TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Thursday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2023. There are 73 days left in the year.
ON THIS DATE IN HISTORY
On Oct. 19, 2010, the Pentagon directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the nation’s history.
1781 — British troops under Gen. Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Va., as the American Revolution neared its end.
1814 — The first documented public performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” took place at the Holliday Street Theater in Baltimore.
1944 — The US Navy began accepting Black women into WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).
1953 — The Ray Bradbury novel “Fahrenheit 451,” set in a dystopian future where books are banned and burned by the government, was first published by Ballantine Books.
1977 — The supersonic Concorde made its first landing in New York City.
2001 — US special forces began operations on the ground in Afghanistan, opening a significant new phase of the assault against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
2003 — Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Tony Lo Bianco is 87. Artist Peter Max is 86. Author and critic Renata Adler is 86. Actor John Lithgow is 78. Feminist activist Patricia Ireland is 78. Singer Jeannie C. Riley is 78. Rock singer-musician Patrick Simmons (The Doobie Brothers) is 75. Actor Annie Golden is 72. Talk show host Charlie Chase is 71. Rock singer-musician Karl Wallinger (World Party) is 66. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is 65. Singer Jennifer Holliday is
63. Retired boxer Evander Holyfield is
61. Host Ty Pennington (TV: “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) is 59. Rock singer-musician Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 58. Actor Jon Favreau is 57. Amy Carter is 56. “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker is
54. Comedian Chris Kattan is 53. Rock singer Pras Michel (The Fugees) is 51. Actor Omar Gooding is 47. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 47. Writer-director Jason Reitman is 46. Actor Benjamin Salisbury is 43. Actor Gillian Jacobs is 41. Actor Rebecca Ferguson is 40. Rock singer Zac Barnett (American Authors) is 37. Singer-actor Ciara Renee (TV: “Legends of Tomorrow”) is 33. Actor Hunter King is 30.