This Day in History
On this day in 1962, President John F. Kennedy alerted Americans to the Cuban missile crisis, declaring a naval blockade to prevent further missile shipments to the island country 90 miles (145 km) off the coast of the U.S.
More events on this day
2001: Two postal workers in Washington, D.C., died of pulmonary anthrax, two others were hospitalized with the disease, and a fifth, who worked at a different facility from the previous four, was diagnosed with pulmonary anthrax on October 25. It was believed that the victims contracted the disease from letters laced with the poisonous substance, an unexplained act of terrorism.
1934: Infamous criminal Charles (“Pretty Boy”) Floyd was fatally shot in a field near East Liverpool, Ohio, by FBI agents.
1836: Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first president of the Republic of Texas.
1797: André-Jacques Garnerin, an inspector in the French army who encouraged the use of balloons for military purposes, made a balloon ascent in order to give his first exhibition of parachuting, when he jumped from a height of about 3,200 feet (1,000 metres). |
