Today in History

Today is Thursday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2021. There are 64 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 28, 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

On this date:

In 1636, the General Court of Massachusetts passed a legislative act establishing Harvard College.

In 1858, Rowland Hussey Macy opened his first New York store at Sixth Avenue and 14th Street in Manhattan.

In 1914, medical researcher Jonas Salk, who developed the first successful polio vaccine, was born in New York.

In 1922, fascism came to Italy as Benito Mussolini took control of the government.

In 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of missile bases in Cuba; in return, the U.S. secretly agreed to remove nuclear missiles from U.S. installations in Turkey.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter and Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan faced off in a nationally broadcast, 90-minute debate in Cleveland.

In 1991, what became known as "The Perfect Storm" began forming hundreds of miles east of Nova Scotia; lost at sea during the storm were the six crew members of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat from Gloucester, Massachusetts.

In 1996, Richard Jewell, cleared of committing the Olympic park bombing, held a news conference in Atlanta in which he thanked his mother for standing by him and lashed out at reporters and investigators who'd depicted him as the bomber, who turned out to be Eric Rudolph.

In 2001, the families of people killed in the September 11 terrorist attack gathered in New York for a memorial service filled with prayer and song.

In 2002, American diplomat Laurence Foley was assassinated in front of his house in Amman, Jordan, in the first such attack on a U.S. diplomat in decades. A student flunking out of the University of Arizona nursing school shot three of his professors to death, then killed himself.

In 2012, airlines canceled more than 7,000 flights in advance of Hurricane Sandy, transit systems in New York, Philadelphia and Washington were shut down, and forecasters warned the New York area could see an 11-foot wall of water.

In 2013, Penn State said it would pay $59.7 million to 26 young men over claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Ten years ago: NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled all NBA games through November after labor negotiations broke down for the second time in a week. The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7.

Five years ago: The FBI dropped what amounted to a political bomb on the Clinton campaign when it announced it was investigating whether emails on a device belonging to disgraced ex-congressman Anthony Weiner, the estranged husband of one of Clinton's closest aides, Huma Abedin, might contain classified information.

One year ago: Miles Taylor, a former chief of staff at the Department of Homeland Security, revealed that he was the former Trump administration official who had written a scathing anti-Trump op-ed and book under the pen name "Anonymous"; the White House labeled him a "low-level, disgruntled former staffer." Hurricane Zeta pounded New Orleans and much of the Gulf Coast with heavy rain and howling winds before making its way through Mississippi and Alabama. France announced a full nationwide lockdown for the second time in 2020, and German officials imposed a partial four-week lockdown as governments across Europe sought to stop a fast-rising tide of coronavirus cases.

Today's Birthdays: Jazz singer Cleo Laine is 94. Actor Joan Plowright is 92. Actor Jane Alexander is 82. Actor Dennis Franz is 77. Actor Telma Hopkins is 73. Caitlyn Jenner is 72. Actor Annie Potts is 69. Songwriter/producer Desmond Child is 68. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is 66. The former president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is 65. Rock musician Stephen Morris (New Order) is 64. Rock singer-musician William Reid (The Jesus & Mary Chain) is 63. Actor Mark Derwin is 61. Actor Daphne Zuniga is 59. Actor Lauren Holly is 58. Talk show host-comedian-actor Sheryl Underwood is 58. Actor Jami Gertz is 56. Actor Chris Bauer is 55. Actor-comedian Andy Richter is 55. Actor Julia Roberts is 54. Country singer-musician Caitlin Cary is 53. Actor Jeremy Davies is 52. Singer Ben Harper is 52. Country singer Brad Paisley is 49. Actor Joaquin Phoenix is 47. Actor Gwendoline Christie is 43. Singer Justin Guarini (TV: "American Idol") is 43. Pop singer Brett Dennen is 42. Actor Charlie Semine is 41. Actor Matt Smith is 39. Actor Finn Wittrock is 37. Actor Troian Bellisario is 36. Singer/rapper Frank Ocean is 34. Actor Lexi Ainsworth (TV: "General Hospital") is 29. Actor Nolan Gould is 23.