Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Today in history
On Oct. 24, 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England’s King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI. In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia ended the 30 Years War and effectively destroyed the Holy Roman Empire. In 1861 the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent as Justice Stephen Field of California transmitted a telegram to President Abraham Lincoln.
In 1891 Rafael Trujillo, who would become dictator of the Dominican Republic from 1930 until he was assassinated in 1961, was born in San Cristobal, D. R.
In 1901 Anna Edson Taylor, a 43-year-old widow, became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel. In 1915 Bob Kane,
toonist best known the for car- creatingwas bornthe characterin New York. Batman, In 1931 the
ton Bridge, George connecting Washing-New Yorkto traffic.and New Jersey, opened
In 1940 the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
In 1945 the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.
In 1957 French fashion designer Christian Dior died in Montecatini, Italy; he was 52.
In 1962 the U. S. blockade of Cuba during the missile crisis officially began under a proclamation signed by President John F. Kennedy.
In 1972 Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, the first African-American baseball player in the modern major leagues, died in Stamford, Conn.; he was 53.
In 1989 former television evangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced by a judge in Charlotte to 45 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy. (The term later would be reduced to 8 years, then further reduced to 4 years for good behavior.) In 1990 the Senate failed to override President George H.W. Bush’s veto of a major civil rights bill by a vote of 66-34, one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed. In 1991 Gene Roddenberry, the creator of the “Star Trek” television series, died in Santa Monica, Calif.; he was 70. In 2000 Secretary of State Madeleine Albright ended two days of historic talks with North Kore’s Kim Jong Il, with the Communist leader indicating a willingness to restrain his country’s longrange missile program.
In 2002 Harry Hay, a founder of the gay rights movement in the United States, died in San Francisco; he was 90.
In 2004 a plane owned by top NASCAR team Hendrick Motorsports crashed near Martinsville, Va., killing all 10 people aboard. Also in 2004, Arizona’s/cq Emmitt Smith broke Walter Payton’s NFL record for 100-yard games rushing with his 78th.
In 2005 President George W. Bush nominated economic adviser Ben Bernanke to succeed Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve chairman. Also in 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died in Detroit; she was 92.
In 2014 Jaylen Fryberg, a freshman football player, shot to death four students and injured another student before killing himself at Marysville-Pilchuck High School in Marysville, Wash.