Today in History

Today in History

Today is Saturday, Oct. 10, the 284th day of 2020. There are 82 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 10, 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy was established in Annapolis, Maryland.

On this date:

In 1911, Chinese revolutionaries launched an uprising which led to the collapse of the Qing (or Manchu) Dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China.

In 1913, the Panama Canal was effectively completed as President Woodrow Wilson sent a signal from the White House by telegraph, setting off explosives that destroyed a section of the Gamboa dike.

In 1917, legendary jazz composer and pianist Thelonious Monk was born in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

In 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower apologized to the finance minister of Ghana, Komla Agbeli Gbdemah, after the official was refused seating in a Howard Johnson's restaurant near Dover, Delaware.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy, responding to the Thalidomide birth defects crisis, signed an amendment to the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act requiring pharmaceutical companies to prove that their products were safe and effective prior to marketing.

In 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, accused of accepting bribes, pleaded no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion, and resigned his office.

In 1985, U.S. fighter jets forced an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro to land in Italy, where the gunmen were taken into custody. Actor-director Orson Welles died in Los Angeles at age 70; actor Yul Brynner died in New York at age 65.

In 1997, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and its coordinator, Jody Williams, were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2001, U.S. jets pounded the Afghan capital of Kabul. President George W. Bush unveiled a list of 22 most-wanted terrorists, including Osama bin Laden

In 2004, Christopher Reeve, the "Superman" of celluloid who became a quadriplegic after a May 1995 horse riding accident, died in Mount Kisco, New York, at age 52.

In 2014, Malala Yousafzai, a 17-year-old Pakistani girl, and Kailash Satyarthi, a 60-year-old Indian man, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for risking their lives for the right of children to receive an education and to live free from abuse.

In 2016, amid controversy over Donald Trump's past sexual comments about women, House Speaker Paul Ryan effectively abandoned his party's nominee, telling anxious fellow lawmakers he would not campaign for or defend Trump in the election's closing weeks; pro-Trump members rebelled in anger, accusing Ryan of conceding the election to Hillary Clinton.

Ten years ago: President Barack Obama delivered one of his most stinging criticisms yet of the GOP record to several thousand people in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood as he urged voters not to sit out the midterm elections. Kim Jong Il's heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, joined his father at a massive military parade in his most public appearance since being unveiled as North Korea's next leader. Opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland, 83, died at her home in Switzerland.

Five years ago: Twin bombings in Ankara killed 103 people at a peace rally in the worst terror attack in Turkey's modern history. Jerry Parr, the Secret Service agent credited with saving President Ronald Reagan's life on the day he was shot outside a Washington hotel, died at age 85.

One year ago: Florida businessmen Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman, who had key roles in the efforts by Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani to launch a Ukrainian corruption investigation against the Bidens, were charged with federal campaign finance violations related to a $325,000 donation to a group supporting Trump's reelection; prosecutors said they'd been arrested while trying to board an international flight outside Washington with one-way tickets. (They have pleaded not guilty.) The University of Maine unveiled a 25-foot, 5,000-pound boat that had been created by the world's largest 3D printer, a demonstration showed that the boat was seaworthy. Michael Drejka, a white Florida man who told police that he was irritated by people who illegally park in handicapped spots, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the fatal shooting of an unarmed black man outside a convenience store.

Today's Birthdays: Former Illinois Sen. Adlai Stevenson III is 90. Actor Peter Coyote is 79. Entertainer Ben Vereen is 74. Actor Charles Dance is 74. Rock singer-musician Cyril Neville (The Neville Brothers) is 72. Actor Jessica Harper is 71. Author Nora Roberts (aka "J.D. Robb") is 70. Singer-musician Midge Ure is 67. Rock singer David Lee Roth is 66. Actor J. Eddie Peck is 62. Country singer Tanya Tucker is 62. Actor Julia Sweeney is 61. Actor Bradley Whitford is 61. Musician Martin Kemp is 59. Actor Jodi Benson is 59. Rock musician Jim Glennie (James) is 57. Actor Rebecca Pidgeon is 55. Rock musician Mike Malinin (Goo Goo Dolls) is 53. Pro Football Hall of Famer Brett Favre is 51. Actor Manu Bennett is 51. Actor Joelle Carter is 51. Actor Wendi McLendon-Covey is 51. Actor/TV host Mario Lopez is 47. Retired race car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 46. Actor Jodi Lyn O'Keefe is 42. Singer Mya is 41. Actor Dan Stevens is 38. Singer Cherie is 36. MLB outfielder Andrew McCutchen is 34. Actor Rose McIver is 32. Actor Aimee Teegarden is 31.