Today In History

Today is Friday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2018. There are 73 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

› 1789: John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States.

ON THIS DATE

› 1781: British troops under Gen. Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Va., as the American Revolution neared its end.

› 1944: The U.S. Navy began accepting black women into WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).

› 1953: The Ray Bradbury novel “Fahrenheit 451,” set in a dystopian future where books are banned and burned by the government, was first published by Ballantine Books.

› 1967: The U.S. space probe Mariner 5 flew past Venus.

› 1977: The supersonic Concorde made its first landing in New York City.

› 1987: The stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value (its biggest daily percentage loss), to close at 1,738.74 in what came to be known as “Black Monday.”

› 2001: U.S. special forces began operations on the ground in Afghanistan, opening a significant new phase of the assault against the Taliban and al-Qaida.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Author John le Carre is

87. Artist Peter Max is 81. Author and critic Renata Adler is 81. Actor Michael Gambon is 78. Actor John Lithgow is 73. Rock singer-musician Patrick Simmons (The Doobie Brothers) is 70. Talk show host Charlie Chase is 66. Rock singer-musician Karl Wallinger (World Party) is 61. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is 60. Rock singer-musician Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 53. Actor Jon Favreau is 52. Amy Carter is 51. “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker is 49. Comedian Chris Kattan is 48. Rock singer Pras Michel (The Fugees) is 46. Actor Omar Gooding is 42. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 42. Writer-director Jason Reitman is 41. Actor Benjamin Salisbury is 38. Actress Gillian Jacobs is

36. Actress Rebecca Ferguson is 35. Rock singer Zac Barnett (American Authors) is 32. Singer-actress Ciara Renee (TV: “Legends of Tomorrow”) is 28. Actress Hunter King is 25.