October 12th

Today's Highlight in History:
On October 12th, 1997, singer John Denver was killed in the crash of his privately built aircraft in Monterey Bay, California; he was 53.

On this date:
In 1492 (Old Style calendar; October 21st New Style), Christopher Columbus arrived with his expedition in the present-day Bahamas.

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

In 1915, English nurse Edith Cavell was executed by the Germans in occupied Belgium during World War One.

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

In 1942, during World War Two, President Roosevelt delivered one of his so-called "fireside chats" in which he recommended the drafting of 18- and 19-year-old men.

In 1942, Attorney General Francis Biddle announced that Italian nationals in the United States would no longer be considered enemy aliens.

In 1960, Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev disrupted a UN General Assembly session by pounding his desk with a shoe during a dispute.

In 1964, the Soviet Union launched a "Voskhod" space capsule with a three-man crew on the first manned mission involving more than one crew member.

In 1968, the summer Games of the 19th Olympiad officially opened in Mexico City.

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

Ten years ago: The UN Security Council voted unanimously to condemn Israel's security forces for killing 17 Palestinian demonstrators on the Temple Mount. The Cincinnati Reds won the National League pennant, defeating the Pittsburgh Pirates 2-to-1.

Five years ago: After a 48-hour delay, the US-brokered cease-fire in Bosnia-Herzegovina went into effect.

One year ago: Pakistan's military overthrew the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Ahmed H. Zewail of the California Institute of Technology won the Nobel Prize for chemistry; Dutch scientists Gerardus 't Hooft and Martinus J.G. Veltman won the Nobel Prize for physics. NBA Hall-of-Famer Wilt "The Stilt" Chamberlain died at his Los Angeles home at age 63.

"Matrimony is not a word, it's a sentence."

-- Eddie Cantor, American comedian-singer (1892-1964).