Today in History: October 19, U.S. military begins accepting openly gay recruits
Today in History
Today is Thursday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2023. There are 73 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 19, 2010, the Pentagon directed the military to accept openly gay recruits for the first time in the nation’s history.
On this date:
In 1781, British troops under Gen. Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, as the American Revolution neared its end.
In 1814, the first documented public performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” took place at the Holliday Street Theater in Baltimore.
In 1944, the U.S. Navy began accepting Black women into WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).
In 1950, during the Korean Conflict, United Nations forces entered the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
In 1953, the Ray Bradbury novel “Fahrenheit 451,” set in a dystopian future where books are banned and burned by the government, was first published by Ballantine Books.
In 1960, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested during a sit-down protest at a lunch counter in Atlanta. (Sent to prison for a parole violation over a traffic offense, King was released after three days following an appeal by Robert F. Kennedy.)
In 1977, the supersonic Concorde made its first landing in New York City.
In 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value (its biggest daily percentage loss), to close at 1,738.74 in what came to be known as “Black Monday.”
In 1990, Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Dances with Wolves” had its world premiere in Washington, D.C.
In 2001, U.S. special forces began operations on the ground in Afghanistan, opening a significant new phase of the assault against the Taliban and al-Qaida.
In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Square.
In 2013, British actor and musician Noel Harrison, who sang the Academy Award-winning ballad “The Windmills of Your Mind,” died in Devon, England, at age 79.
In 2016, in the third and final 2016 presidential debate, Republican Donald Trump stunned the forum in Las Vegas by refusing to say he would accept the results of the election if he were to lose.
In 2021, a House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection voted unanimously to hold former White House aide Steve Bannon in contempt of Congress after the longtime ally of former President Donald Trump defied a subpoena for documents and testimony.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Tony Lo Bianco is 87. Artist Peter Max is 86. Author and critic Renata Adler is 86. Actor John Lithgow (LIHTH’-goh) is 78. Feminist activist Patricia Ireland is 78. Singer Jeannie C. Riley is 78. Rock singer-musician Patrick Simmons (The Doobie Brothers) is 75. Actor Annie Golden is 72. Talk show host Charlie Chase is 71. Rock singer-musician Karl Wallinger (World Party) is 66. Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is 65. Singer Jennifer Holliday is 63. Retired boxer Evander Holyfield is 61. Host Ty Pennington (TV: “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition”) is 59. Rock singer-musician Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 58. Actor Jon Favreau is 57. Amy Carter is 56. “South Park” co-creator Trey Parker is 54. Comedian Chris Kattan is 53. Rock singer Pras Michel (The Fugees) is 51. Actor Omar Gooding is 47. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 47. Writer-director Jason Reitman is 46. Actor Benjamin Salisbury is 43. Actor Gillian Jacobs is 41. Actor Rebecca Ferguson is 40. Rock singer Zac Barnett (American Authors) is 37. Singer-actor Ciara Renee (TV: “Legends of Tomorrow”) is 33. Actor Hunter King is 30.