TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS SATURDAY, OCT. 17, the 291st day of 2020. There are 75 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany. In 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, New York, in a turning point of the Revolutionary War. In 1814, the London Beer Flood inundated the St. Giles district of the British capital as vats of beer ruptured, sending more than 320,000 gallons of liquid into the streets; up to nine people were reported killed. In 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted in Chicago of income tax evasion. (Sentenced to 11 years in prison, Capone was released in 1939.) In 1939, Frank Capra’s comedy-drama “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington,” starring James Stewart as an idealistic junior U.S. senator, had its premiere in the nation’s capital. In 1967, Puyi, the last emperor of China, died in Beijing at age 61. In 1973, Arab oil-producing nations announced they would begin cutting back oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974. In 1979, Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1989, an earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude struck northern California, killing 63 people and causing $6 billion worth of damage. In 1990, the Internet Movie Database (IMDb.com) was created. In 2007, President George W. Bush, raising Beijing’s ire, presented the Dalai Lama with the Congressional Gold Medal and urged Chinese leaders to welcome the monk to Beijing. In 2014, the World Health Organization acknowledged it had botched attempts to stop the Ebola outbreak in West Africa, blaming factors including incompetent staff, lack of information and budget cuts. TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Marsha Hunt is 103. Singers Jim Seals (Seals & Crofts) and Gary Puckett are 78. Actor Michael McKean is 73. Actor George Wendt is 72. Actor-singer Bill Hudson is 71. Astronaut Mae Jemison is 64. Country singer Alan Jackson is 62. Movie critic Richard Roeper is 61. Movie director Rob Marshall and actor Grant Shaud are 60. Animator Mike Judge is 58. Rock singer-musician Fred LeBlanc ( Cowboy Mouth) and actor-comedian Norm Macdonald are 57. Singer Rene’ Dif is 53. Reggae singer Ziggy Marley is 52. Actor Wood Harris, singer Wyclef Jean and World Golf Hall-of-Famer Ernie Els are 51. Singer Chris Kirkpatrick (‘N Sync) is 49. Rapper Eminem and actor Sharon Leal are 48. Actor Matthew Macfadyen is 46. Rock musician Sergio Andrade is 43. Actor Felicity Jones is 37. Actor Chris Lowell is 36. Actor Dee Jay Daniels is 32.