FRIDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Oct. 28, the 302nd day of 2016. There are 64 days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

On this date:

In 1636, the General Court of Massachusetts passed a legislative act establishing Harvard College.

In 1776, the Battle of White Plains was fought during the Revolutionary War, resulting in a limited British victory.

In 1914, Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip, whose assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, sparked World War I, was sentenced in Sarajevo to 20 years’ imprisonment.

In 1936, President Franklin D. Roosevelt rededicated the Statue of Liberty on its 50th anniversary.

In 1940, Italy invaded Greece during World War II.

In 1958, the Roman Catholic patriarch of Venice, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was elected Pope; he took the name John XXIII.

In 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of missile bases in Cuba; in return, the U.S. secretly agreed to remove nuclear missiles from U.S. installations in Turkey.

In1965, Pope Paul VI issued a Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions which, among other things, absolved Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

Ten years ago: President George W. Bush spoke by video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki as he sought to reaffirm support for the Iraqi leader.

Five years ago: Monks and soldiers piled sandbags outside Bangkok’s most treasured temples and palaces as Thailand’s worst floods in decades sent ankle-high water rushing briefly into some of the capital’s main tourist districts.

One year ago: Dennis Hastert pleaded guilty before a federal judge in Chicago to evading banking laws in a hush-money scheme.

Today’s Birthdays: Musician-songwriter Charlie Daniels is 80. Olympic track and field gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner is 67. Actress Annie Potts is 64. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is 61. Talk show host-comedian-actress Sheryl Under wood is 53. Actor-comedian Andy Richter is 50. Actress Julia Roberts is 49. Country singer Brad Paisley is 44. Actor Joaquin Phoenix is 42.

Thought for Today: “Next to excellence is the appreciation of it.” — William Makepeace Thackeray, British author (1811-1863).