EVENTS
- 1781 – As their band played The World Turned Upside Down, the British Army marched out in formation and surrendered to the Americans at Yorktown. More than 7,000 British and Hessian troops, led by British General Lord Cornwallis, surrendered to General George Washington. The war between Britain and its American colonies was effectively ended. The final peace treaty was signed in Paris on September 3, 1783.
- 1789 – John Jay becomes the first Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court.
- 1914 – First Battle of Ypres. Part of the Battle of Flanders during the First World War, the First Battle of Ypres was fought in the Belgian city of Ypres. It was fought between German forces on one side and the Belgian, French and British troops on the other. Fighting continued until November 22, when harsh weather forced the two sides to take a break from the hostilities.
- 1943 – Streptomycin is Discovered. The miracle antibiotic that became the first line of offense against tuberculosis in the mid 20th century was isolated for the first time by graduate student Albert Schatz while working under Selman Abraham Waksman at Rutgers University. Schatz later sued Waksman to gain a portion of the profits and notoriety which came from the discovery. Waksman eventually received the Nobel Prize for the achievement. However, there was controversy as the award went to Waksman only.
- 1950 – Battle of Chamdo (Qamdo) Ends. Also known as the Liberation of Tibet in China, the war between China and Tibet began on October 6, when Chinese military forces under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping entered the country from Sichuan. At the end of the battle, the Chinese had taken over the border city of Chamdo. The battle was the starting point for negotiations between the two countries over the status of Tibet.
- 1954 – Cho Oyu Scaled for the First Time in Recorded History. The 6th highest mountain peak in the world, Cho Oyu is part of the Himalayan mountain range and lies on the Nepal-China border. It was scaled by Nepalese Pasang Dawa Lama and Austrians Joseph Jöchler and Herbert Tichy.
- 1960 – The US government places an embargo on Communist Cuba.
- 1985 – The first Blockbuster Video store opens in Dallas, Texas.
- 1987 – “Black Monday” occurred on Wall Street as stocks plunged a record 508 points or 22.6 per cent, the largest one-day drop in stock market history.
- 1990 – Beset by a seriously eroding economy, Soviet Russia’s President Mikhail Gorbachev won parliamentary approval to switch to a market economy.
- 2005 – Legendary Busch Memorial Stadium is closed and destroyed.
- 2005 – Trial of Saddam Hussein Begins. The Iraqi Special Tribunal started the trial of deposed President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein, and 7 other defendants for crimes against humanity. Hussein, who was the fifth President of Iraq was found guilty and was executed by hanging a year later on December 30, 2006.
BIRTHDAYS
- 1932 – Robert Reed (TV Actor – Brady Bunch)
- 1944 – Peter Tosh (Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist)
- 1945 – John Lithgow (Actor)
- 1946 – Philip Pullman (English author)
- 1958 – Michael Steele (American politician, 7th Lieutenant Governor of Maryland)
- 1962 – Evander Holyfield (Boxer)
- 1965 – Ty Pennington (TV Carpenter)
- 1970 – Chris Kattan (Actor SNL)
DEATHS
- 1216 – John, King of England.
- 1682 – Thomas Browne (English author)
- 1745 – Jonathan Swift (Irish author)
- 1813 – Józef Poniatowski (Polish general
- 1893 – Lucy Stone (American activist)