Today in History

Today is Friday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2022. There are 78 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 14, 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

On this date:

In 1066, Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.

In 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial in England, accused of committing treason against Queen Elizabeth I. (Mary was beheaded in February 1587.)

In 1933, Nazi Germany announced it was withdrawing from the League of Nations.

In 1939, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship anchored at Scapa Flow in Scotland's Orkney Islands; 833 of the more than 1,200 men aboard were killed.

In 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel took his own life rather than face trial and certain execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

In 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. ("Chuck") Yeager became the first test pilot to break the sound barrier as he flew the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake in California.

In 1964, Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev was toppled from power; he was succeeded by Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and by Alexei Kosygin as Premier.

In 1981, the new president of Egypt, Hosni Mubarak, was sworn in to succeed the assassinated Anwar Sadat. Mubarak pledged loyalty to Sadat's policies.

In 1986, Holocaust survivor and human rights advocate Elie Wiesel was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1990, composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein died in New York at age 72.

In 2008, a grand jury in Orlando, Florida, returned charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter against Casey Anthony in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. (She was acquitted in July 2011.)

In 2016, a judge in Connecticut dismissed a wrongful-death lawsuit by Newtown families against the maker of the rifle used in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting massacre, citing a federal law that shielded gun manufacturers from most lawsuits over criminal use of their products.

Ten years ago: Extreme athlete Felix Baumgartner landed gracefully in the eastern New Mexico desert after a 24-mile jump from a balloon in the stratosphere in a daring, dramatic feat that officials said made him the first skydiver to fall faster than the speed of sound. Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Chuck Yeager, at the age of 89, marked the 65th anniversary of his supersonic flight by smashing through the sound barrier again, this time in the backseat of an F-15 which took off from Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. Former Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, 82, died in Philadelphia.

Five years ago: A truck bombing in Somalia's capital killed more than 500 people in one of the world's deadliest attacks in years; officials blamed the attack on the extremist group al-Shabab and said it was meant to target Mogadishu's international airport, but the bomb detonated in a crowded street after soldiers opened fire. The board of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revoked the membership of movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, after published reports about sexual harassment and rape allegations against Weinstein.

One year ago: New York real estate heir Robert Durst was sentenced in Los Angeles to life in prison without a chance of parole for the murder of a friend, Susan Berman, more than two decades earlier. (Durst died in prison in January 2022 at 78.) South Carolina state police said prominent attorney Alex Murdaugh had been arrested and charged with stealing insurance settlements that were meant for the sons of his late housekeeper. A work by British street artist Banksy that sensationally self-shredded just after it sold at auction three years earlier fetched more than $25 million -- a record for the artist, and close to 20 times its pre-shredded price.

Today's Birthdays: Classical pianist Gary Graffman is 94. Movie director Carroll Ballard is 85. Country singer Melba Montgomery is 85. Former White House counsel John W. Dean III is 84. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is 83. Singer Sir Cliff Richard is 82. Singer-musician Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) is 76. Actor Greg Evigan is 69. TV personality Arleen Sorkin is 67. World Golf Hall of Famer Beth Daniel is 66. Singer-musician Thomas Dolby is 64. Actor Lori Petty is 59. Former MLB player and manager Joe Girardi is 58. Actor Steve Coogan is 57. Singer Karyn White is 57. Actor Edward Kerr is 56. Actor Jon Seda is 52. Country singer Natalie Maines (The Chicks) is 48. Actor-singer Shaznay Lewis (All Saints) is 47. Actor Stephen Hill is 46. Singer Usher is 44. TV personality Stacy Keibler is 43. Actor Ben Whishaw is 42. Actor Jordan Brower is 41. Director Benh Zeitlin is 40. Actor Skyler Shaye is 36. Actor-comedian Jay Pharoah is 35. Actor Max Thieriot is 34.