Today in History: October 1962 gets tense

Today in History

Today is Monday, Oct. 22, the 295th day of 2018. There are 70 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 22, 1979, the U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment — a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage crisis.

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On this date:

In 1746, Princeton University was first chartered as the College of New Jersey.

In 1797, French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet over Paris.

In 1811, composer and piano virtuoso Franz Liszt was born in the Hungarian town of Raiding in present-day Austria.

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In 1928, Republican presidential nominee Herbert Hoover spoke of the “American system of rugged individualism” in a speech at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

In 1934, bank robber Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd was shot to death by federal agents and local police at a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio.

In 1962, in a nationally broadcast address, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet-built missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the Communist island nation.

In 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.

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In 1986, President Reagan signed into law sweeping tax-overhaul legislation.

In 1991, the European Community and the European Free Trade Association concluded a landmark accord to create a free trade zone of 19 nations by 1993.

In 2001, a second Washington, D.C., postal worker, Joseph P. Curseen, died of inhalation anthrax.

In 2002, bus driver Conrad Johnson was shot to death in Aspen Hill, Md., in the final attack carried out by the “Beltway Snipers.”

In 2014, a gunman shot and killed a soldier standing guard at a war memorial in Ottawa, then stormed the Canadian Parliament before he was shot and killed by the usually ceremonial sergeant-at-arms.

Ten years ago: Wall Street tumbled again as investors worried that the global economy was poised to weaken. The major indexes fell more than 4 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which finished with a loss of 514 points. The fishing vessel Katmai sank in the Bering Sea off Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, killing seven crewmen; four survived. India launched its first mission to the moon to redraw maps of the lunar surface. (India lost contact with its lunar satellite Chandrayaan-1 last August.) The Philadelphia Phillies won Game 1 of the World Series, defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 3-2.

Five years ago: The United States defended drone strikes targeting al-Qaida operatives and others, rejecting reports by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International questioning the legality of attacks that the groups asserted had killed or wounded scores of civilians in Yemen and Pakistan.

One year ago: The latest allegations of sexual harassment or assault in Hollywood targeted writer and director James Toback; the Los Angeles Times reported that he had been accused of sexual harassment by 38 women. U.S.-backed fighters in Syria captured the country’s largest oil field from the Islamic State group, marking a major advance against the extremists. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scored a major victory in national elections that decisively returned his ruling coalition to power.

Today’s Birthdays: Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale is 82. Actor Christopher Lloyd is 80. Actor Derek Jacobi is 80. Actor Tony Roberts is 79. Movie director Jan (yahn) de Bont is 75. Actress Catherine Deneuve is 75. Rock musician Leslie West (Mountain) is 73. Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is 71. Actor Jeff Goldblum is 66. Rock musician Greg Hawkes is 66. Movie director Bill Condon is 63. Actor Luis Guzman is 62. Actor-writer-producer Todd Graff is 59. Rock musician Cris Kirkwood is 58. Actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk is 56. Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano is 55. Christian singer TobyMac is 54. Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding (Wesley Stace) is 53. Actress Valeria Golino is 52. Comedian Carlos Mencia is 51. Country singer Shelby Lynne is 50. Reggae rapper Shaggy is 50. Movie director Spike Jonze is 49. Rapper Tracey Lee is 48. Actress Saffron Burrows is 46. Actress Carmen Ejogo is 45. Former MLB player Ichiro Suzuki is 45. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is 43. Christian rock singer-musician Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) is 42. Actor Michael Fishman is 37. Talk show host Michael Essany is 36. Rock musician Rickard (correct) Goransson (Carolina Liar) is 35. Rock musician Zac Hanson (Hanson) is 33. Actor Corey Hawkins is 30. Actor Jonathan Lipnicki is 28. Actress Sofia Vassilieva is 26. Actor Elias Harger is 11.

Thought for Today: “There is no such thing as notoriety in the United States these days, let alone infamy. Celebrity is all.” — Christopher Hitchens, Anglo-American author and essayist (1949-2011).