Wednesday, October 14th
The 287th day of 2009.
There are 78 days left in the year.
Go to a previous date.
Go to lesson
Today's Highlights in History
On Oct. 14, 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. (Go to article.)
On Oct. 14, 1890, Dwight David Eisenhower, the 34th United States president and highly respected American general, was born. Following his death on March 28, 1969, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On October 14, 1905, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the New York City mayoral election of 1905. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1066 Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.
1890 Dwight D. Eisenhower, the 34th president of the United States, was born in Denison, Texas.
1933 Nazi Germany announced it was withdrawing from the League of Nations.
1944 German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.
1947 Air Force test pilot Charles E. Yeager became the first person to break the sound barrier when he flew the experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane over Edwards Air Force Base in California.
1960 Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy suggested formation of a Peace Corps during a talk at the University of Michigan.
1968 The first live telecast from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.
1977 Singer Bing Crosby died at age 73.
1979 Hockey Hall-of-Famer Wayne Gretzky of the Edmonton Oilers scored the first of his record 894 goals in a home game against the Vancouver Cancucks.
1986 Holocaust survivor and human rights advocate Elie Wiesel was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
1990 Composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein died at age 72.
1991 Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.
2003 John Allen Muhammad pleaded innocent to murder in the Washington-area sniper case. (He was later convicted and sentenced to death.)
2004 A suicide bomber killed four Americans in the U.S.-guarded "Green Zone" in Baghdad.
2006 The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for carrying out a nuclear test.
Current Birthdays
Ralph Lauren turns 70 years old today.
AP Photo/Richard Drew Fashion designer Ralph Lauren turns 70 years old today.
99 John Wooden
Hall of Fame basketball coach
93 C. Everett Koop
Former surgeon general
82 Roger Moore
Actor
72 Carroll Ballard
Director
71 John Dean
Former White House counsel
71 Melba Montgomery
Country singer
69 Cliff Richard
Singer
65 Udo Kier
Actor
57 Harry Anderson
Actor ("Night Court")
56 Greg Evigan
Actor ("My Two Dads")
54 Arleen Sorkin
TV personality ("America's Funniest People")
53 Beth Daniel
Golf Hall of Famer
51 Thomas Dolby
Rock singer, musician
48 Joe Girardi
Baseball manager
46 Lori Petty
Actress
44 Steve Coogan
Actor
44 Karyn White
R&B singer
39 Jon Seda
Actor
39 Doug Virden
Country musician
35 Natalie Maines
Country singer (Dixie Chicks)
34 Shaznay Lewis
Actress, singer
31 Usher
R&B singer, actor
30 Stacy Keibler
TV personality ("Dancing with the Stars")
29 Ben Whishaw
Actor
28 Jordan Brower
Actor
Historic Birthdays
Dwight David Eisenhower
10/14/1890 - 3/28/1969
34th president of the United States and supreme commander of World War II Allied forces in Europe
(Go to obit.)
62 Sir Peter Lely
10/14/1618 - 12/7/1680
English painter
67 James II
10/14/1633 - 9/16/1701
English king (1685-8)
73 William Penn
10/14/1644 - 7/30/1718
English Quaker and advocate for religious liberty; founded American colony of Pennsylvania
58 George Grenville
10/14/1712 - 11/13/1770
English first lord of the Treasury (1763-5)
62 Francis Lightfoot Lee
10/14/1734 - 1/11/1797
American revolutionary leader; signed Declaration of Independence
48 Ferdinand VII
10/14/1784 - 9/29/1833
Spanish king (1808, 1813-33)
67 Elwood Haynes
10/14/1857 - 4/13/1925
American industrialist
92 Eamon de Valera
10/14/1882 - 8/29/1975
Irish politician and patriot; prime minister (1932-48; 1951-4; 1957-9) and president (1959-73)
99 Lillian Gish
10/14/1893 - 2/27/1993
American actress
67 e. e. cummings
10/14/1894 - 9/3/1962
American poet
Go to a previous date.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
Front Page Image Provided by UMI
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Children's Privacy Notice