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 Today's highlight in history:
On Oct. 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment shipped to Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet-built missile bases on the island.
On this date:
In 1746, Princeton University was first chartered as the College of New Jersey.
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 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first constitutionally elected president of the Republic of Texas.
In 1907, President Theodore Roosevelt visited The Hermitage, the Nashville, Tenn., home of the late President Andrew Jackson. (Years later, Maxwell House claimed that Roosevelt had praised a cup of its coffee during this visit by saying it was "good to the last drop.")
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.
In 1934, bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd was shot to death by federal agents at a farm in East Liverpool, Ohio.
In 1968, Apollo 7 returned safely, splashing down in the Atlantic Ocean.
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 Rongald Reagan signed into law sweeping tax-overhaul legislation.
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Ten years ago: For the first time, U.S. inspectors discovered E. coli bacteria in imported Canadian beef, halting shipments of 34,000 pounds. President Clinton presented a modest strategy to combat global warming by gradually reducing greenhouse gases over the next two decades. The Cleveland Indians tied the World Series at two games apiece as they beat the Florida Marlins, 10-3, in Game 4.
Five years ago: Bus driver Conrad Johnson was shot to death in Silver Spring, Md., in what would be the final attack linked by authorities to the Washington-area sniper attacks. Former CIA Director Richard Helms died in Washington, D.C., at age 89. The Anaheim Angels defeated the San Francisco Giants 10-4 to take a 2-games-to-1 edge in the World Series.
One year ago: Senior U.S. diplomat Alberto Fernandez apologized for saying in an al-Jazeera TV interview that U.S. policy in Iraq had displayed "arrogance" and "stupidity." The Detroit Tigers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 to tie up the World Series 1-1. Actor Arthur Hill died in Los Angeles at age 84.
Today's birthdays: Actress Joan Fontaine is 90. Nobel Prize-winning author Doris Lessing is 88. Actor Christopher Lloyd is 69. Actor Derek Jacobi is 69. Actor Tony Roberts is 68. Actress Annette Funicello is 65. Movie director Jan de Bont is 64. Actress Catherine Deneuve is 64. Rock musician Leslie West (Mountain) is 62. Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is 60. Actor Jeff Goldblum is 55. Movie director Bill Condon is 52. Actor Luis Guzman is 50. Actor-writer-producer Todd Graff is 48. Rock musician Cris Kirkwood is 47. Christian singer TobyMac is 43. Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding is 42. Actress Valeria Golino is 41. Comedian Carlos Mencia is 40. Country singer Shelby Lynne is 39. Reggae rapper Shaggy is 39. Rapper Tracey Lee is 37. Actor Michael Fishman is 26. Talk show host Michael Essany is 25. Rock musician Zac Hanson (Hanson) is 22. Actor Jonathan Lipnicki is 17. Actress Sofia Vassilieva is 15.
Thought for today: "There is only one real sin, and that is to persuade oneself that the second-best is anything but the second-best."
-- Doris Lessing, British Nobel Prize-winning author.
[Associated
Press]
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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