TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT Oct. 18, 1962

James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were honored with the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.

ON THIS DATE 1867

The United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.

1892

The first long-distance telephone line between New York and Chicago was officially opened (it could only handle one call at a time).

1898

The American flag was raised in Puerto Rico shortly before Spain formally relinquished control of the island to the U-S.

1961

The movie musical “West Side Story,” starring Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer, premiered in New York, the film’s setting.