TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SUNDAY, OCT. 22, the 295th day of 2017. There are 70 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 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.
In 1797, French balloonist AndreJacques 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 1926, Ernest Hemingway’s first novel, “The Sun Also Rises,” was published by Scribner’s of New York.
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 1953, the Franco-Lao Treaty of Amity and Association effectively made Laos an independent member of the French Union.
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 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 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.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actors Christopher Lloyd and Derek Jacobi are 79. Actor Tony Roberts is 78. Movie director Jan de Bont and actress Catherine Deneuve are 74. Rock musician Leslie West (Mountain) is 72. Actor Jeff Goldblum and rock musician Greg Hawkes are 65. Movie director Bill Condon is 62. Actor Luis Guzman is 60. Rock musician Cris Kirkwood is 57. Actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk is 55. Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano is 54. Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding is 52. Comedian Carlos Mencia is 50. Movie director Spike Jonze is 48. Actress Saffron Burrows is 45. Actress Carmen Ejogo and MLB player Ichiro Suzuki are 44. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is 42. Actor Michael Fishman is 36. Talk show host Michael Essany is 35. Rock musician Zac Hanson (Hanson) is 32. Actor Corey Hawkins is 29. Actor Jonathan Lipnicki is 27. Actress Sofia Vassilieva is 25.