TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS FRIDAY, OCT. 25, the 298th day of 2019. There are 67 days left in the year.
ON THIS DATE IN 1971, the U.N. General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan. In 1760, Britain’s King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II.
In 1812, the frigate USS United States, commanded by Stephen Decatur, captured the British vessel HMS Macedonian during the War of 1812.
In 1854, the “Charge of the Light Brigade” took place during the Crimean War as an English brigade of more than 600 men charged the Russian army, suffering heavy losses.
In 1910, “America the Beautiful,” with words by Katharine Lee Bates and music by Samuel A. Ward, was first published.
In 1954, a meeting of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Cabinet was carried live on radio and television.
In 1962, during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II demanded that Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin confirm or deny the existence of Sovietbuilt missile bases in Cuba; Stevenson then presented photographic evidence of the bases to the Council.
In 1964, The Rolling Stones made the first of six appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
In 1983, a U.S.-led force invaded Grenada at the order of President Ronald Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there.
In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, claimed that a black carjacker had driven off with her two young sons.
Smith later confessed to drowning the children in John D. Long Lake, and was convicted of murder. Three defendants were convicted in South Africa of murdering American exchange student Amy Biehl. In 1998, all three were granted amnesty by South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
In 1999, golfer Payne Stewart and five others were killed when their Learjet flew uncontrolled for four hours before crashing in South Dakota; Stewart was 42.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Marion Ross is 91. Basketball Hall-of-Famer Bob Knight is 79. Pop singer Helen Reddy and author Anne Tyler are
78. Rock singer Jon Anderson (Yes), political strategist James Carville and singer Taffy Nivert (Starland Vocal Band) are 75. Rock musician Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest) is 72. Actor Brian Kerwin is 70. Actor Mark L. Taylor is 69. Movie director Julian Schnabel is 68. Rock musician Matthias Jabs is 63. Actress Nancy Cartwright (TV: “The Simpsons”) is 62. Country singer Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown) is 61. Rock musician Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers; Chickenfoot) is 58. Actress Tracy Nelson is 56. Actors Michael Boatman and Kevin Michael Richardson are 55. Actor Mathieu Amalric is 54. Actress Leslie Grossman, violinist Midori and actor Craig Robinson are 48. Actor Zachary Knighton is 41. Actress Mariana Klaveno is 40. Actors Mehcad Brooks and Ben Gould are 39. Pop singer Katy Perry and rock singer Austin Winkler are 35. Singer Ciara is 34. Actress Conchita Campbell is 24.