- 1492: Christopher Columbus and his ship Santa Maria landed in the
                  Dominican Republic.
                - 1825: The Erie Canal opened, linking the Great Lakes to the
                  Atlantic Ocean.
                - 1854: In the Crimean War, Lord Cardigan led the cavalry "Charge of
                  the Light Brigade" against the Russians at Balaclava, one of the
                  most heroic episodes in British military history.
                - 1881: Sheriff Wyatt Earp, Doc Holliday and the Clanton gang engaged
                  in the "Shootout at the O.K. Corral." Surrealist artist Pablo
                  Picasso was born in Malaga, Spain (d: 1973).
                - 1906: U.S. inventor Lee de Forest patented his "Audion," a
                  three-diode amplification valve which proved a pioneering
                  development in radio and broadcasting.
                - 1917: In Russia, the Bolsheviks led by Vladimir Lenin seized power.
                - 1924: The "Little Orphan Annie" comic strip was first published.
                - 1940: U.S. Army Gen. Benjamin Davis became the first black general.
                - 1944: The Battle in the Gulf of Leyte ended with the Japanese fleet
                  destroyed.
                - 1955: Austria resumed its sovereignty after the departure of the
                  last Allied occupation forces, for the first time since the German
                  occupation of 1938. Tappan sold the first microwave oven.
                - 1962: Adlai Stevenson furnished photographic evidence to the U.N.
                  Security Council of Russian missile bases in Cuba. John Steinbeck
                  won the Nobel Prize in literature.
                - 1971: The United Nations General Assembly voted to expel Chinese
                  Nationalist-ruled Taiwan and admit communist China.
                - 1974: The U.S. Air Force test-fired the first ICBM.
                - 1983: An assault force led by U.S. marines, backed by token
                  contingents from seven English-speaking Caribbean countries,
                  invaded Grenada.
                - 1984: The Hepatitis virus was discovered.

                *Happy Birthday*
                ----------------
                - Billy Barty, 74, actor/midget star, "Circus Boy," "Willow"
                - Kornelia Ender, 40, Olympic swimmer, 4 Golds
                - Anthony Franciosa, 70, actor/author, "Matt Helm"
                - Dan Gable, 50, wrestler/coach, gold medal 1972, coached Iowa to
                  nine straight NCAA titles
                - Franklin "Bud" Held, 71, track & field
                - Dan Issel, 50, former NBA coach/player, 27,482 career points
                - Bobby Knight, 58, basketball coach, led Indiana to three NCAA
                  titles, three-time Coach of Year
                - Midori, 27, violinist
                - Helen Reddy, 57, singer, "I am Woman," "Helen Reddy Show"
                - Anne Tyler, 57, novelist, "The Accidental Tourist"