October 24th

Today's Highlight in History:
On October 24th, 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.

On this date:
In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry the Eighth, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward the Sixth.

In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent as Justice Stephen J. Field of California transmitted a telegram to President Lincoln.

In 1901, Anna Edson Taylor, a 43-year-old widow, became the first person to survive going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

In 1939, nylon stockings were sold publicly for the first time, in Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1939, Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded their signature theme, "Let's Dance," for Columbia Records in New York.

In 1940, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

In 1952, Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declared, "I shall go to Korea" as he promised to end the conflict.

In 1962, the US blockade of Cuba during the missile crisis officially began under a proclamation signed by President Kennedy.

In 1980, the merchant freighter SS "Poet" departed Philadelphia bound for Port Said, Egypt, with a crew of 34 and a cargo of grain; it was never heard from again.

In 1987, 30 years after it was expelled, the Teamsters union was welcomed back into the AFL-CIO.

Ten years ago: The Senate failed to override President Bush's veto of a major civil rights bill by a vote of 66-to-34, one vote short of the two-thirds majority needed.

Five years ago: President Clinton and Chinese President Jiang Zemin met in New York, trying to stabilize relations shaken by disputes over human rights, trade and Taiwan. The Cleveland Indians got their first victory in the World Series, defeating the Atlanta Braves 7-to-6 in game three.

One year ago: An Israeli court sentenced American teen-ager Samuel Sheinbein to 24 years in prison for killing an acquaintance in Maryland in 1997. Senator John Chafee (Republican, Rhode Island) died at Bethesda Naval Hospital at age 77. The New York Yankees took game two of the World Series, defeating the Atlanta Braves, 7-to-2.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral, forty-eight percent indignation, and fifty percent envy."

-- Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974).