Today in history
Today is Sunday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2018. There are 64 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 28, 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. On this date: In 1726, the original edition of “Gulliver’s Travels,” a satirical novel by Jonathan Swift, was first published in London.
In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy opened his first New York store at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan.
In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.
In 1922, fascism came to Italy as Benito Mussolini took control of the government.
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. The Samuel Beckett play “Krapp’s Last Tape” premiered in London.
In 1965, 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.
In 1976, former Nixon aide John D. Ehrlichman entered a federal prison camp in Safford, Arizona, to begin serving his sentence for Watergate-related convictions (he was released in April 1978).
In 1980, President Jimmy Carter and Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan faced off in a nationally broadcast, 90-minute debate in Cleveland.
In 1991, what became known as “The Perfect Storm” began forming hundreds of miles east of Nova Scotia; lost at sea during the storm were the six crew members of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat from Gloucester, Massachusetts.
In 2002, American diplomat Laurence Foley was assassinated in front of his house in Amman, Jordan, in the first such attack on a U.S. diplomat in decades. A student flunking out of the University of Arizona nursing school shot three of his professors to death, then killed himself.
Ten years ago: Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced to four months in jail for his part in a sex-and-text scandal. (Kilpatrick ended up serving 99 days.)
Five years ago: Penn State said it would pay $59.7 million to 26 young men over claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. The Boston Red Sox beat the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 for a 3-2 World Series edge.
One year ago: During a visit to South Korea, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis warned that the threat of nuclear missile attacks by North Korea was accelerating; he accused the North of illegal and unnecessary missile and nuclear programs. Houston Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel was suspended for the first five games of the 2018 season for making a racist gesture toward Dodgers pitcher Yu Darvish after hitting a home run in Game 3 of the World Series off of Darvish, who was born in Japan.
Today’s Birthdays: Jazz singer Cleo Laine is 91. Actress Joan Plowright is 89. Musician-songwriter Charlie Daniels is 82. Actress Jane Alexander is 79. Actor Dennis Franz is 74. Pop singer Wayne Fontana is 73. Actress Telma Hopkins is 70. Olympic track and field gold medalist Caitlyn Jenner is 69. Actress Annie Potts is 66. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is 63. The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is 62. Rock musician Stephen Morris (New Order) is 61. Country/gospel singer-musician Ron Hemby (The Buffalo Club) is 60.