Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2018. There are 75 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 17, 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

On this date:

In 1610, French King Louis XIII, age nine, 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 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted in Chicago of income tax evasion. (Sentenced to 11 years in prison, Capone was released in 1939.)

In 1939, Frank Capra's comedy-drama "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starring James Stewart as an idealistic junior U.S. 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 1967, Puyi, the last emperor of China, died in Beijing at age 61.

In 1973, Arab oil-producing nations announced they would begin cutting back oil exports to Western nations and Japan; the result was a total embargo that lasted until March 1974.

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.

In 1992, Japanese exchange student Yoshi Hattori was fatally shot by Rodney Peairs in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after Hattori and his American host mistakenly knocked on Peairs' door while looking for a Halloween party. (Peairs was acquitted of manslaughter, but was ordered in a civil trial to pay more than $650,000 to Hattori's family.)

In 2000, the New York Yankees followed the Mets into the World Series, beating the Seattle Mariners 9-7 and winning the American League championship series four games to two.

Ten years ago: Wall Street ended a tumultuous week that turned out to be its best in five years. The Dow Jones industrial average lost 127 points, closing at 8,852.22, but turned in the strong week because of two huge days of gains -- a record 936-point jump the previous Monday and an increase of 401 points on Thursday. Four Tops frontman Levi Stubbs died in Detroit at age 72.

Five years 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.

One year ago: Just hours before President Donald Trump's latest travel ban was due to take effect, a federal judge in Hawaii blocked most of the ban, saying it suffered from the same flaws as the previous version. U.S.-backed Syrian forces gained control of the northern Syrian city of Raqqa, which was once the heart of the Islamic State group's self-styled caliphate.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Marsha Hunt is 101. Actress Julie Adams is 92. Country singer Earl Thomas Conley is 77. Singer Jim Seals (Seals & Crofts) is 76. Singer Gary Puckett is 76. Actor Michael McKean is 71. Actor George Wendt is 70. Actor-singer Bill Hudson is 69. Astronaut Mae Jemison is 62. Country singer Alan Jackson is 60. Movie critic Richard Roeper is 59. Movie director Rob Marshall is 58. Actor Grant Shaud is 58. Animator Mike Judge is 56. Rock singer-musician Fred LeBlanc (Cowboy Mouth) is 55. Actor-comedian Norm Macdonald is 55. Singer Rene' Dif is 51. Reggae singer Ziggy Marley is 50. Actor Wood Harris is 49. Singer Wyclef Jean is 49. World Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els is 49. Singer Chris Kirkpatrick ('N Sync) is 47. Rapper Eminem is 46. Actress Sharon Leal is 46. Actor Matthew Macfadyen is 44. Rock musician Sergio Andrade is 41. Actress Felicity Jones is 35. Actor Chris Lowell is 34. Actor Dee Jay Daniels is 30.

Thought for Today: "The thinking of a genius does not proceed logically. It leaps with great ellipses. It pulls knowledge from God knows where." -- Dorothy Thompson, American journalist (1894-1961).