Today in History

Today in History

Today is Sunday, Oct. 25, the 299th day of 2020. There are 67 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 25, 1910, “America the Beautiful,” with words by Katharine Lee Bates and music by Samuel A. Ward, was first published.

On this date:

In 1760, Britain’s King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II.

In 1854, the “Charge of the Light Brigade” took place during the Crimean War as an English brigade of more than 600 men charged the Russian army, suffering heavy losses.

In 1881, artist Pablo Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain.

In 1957, mob boss Albert Anastasia of “Murder Inc.” notoriety was shot to death by masked gunmen in a barber shop inside the Park Sheraton Hotel in New York.

In 1962, American author John Steinbeck was named winner of the Nobel Prize in literature.

In 1971, the U.N. General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan.

In 1983, a U.S.-led force invaded Grenada (greh-NAY’-duh) at the order of President Ronald Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there.

In 1986, in Game 6 of the World Series, the New York Mets rallied for three runs with two outs in the 10th inning, defeating the Boston Red Sox 6-5 and forcing a seventh game; the tie-breaking run scored on Boston first baseman Bill Buckner’s error on Mookie Wilson’s slow grounder. (The Mets went on to win the Series.)

In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, claimed that a Black carjacker had driven off with her two young sons (Smith later confessed to drowning the children in John D. Long Lake, and was convicted of murder). Three defendants were convicted in South Africa of murdering American exchange student Amy Biehl. (In 1998, all three were granted amnesty by South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.)

In 1999, golfer Payne Stewart and five others were killed when their Learjet flew uncontrolled for four hours before crashing in South Dakota; Stewart was 42.

In 2002, U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., was killed in a plane crash in northern Minnesota along with his wife, daughter and five others, a week and a-half before the election. Actor Richard Harris died in London at age 72.

In 2014, the World Health Organization said more than 10,000 people had been infected with Ebola and that nearly half of them had died as the outbreak continued to spread. Jack Bruce, 71, the bassist and lead vocalist of the 1960s power trio Cream, died in London.

Ten years ago: Afghan President Hamid Karzai (HAH’-mihd KAHR’-zeye) acknowledged receiving millions of dollars in cash from Iran, adding that Washington was giving him “bags of money” as well because his office lacked funds. In Indonesia, an earthquake triggered a tsunami off western Sumatra that killed hundreds and destroyed homes, mosques and other buildings.

Five years ago: Declaring that “today is a time of mercy,” Pope Francis closed a historic meeting of bishops that approved an important new direction in welcoming divorced and civilly remarried Catholics into the church. Six people were killed when a Canadian whale-watching boat capsized off Vancouver Island. Flip Saunders, 60, who rose from the backwaters of basketball’s minor leagues to become one of the most powerful men in the NBA as coach, team president and part owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, died in Minneapolis.

One year ago: A 40-day strike that crippled General Motors’ U.S. production came to an end as workers approved a new contract. Maria Butina, a Russian woman convicted in the United States of being a Russian agent, was deported to her home country after serving a prison sentence; the gun-rights activist had sought to infiltrate conservative U.S. political groups and promote Russia’s agenda around the time Donald Trump rose to power. The Pentagon awarded Microsoft a $10 billion cloud computing contract, snubbing early front-runner Amazon, whose competitive bid had drawn criticisms from President Donald Trump. (The start of the work was delayed as Amazon challenged the bidding process as flawed.) The Houston Astros won Game 3 of the World Series, the first to be played in Washington, D.C. in 86 years. Actor Felicity Huffman was released from a federal prison in California two days before the end of her two-week sentence for her role in the college admissions scandal.

Today’s Birthdays: Former American League president Dr. Bobby Brown is 96. Actor Marion Ross is 92. Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Knight is 80. Author Anne Tyler is 79. Rock singer Jon Anderson (Yes) is 76. Political strategist James Carville is 76. Singer Taffy Nivert (Starland Vocal Band) is 76. Rock musician Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest) is 73. Actor Brian Kerwin is 71. Actor Mark L. Taylor is 70. Movie director Julian Schnabel is 69. Rock musician Matthias Jabs is 64. Actress Nancy Cartwright (TV: “The Simpsons”) is 63. Country singer Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown) is 62. Rock musician Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers; Chickenfoot) is 59. Actor Tracy Nelson is 57. Actor Michael Boatman is 56. Actor Kevin Michael Richardson is 56. Actor Mathieu Amalric is 55. Singer Speech is 52. Actor-comedian-TV host Samantha Bee is 51. Actor Adam Goldberg is 50. Actor-singer Adam Pascal is 50. Rock musician Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies) is 50. Actor Persia White is 50. Country singer Chely (SHEL’-ee) Wright is 50. Actor Leslie Grossman is 49. Violinist Midori is 49. Actor Craig Robinson is 49. Actor Michael Weston is 47. Actor Zachary Knighton is 42. Actor Mariana Klaveno is 41. Actor Mehcad (muh-KAD’) Brooks is 40. Actor Ben Gould is 40. Actor Josh Henderson is 39. Rhythm-and-blues singer Young Rome is 39. Pop singer Katy Perry is 36. Rock singer Austin Winkler is 36. Singer Ciara is 35. Actor Krista Marie Yu (TV: “Dr. Ken”) is 32. Actor Rachel Matthews is 27. Actor Conchita Campbell is 25.