Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 12, the 285th day of 2022. There are 80 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 12, 1976, it was announced in China that Hua Guofeng had been named to succeed the late Mao Zedong as chairman of the Communist Party; it was also announced that Mao's widow and three others, known as the "Gang of Four," had been arrested.

On this date:

In 1492 (according to the Old Style calendar), Christopher Columbus' expedition arrived in the present-day Bahamas.

In 1792, the first recorded U.S. celebration of Columbus Day was held to mark the tricentennial of Christopher Columbus' landing.

In 1870, General Robert E. Lee died in Lexington, Virginia, at age 63.

In 1933, bank robber John Dillinger escaped from a jail in Allen County, Ohio, with the help of his gang, who killed the sheriff, Jess Sarber.

In 1971, the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway.

In 1973, President Richard Nixon nominated House minority leader Gerald R. Ford of Michigan to succeed Spiro T. Agnew as vice president.

In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing five people.

In 1986, the superpower meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, ended in stalemate, with President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev unable to agree on arms control or a date for a full-fledged summit in the United States.

In 2000, 17 sailors were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the destroyer USS Cole in Yemen.

In 2002, bombs blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants destroyed a nightclub on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians and seven Americans.

In 2007, former Vice President Al Gore and the U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Nobel Peace Prize for sounding the alarm over global warming.

In 2011, a Nigerian al-Qaida operative pleaded guilty to trying to bring down a jetliner with a bomb in his underwear; Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab defiantly told a federal judge in Detroit that he had acted in retaliation for the killing of Muslims worldwide.

Ten years ago: Thousands of supporters and opponents of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi clashed in Cairo's Tahrir Square in the first such violence since Morsi took office more than three months earlier. The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering peace on a continent long ravaged by war.

Five years ago: The Trump administration said it would "immediately" halt payments to insurers under the Obama-era health care law. President Donald Trump lashed out at hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico, saying the federal government can't keep sending help "forever" and suggesting that the U.S. territory was to blame for its financial struggles.

One year ago: The New Jersey Nets said Kyrie Irving could not play or practice with them until he could be a full participant; New York City required professional athletes to be vaccinated against COVID-19 in order to play or practice in public venues. (Irving would be allowed to rejoin the team for out-of-town games in January 2022, and for home games two months later.) The head of the Chicago police officers union called on its members to defy the city's requirement to report their COVID-19 vaccination status or be placed on unpaid leave. The Boeing Co. told employees they must be vaccinated against COVID-19 or possibly be fired. Florida issued its first fine to a county that it said had violated a new state law banning coronavirus vaccine mandates; Leon County was fined $3.5 million.

Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, is 90. Singer Sam Moore (formerly of Sam and Dave) is 87. Broadcast journalist Chris Wallace is 75. Actor-singer Susan Anton is 72. Pop/rock singer/songwriter Jane Siberry is 67. Actor Hiroyuki Sanada is 62. Actor Carlos Bernard is 60. Jazz musician Chris Botti is 60. R&B singer Claude McKnight (Take 6) is 60. Rock singer Bob Schneider is 57. Actor Hugh Jackman is 54. Actor Adam Rich is 54. R&B singer Garfield Bright (Shai) is 53. Country musician Martie Maguire (Courtyard Hounds, The Chicks) is 53. Actor Kirk Cameron is 52. Olympic gold medal skier Bode Miller is 45. Rock singer Jordan Pundik (New Found Glory) is 43. Actor Brian J. Smith is 41. Actor Tyler Blackburn is 36. Actor Marcus T. Paulk is 36. Actor Ito Aghayere is 35. Actor Josh Hutcherson is 30.