Today in history
On Oct. 19, 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value (its biggest daily percentage loss), to close at 1,738.74 in what came to be known as “Black Monday.”
In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress, meeting in New York, adopted a declaration of rights and liberties which the British Parliament ignored.
In 1781, British troops under Gen. Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, as the American Revolution neared its end.
In 1814, the first documented public performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” took place at the Holliday Street Theater in Baltimore.
In 1944, the U.S. Navy began accepting black women into WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).
In 1960, the United States began a limited embargo against Cuba covering all commodities except medical supplies and certain food products.
In 1977, the supersonic Concorde made its first landing in New York City.
In 1982, automaker John Z. DeLorean was arrested by federal agents in Los Angeles, accused of conspiring to sell $24 million of cocaine to salvage his business. (DeLorean was acquitted at trial on grounds of entrapment.)
In 2001, U.S. special forces began operations on the ground in Afghanistan, opening a significant new phase of the assault against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
In 2005, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent to charges of premeditated murder and torture as his trial opened under heavy security in the former headquarters of his Baath Party in Baghdad.
In 2008, retired Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican who was President George W. Bush’s first secretary of state, broke with the party and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, calling him a “transformational figure” during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
In 2017, Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello, meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House about a month after Hurricane Maria, described the situation in the island territory as “catastrophic”; Trump rated the White House response to the disaster as a “10.”
Ten years ago: The Justice Department issued a new policy memo, telling prosecutors that pot-smoking patients or their sanctioned suppliers should not be targeted for federal prosecution in states that allowed medical marijuana.
Five years ago: Pope Francis beatified Pope Paul VI, concluding a remarkable meeting of bishops debating family issues that drew parallels to the tumultuous reforms of the Second Vatican Council which Paul oversaw and implemented. An Associated Press investigation found that dozens of Nazis war criminals and SS guards had collected millions in U.S. Social Security pension payments after being forced out of the United States. Peyton Manning broke Brett Favre’s NFL record of 508 touchdown career passes as he threw four TD passes in Denver’s 42-17 victory over the San Francisco 49ers.
One year ago: In the first federal case alleging foreign interference in the 2018 midterm elections, U.S. authorities accused a Russian woman of helping oversee the finances of a sweeping effort to sway American public opinion through social media. On the same day, U.S. intelligence agencies asserted that Russia, China, Iran and other countries were engaged in continuous efforts to influence American policy and voters in the upcoming elections and beyond. No ticket matched all six numbers for an estimated $1 billion prize in the Mega Millions lottery drawing, sending the jackpot toward a record $1.6 billion for the next drawing four days later.