On This Day in History - October 29th 1618 - Sir Walter Raleigh is executed. After the death of Queen Elizabeth, Raleighs enemies spread rumors that he was opposed the accession of King James. 1814 - The Demologos, the first steam-powered warship, launched in New York City. 1901 - Leon Czolgosz is electrocuted for the assassination of US President William McKinley. Czolgosz, an anarchist, shot McKinley on September 6 during a public reception at the Temple of Music in Buffalo, N.Y. Despite early hopes of recovery, McKinley died September 14, in Buffalo, NY. 1927 - Russian archaeologist Peter Kozloff apparently uncovers the tomb of Genghis Khan in the Gobi Desert, a claim still in dispute. 1929 - Black Tuesday–the most catastrophic day in stock market history, the herald of the Great Depression. 16 million shares were sold at declining prices. By mid-November $30 billion of the $80 billion worth of stocks listed in September will have been wiped out. 1964 - Thieves steal a jewel collection–including the worlds largest sapphire, the 565-carat Star of India, and the 100-carat DeLong ruby–from the Museum of Natural History in New York. The thieves were caught and most of the jewels recovered. 1969 - The U.S. Supreme Court orders immediate desegregation, superseding the previous with all deliberate speed ruling. 1969 - First computer-to-computer link; the link is accomplished through ARPANET, forerunner of the Internet. 1972 - Palestinian guerrillas kill an airport employee and hijack a plane, carrying 27 passengers, to Cuba. They force West Germany to release 3 terrorists who were involved in the Munich Massacre. 1998 - John Glenn, at age 77, becomes the oldest person to go into outer space. He is part of the crew of Space Shuttle Discovery, STS-95. 2008 - Delta and Northwest airlines merge, forming the worlds largest airline. 2012 - Hurricane Sandy devastates much of the East Coast of the US; nearly 300 die directly or indirectly from the storm. Born on This Day - October 29th 1897 - Joseph G. Göbbels, German Nazi Propaganda Minister who committed suicide in Hitlers bunker. 1921 - Bill Maudlin, American cartoonist whose GI characters Willie and Joe appeared in Stars and Stripes newspapers during World War II. 1943 - Don Simpson, film producer, screenwriter, actor; (co-producer Flashdance, 1985; Top Gun, 1986). 1945 - Melba Moore, disco and R&B singer, actress (You Stepped into My Life, Lean on Me). 1946 - Peter Green, guitarist, songwriter, founder of the band Fleetwood Mac; regarded as one of the greatest guitarists of all time. 1947 - Richard Dreyfuss, actor (American Graffiti, Jaws; won Academy Award for Best Actor for 1977s The Goodbye Girl). 1948 - Kate Jackson, actress, director, producer (original Charlies Angels TV series, Scarecrow and Mrs. King TV series). 1954 - Lee Child, author; creator of the Jack Reacher novel series. 1958 - David Remnick, journals, author, magazine editor (The New Yorker); won Pulitzer Prize for Lenins Tomb: The Last Days of the Soviet Empire (1994). 1971 - Winona Ryder, actress, producer (Beetlejuice; Girl, Interrupted).
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 12:58:28 +0000