TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS MONDAY, OCT. 29, the 302nd day of 2018. There are 63 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1929, “Black Tuesday” descended upon the New York Stock Exchange. Prices collapsed amid panic selling and thousands of investors were wiped out as America’s “Great Depression” began.
In 1923, the Republic of Turkey was proclaimed.
In 1956, during the Suez Canal crisis, Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” premiered as NBC’s nightly television newscast.
In 1960, a chartered plane carrying the California Polytechnic State University football team crashed on takeoff in Toledo, Ohio, killing 22 of the 48 people on board.
In 1964, thieves made off with the Star of India and other gems from the American Museum of Natural History in New York. The Star and most of the other gems were recovered; three men were convicted of stealing them.
In 1979, on the 50th anniversary of the great stock market crash, anti-nuclear protesters tried but failed to shut down the New York Stock Exchange.
In 1987, following the confirmation defeat of Robert H. Bork to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Douglas H. Ginsburg, a nomination that fell apart over revelations of Ginsburg’s previous marijuana use. Jazz great Woody Herman died in Los Angeles at age 74.
In 1998, Sen. John Glenn, at age 77, roared back into space aboard the shuttle Discovery, retracing the trail he’d
blazed for America’s astronauts 36 years earlier.
In 2004, Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he’d ordered the Sept. 11 attacks and told America “the best way to avoid another Manhattan” was to stop threatening Muslims’ security.
In 2012, Superstorm Sandy slammed ashore in New Jersey and slowly marched inland, devastating coastal communities and causing widespread power outages; the storm and its aftermath were blamed for at least 182 deaths in the U.S.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Bluegrass singer-musician Sonny Osborne (The Osborne Brothers) is 81. Former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is 80. Country singer Lee Clayton is 76. Rock musician Denny Laine is 74. Singer Melba Moore is 73. Musician Peter Green is 72. Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 71. Actress Kate Jackson is 70. Country musician Steve Kellough (Wild Horses) is 62. Actor Dan Castellaneta (TV: “The Simpsons”) and comic strip artist Tom Wilson (“Ziggy”) are 61. Actress Finola Hughes is 59. Singer Randy Jackson is 57. Rock musician Peter Timmins (Cowboy Junkies) is 53. Actress Joely Fisher is 51. Actress Winona Ryder is 47. Actresses Tracee Ellis Ross and Gabrielle Union are 46. Actor Trevor Lissauer and Olympic gold medal bobsledder Vonetta Flowers are 45. Actress Milena Govich is 42. Actors Jon Abrahams and Brendan Fehr are 41. Actor Ben Foster is 38. Rock musician Chris Baio (Vampire Weekend) is 34. Actress India Eisley is 25.