Today in History

Today is Friday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2014. There are 75 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 17, 1814, the London Beer Flood inundated the St. Giles district of the British capital as a vat at Meux's Brewery on Tottenham Court Road ruptured, causing other vats to burst as well and sending more than 320-thousand gallons of beer into the streets; up to nine people were reported killed.

On this date:

In 1610, French King Louis XIII, age 9, was crowned at Reims, five months after the assassination of his father, Henry IV.

In 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, New York, in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

In 1807, Britain declared it would continue to reclaim British-born sailors from American ships and ports regardless of whether they held U.S. citizenship.

In 1919, Radio Corp. of America was chartered.

In 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion. (Sentenced to 11 years in prison, Capone was released in 1939.)

In 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

In 1939, Frank Capra's comedy-drama "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starring James Stewart as an idealistic junior senator, had its premiere in the nation's capital.

In 1941, the U.S. destroyer Kearny was damaged by a German torpedo off the coast of Iceland; 11 people died.

In 1956, the all-star movie "Around the World in 80 Days," produced by Michael Todd, had its world premiere in New York.

In 1961, French police attacked Algerians protesting a curfew in Paris. (Reports of the resulting death toll vary widely, with some estimates of up to 200.)

In 1979, Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1989, an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale struck northern California, killing 63 people and causing $6 billion worth of damage.

Ten years ago: The Iraqi militant group of terror mastermind Abu Musab al-Zarqawi declared its allegiance to Osama bin Laden. (Al-Zarqawi was killed in a U.S. airstrike in 2006.) Betty Hill, who claimed that she and her late husband, Barney, had been abducted, examined and released by extraterrestrials in 1961, died in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, at age 85.

Five years ago: Pakistani soldiers attacked militant bases in the main al-Qaida and Taliban stronghold along the Afghan border. Songwriter Vic Mizzy, 93, who'd composed the catchy themes for the 1960s sit-coms "The Addams Family" and "Green Acres," died in Bel Air, California.

One year ago: The government reopened its doors hours after President Barack Obama signed a bipartisan congressional measure passed the night before to end a 16-day partial shutdown. The Boston Red Sox edged the Detroit Tigers 4-3 for a 3-2 lead in the AL championship series.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Marsha Hunt is 97. Actress Julie Adams is 88. Newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin is 84. Country singer Earl Thomas Conley is 73. Singer Jim Seals (Seals & Crofts) is 72. Singer Gary Puckett is 72. Actor Michael McKean is 67. Actress Margot Kidder is 66. Actor George Wendt is 66. Actor-singer Bill Hudson is 65. Astronaut Mae Jemison is 58. Country singer Alan Jackson is 56. Movie critic Richard Roeper is 55. Movie director Rob Marshall is 54. Actor Grant Shaud is 54. Animator Mike Judge is 52. Rock singer-musician Fred LeBlanc (Cowboy Mouth) is 51. Actor-comedian Norm Macdonald is 51. Singer Rene' Dif is 47. Reggae singer Ziggy Marley is 46. World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els is 45. Singer Chris Kirkpatrick (‘N Sync) is 43. Rapper Eminem is 42. Singer Wyclef Jean is 42. Actress Sharon Leal is 42. Actor Matthew Macfadyen is 40. Rock musician Sergio Andrade is 37. Actor Chris Lowell is 30. Actor Dee Jay Daniels is 26.

Thought for Today: "The philosophies of one age have become the absurdities of the next, and the foolishness of yesterday has become the wisdom of tomorrow." -- Sir William Osler, Canadian physician and educator (1849-1919).

Copyright 2014, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.