Thursday, October 22nd
The 295th day of 2009.
There are 70 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Oct. 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island. (Go to article.)
On Oct. 22, 1920, Dr. Timothy Francis Leary, the American psychologist and writer who advocated the use psychedelic drugs, was born. Following his death on May 31, 1996, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On October 22, 1870, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about Russia's attempt to remilitarize the Black Sea, and its consequent threat to Turkey. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1746 Princeton University received its charter.
1797 French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet.
1844 Actress Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris.
1907 Baseball Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx was born in Sudlersville, Md.
1934 Bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd was shot to death by federal agents at a farm in East Liverpool, Ohio.
1954 West Germany joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
1962 President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island.
1968 Apollo 7, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard, returned to Earth.
1979 The U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment.
1981 The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.
2002 A bus driver was shot to death in Aspen Hill, Md., in the 13th and final attack by the Washington-area sniper.
2004 In a wrenching videotaped statement, kidnapped aid worker Margaret Hassan begged Britain to help save her by withdrawing its troops from Iraq, saying these "might be my last hours." (Hassan was later killed by her captors.)
2007 China's Communist Party gave President Hu Jintao a second five-year term.
Current Birthdays
Ichiro Suzuki turns 36 years old today.
AP Photo/Elaine Thompson Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki turns 36 years old today.
92 Joan Fontaine
Actress
90 Doris Lessing
Nobel Prize-winning author
71 Derek Jacobi
Actor
71 Christopher Lloyd
Actor ("Taxi," "Back to the Future" movies)
70 Tony Roberts
Actor
67 Annette Funicello
Actress
66 Jan de Bont
Director
64 Leslie West
Rock musician (Mountain)
62 Haley Barbour
Governor of Mississippi
57 Jeff Goldblum
Actor
54 Bill Condon
Actor
52 Luis Guzman
Actor
50 Todd Graff
Actor
49 Cris Kirkwood
Rock musician
44 John Wesley Harding
Rock singer, musician
43 Valeria Golino
Actress
42 Carlos Mencia
Comedian
41 Shelby Lynne
Country singer
41 Shaggy
Reggae rapper
40 Spike Jonze
Director ("Being John Malkovich," "Adaptation")
39 Tracey Lee
Rapper
37 Saffron Burrows
Actress ("Boston Legal")
34 Jesse Tyler Ferguson
Actor
28 Michael Fishman
Actor ("Roseanne")
26 Rickard Goransson
Rock musician (Carolina Liar)
24 Zac Hanson
Rock musician (Hanson)
19 Jonathan Lipnicki
Actor
17 Sofia Vassilieva
Actress ("Medium")
Historic Birthdays
Dr. Timothy Francis Leary
10/22/1920 - 5/31/1996
American psychologist and advocate of psychedelic drugs
(Go to obit.)
74 Franz Liszt
10/22/1811 - 7/31/1886
Hungarian pianist and composer
78 Collis Porter Huntington
10/22/1821 - 8/13/1900
American railroad magnate
32 John Reed
10/22/1887 - 10/19/1920
American radical journalist
85 George Wells Beadle
10/22/1903 - 6/9/1989
American geneticist
60 Constance Bennett.
10/22/1904 - 7/24/1965
American actress
44 Karl (Guthe) Jansky
10/22/1905 - 2/14/1950
American engineer
59 Jimmie Foxx
10/22/1907 - 7/21/1967
American professional baseball player
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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