Today in History

Today in History

Today is Thursday, Oct. 22, the 296th day of 2020. 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.

On this date:

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.

In 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first constitutionally elected president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1883, the original Metropolitan Opera House in New York held its grand opening with a performance of Gounod's "Faust."

In 1906, French post-impressionist painter Paul Cezanne died in Aix-en-Provence at age 67.

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.

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

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, Maryland, 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: WikiLeaks released 391,831 purported Iraq war logs that suggested more than 100,000 Iraqi civilians had died in the conflict. A gang attacked a teenager's birthday party in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, killing 14 people. The Texas Rangers clinched their first pennant with a 6-1 victory over the defending World Series champion New York Yankees in Game 6 of the AL championship series.

Five years ago: Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton battled Republican questions in a marathon hearing that revealed little new about the 2012 attacks in Benghazi, Libya. Acting on word of an "imminent mass execution" by Islamic State militants, dozens of U.S. special operations troops and Iraqi forces raided a northern Iraqi compound, freeing approximately 70 Iraqi prisoners but losing one American service member. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., formally declared his candidacy for speaker of the U.S. House.

One year ago: A top U.S. diplomat, William Taylor, told House investigators that President Donald Trump had held back military aid for Ukraine unless the country agreed to investigate Democrats and a company linked to Joe Biden's family; the testimony provided lawmakers with a detailed new account of a quid-pro-quo central to the impeachment probe. Russia and Turkey reached an agreement to deploy their forces across nearly the entire northeastern border of Syria to fill the void left by the abrupt pullout of U.S. forces. Houston Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole suffered his first loss since May as the Washington Nationals took Game 1 of the World Series, 5-4. Kawhi Leonard scored 30 points in his debut for the Los Angeles Clippers in a season-opening win over LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, 112-102.

Today's Birthdays: Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale is 84. Actor Christopher Lloyd is 82. Actor Derek Jacobi is 82. Actor Tony Roberts is 81. Movie director Jan de Bont is 77. Actor Catherine Deneuve is 77. Rock singer/musician Eddie Brigati is 75. Rock musician Leslie West (Mountain) is 75. Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is 73. Actor Jeff Goldblum is 68. Rock musician Greg Hawkes is 68. Movie director Bill Condon is 65. Actor Luis Guzman is 64. Actor-writer-producer Todd Graff is 61. Rock musician Cris Kirkwood is 60. Actor-comedian Bob Odenkirk is 58. Olympic gold medal figure skater Brian Boitano is 57. Christian singer TobyMac is 56. Singer-songwriter John Wesley Harding (Wesley Stace) is 55. Actor Valeria Golino is 54. Comedian Carlos Mencia is 53. Country singer Shelby Lynne is 52. Reggae rapper Shaggy is 52. Movie director Spike Jonze is 51. Rapper Tracey Lee is 50. Actor Saffron Burrows is 48. Actor Carmen Ejogo is 47. Former MLB player Ichiro Suzuki is 47. Actor Jesse Tyler Ferguson is 45. Christian rock singer-musician Jon Foreman (Switchfoot) is 44. Actor Michael Fishman is 39. Talk show host Michael Essany is 38. New York Mets infielder Robinson Cano is 38. Rock musician Rickard Goransson (Carolina Liar) is 37. Rock musician Zac Hanson (Hanson) is 35. Actor Corey Hawkins is 32. Actor Jonathan Lipnicki is 30. Actor Sofia Vassilieva is 28. Actor Elias Harger is 13.