TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS SATURDAY, OCT. 16, the 289th day of 2021. There are 76 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the U.S. arsenal at Harpers Ferry in what was then a part of western Virginia. (Ten of Brown’s men were killed and five escaped. Brown and six followers were captured; all were executed.)
In 1793, during the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded.
In 1962, the Cuban missile crisis began as President John F. Kennedy was informed that reconnaissance photographs had revealed the presence of missile bases in Cuba.
In 1968, American athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos sparked controversy at the Mexico City Olympics by giving “Black power” salutes during a victory ceremony after they’d won gold and bronze medals in the 200-meter race.
In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to be the new pope; he took the name John Paul II.
In 1991, a deadly shooting rampage took place in Killeen, Texas, as a gunman opened fire at a Luby’s Cafeteria, killing 23 people before taking his own life. In 1995, a vast throng of Black men gathered in Washington, D.C., for the “Million Man March” led by Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
In 2002, President George W. Bush signed a congressional resolution authorizing war against Iraq.
In 2017, Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who had been captured and held by the Taliban for five years after walking away from his post in Afghanistan, pleaded guilty to desertion and endangering his comrades. (A military judge later decided not to send him to prison.)
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actor Angela Lansbury is 96. Actor Peter Bowles is 85. Actor-producer Tony Anthony is 84. Sportscaster Tim McCarver is 80. Rock musician C.F. Turner (Bachman-Turner Overdrive) is 78. Actor Suzanne Somers is 75. Rock singer-musician Bob Weir and producer-director David Zucker are 74. Actor Martha Smith is 69. Actor-director Tim Robbins is 63. Actor-musician Gary Kemp is 62. Singer-musician Bob Mould is 61. Rock musician Flea is 59. Actor Terri J. Vaughn and singer Wendy Wilson (Wilson Phillips) are 52. Actor Kellie Martin is 46. Singer John Mayer is 44. Actor Brea Grant and U.S. Olympic and WNBA basketball star Sue Bird are 40. Actor Kyler Pettis and Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Bryce Harper are 29. Tennis star Naomi Osaka is 24.