1415 – Battle of Agincourt: Henry V’s forces defeat larger French army and the longbow defeats the armoured knight
1854 – The infamous “Charge of the Light Brigade” during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War results in over 100 killed
1962 – US Ambassador to the UN Adlai Stevenson demands USSR UN rep Zorin answer regarding Cuban missile bases saying “I am prepared to wait for my answer until hell freezes over”
1971 – United Nations votes to expel the Chinese Nationalist ruled Taiwan and admit the Communist People’s Republic of China
1995 – Singer Cliff Richard receives his knighthood from Queen Elizabeth II, – 1st rock star to be knighted
2001 – Windows XP first becomes available
2004 – Fidel Castro, Cuba’s President, announces that transactions using the American Dollar will be banned by November 8
2012 – The double dip recession in the UK economy ends with growth of 1.0% in GDP in the third quarter of 2012, with help from the London Olympic Games
2017 – Chinese Premier Xi Jinping unveils his new ruling council in the Great Hall of the People, none of the five are young enough to succeed him
2018 – Flash floods near the Red Sea in Jordan kill 17 as a school bus is washed away
2020 – Chile overwhelmingly votes to scrap their constitution, drafted during dictatorship of General Augusto Pinochet
2020 – Pope Francis announces appointment of 13 new cardinals including 1st African American Wilton Daniel Gregory
Births & Deaths: 1981 – George Steinbrenner scuffles with 2 fans in a hotel elevator
Film & TV:
1978 – “Halloween”, directed by John Carpenter, starring Donald Pleasence and Jamie Lee Curtis in her film debut, is released
Music:
1875 – The first performance of the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky is given in Boston, Massachusetts with Hans von Bülow as soloist
1980 – Barbra Streisand’s “Guilty” album goes #1 for 3 weeks & her single “Woman In Love,” goes #1 for 3 weeks
Sport:
1964 – Dutchman Anton Geesink is 1st non-Japanese Olympic judo gold medal winner
