On this day, Oct. 17

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.

1919 Frank Conrad began regular broadcasting of phonograph records on station 8XK.

1979 The Pirates defeated the Baltimore Orioles, 4- 1, in the seventh and deciding game to win the 1979 World Series at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

1997 The Pennsylvania General Assembly authorized the spending of $ 16 million for the construction of a 72- mile segment of the bike path that would eventually connect Pittsburgh with Washington, D. C.

2018 Residents of the Florida Panhandle community of Mexico Beach who had fled Hurricane Michael a week earlier returned home to find homes, businesses and campers ripped to shreds; the storm had killed at least 59 people and caused more than $ 25 billion in damage in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.

Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s “Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” ( digital. library. pitt. edu/ chronology).