Today’s highlight in history
On Oct. 21, 2012, a man opened fire at the Brookfield Azana Salon & Spa where his estranged wife worked, killing her and two others and wounding four other women before turning the gun on himself.
On this date
In 1797, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also known as “Old Ironsides,” was christened in Boston’s harbor.
In 1805, a British fleet commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated a French-Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar; Nelson, however, was killed.
In 1892, schoolchildren across the U.S. observed Columbus Day (according to the Gregorian date) by reciting, for the first time, the original version of “The Pledge of Allegiance,” written by Francis Bellamy for The Youth’s Companion. In 1917, members of the 1st Division of the U.S. Army training in Luneville, France, became the first Americans to see action on the front lines of World War I. In 1941, Wonder Woman made her debut in All-Star Comics issue No. 8, published by All-American Comics of New York. In 1959, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened to the public in New York. In 1967, tens of thousands of Vietnam War protesters began two days of demonstrations in Washington, D.C. Ten years ago: Wildfires driven by powerful Santa Ana winds killed one person near San Diego and destroyed several homes and a church in Malibu. Five years ago: Former senator and 1972 Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, 90, died in Sioux Falls, S.D. One year ago: Cyberattacks on server farms of a key internet firm repeatedly disrupted access to major websites and online services including Twitter, Netflix and PayPal across the United States.