes to be communists.
1949 – The cornerstone
of the United Nations
Headquarters is laid.
1954 – Dwight D. Eisenhower
pledges United States
support to South Vietnam
1957 – The USAF starts
the X-20 Dyna-Soar program.
1960 – Nedelin catastrophe:
An R-16 ballistic missile
explodes on the launch
pad at the Soviet Union's
Baikonur Cosmodrome
space facility, killing
over 100. Among the
dead is Field Marshal
Mitrofan Nedelin, whose
death is reported to
have occurred in a plane
crash
1964 – Northern Rhodesia
gains independence from
the United Kingdom and
becomes the Republic
of Zambia (Southern
Rhodesia remained a
colony until the next
year, with the Unilateral
Declaration of Independence)
1973 – Yom Kippur War
ends
1977 – Veterans Day
is observed on the fourth
Monday in October for
the seventh and last
time. (The holiday is
once again observed
on November 11 beginning
the following year.)
1980 – The government
of Poland legalizes
Solidarity trade union
1986 – Nezar Hindawi
is sentenced to 45 years
in prison, the longest
sentence handed down
by a British court,
for the attempted bombing
on an El Al flight at
Heathrow. After the
verdict, the United
Kingdom breaks diplomatic
relations with Syria,
claiming that Hindawi
is helped by Syrian
officials.
1990 – Italian prime
minister Giulio Andreotti
reveals to the Italian
parliament the existence
of Gladio, the Italian
"stay-behind"
clandestine paramilitary
NATO army, which was
implicated in false
flag terrorist attacks
implicating communists
and anarchists as part
of the strategy of tension
from the late 1960s
to early 1980s.
1998 – Launch of Deep
Space 1 comet/asteroid
mission
2002 – Police arrest
spree killers John Allen
Muhammad and Lee Boyd
Malvo, ending the Beltway
sniper attacks in the
area around Washington,
DC.
2003 – Concorde makes
its last commercial
flight.
2005 – Hurricane Wilma
makes landfall in Florida
resulting in 35 direct
26 indirect fatalities
and causing $20.6B USD
in damage.
2007 – Chang'e 1, the
first satellite in the
Chinese Lunar Exploration
Program, is launched
from Xichang Satellite
Launch Center.
2008 – "Bloody
Friday" saw many
of the world's stock
exchanges experience
the worst declines in
their history, with
drops of around 10%
in most indices.
Holidays
and observances
Christian
Feast Day:
Anthony Mary Claret
October 24 (Eastern
Orthodox liturgics)
Independence Day, celebrates
the independence of
Zambia from United Kingdom
in 1964.
Suez Day (Egypt)
United Nations Day,
the anniversary of the
1945 Charter of the
United Nations (International)
World Development Information
Day (International)
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