Today in History: Oct. 12

Today is Saturday, Oct. 12, the 286th day of 2024. There are 80 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 12, 2002, bombs blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants destroyed two nightclubs on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people, many of whom were foreign tourists.

Also on this date:

In 1492, Christopher Columbus’s first expedition made landfall on what is now San Salvador Island in the Bahamas.

In 1870, General Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, Virginia, at age 63.

In 1960, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev protested remarks at the United Nations by pounding his shoe on his desk.

In 1968, Mexican track and field athlete Enriqueta Basilio became the first woman to light the Olympic flame at the opening ceremonies of the Mexico City Summer Games.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon nominated House minority leader Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to succeed Spiro T. Agnew as vice president.

In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing five people.

In 2000, 17 sailors were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.

In 2019, Eliud Kipchoge became the first person to run a marathon in less than two hours, crossing the finish line of the INEOS 1:59 Challenge in Vienna, Austria, with a time of 1:59:40.

Today’s Birthdays: NASCAR Hall of Famer Ned Jarrett is 92. Singer Sam Moore (Sam and Dave) is 89. Broadcast journalist Chris Wallace is 77. Actor Hiroyuki Sanada is 64. Jazz musician Chris Botti (BOH’-tee) is 62. Actor Hugh Jackman is 56. Country musician Martie Maguire (The Chicks) is 55. Actor Kirk Cameron is 54. Olympic gold medal skier Bode Miller is 47. Actor Josh Hutcherson is 32.

– Associated Press