Today in History: October 24, the UN charter takes effect
Oct 23, 2022, 9:00 PM | Updated: 9:26 pm
Today in History
Today is Monday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2022. There are 68 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 24, 1945, the United Nations officially came into existence as its charter took effect.
On this date:
In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England’s King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI.
In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent by Chief Justice Stephen J. Field of California from San Francisco to President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., over a line built by the Western Union Telegraph Co.
In 1940, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
In 1952, Republican presidential candidate Dwight D. Eisenhower declared in Detroit, “I shall go to Korea” as he promised to end the conflict. (He made the visit over a month later.)
In 1962, a naval quarantine of Cuba ordered by President John F. Kennedy went into effect during the missile crisis.
In 1972, Hall of Famer Jackie Robinson, who’d broken Major League Baseball’s modern-era color barrier in 1947, died in Stamford, Connecticut, at age 53.
In 1991, “Star Trek” creator Gene Roddenberry died in Santa Monica, California, at age 70.
In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays became the first non-U.S. team to win the World Series as they defeated the Atlanta Braves, 4-3, in Game 6.
In 1996, TyRon Lewis, 18, a Black motorist, was shot to death by police during a traffic stop in St. Petersburg, Florida; the incident sparked rioting. (Officer James Knight, who said that Lewis had lurched his car at him several times, knocking him onto the hood, was cleared by a grand jury and the Justice Department.)
In 2002, authorities apprehended John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo near Myersville, Maryland, in the Washington-area sniper attacks. (Malvo was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, but Maryland’s highest court has agreed to reconsider that sentence in 2022; Muhammad was sentenced to death and executed in 2009.)
In 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died in Detroit at age 92.
In 2020, heavily protected crews in Washington state worked to destroy the first nest of so-called murder hornets discovered in the United States.
Ten years ago: Less than two weeks before Election Day, President Barack Obama set out on a 40-hour campaign marathon through battleground states; Republican Mitt Romney looked to the Midwest for a breakthrough in a close race shadowed by a weak economy. Hurricane Sandy roared across Jamaica and headed toward Cuba, before taking aim at the eastern United States. The San Francisco Giants took the first game of the World Series, 8-3, over the Detroit Tigers, as Pablo Sandoval became the fourth player to hit three home runs in a World Series game.
Five years ago: Republican Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona announced that he would not seek re-election in 2018; he’d been critical of the path the GOP had taken under President Donald Trump. Fats Domino, the rock ‘n’ roll pioneer whose hits included “Blueberry Hill” and “Ain’t That a Shame,” died in Louisiana at the age of 89. Actor Robert Guillaume, who won Emmy awards for his portrayal of the sharp-tongued butler in the sitcoms “Soap” and “Benson,” died in Los Angeles at 89. In a game that began in 103-degree heat, the Los Angeles Dodgers opened the World Series with a 3-1 victory over the Houston Astros in Los Angeles; Clayton Kershaw was the winning pitcher in his World Series debut.
One year ago: Pope Francis called for an end to the practice of returning migrants rescued at sea to Libya and other unsafe countries. Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” debuted with $40.1 million in ticket sales in its opening weekend in North America, drawing a large number of moviegoers to see the thundering sci-fi epic on the big screen despite it also being available to stream in homes. British pop star Ed Sheeran said he had tested positive for COVID-19 and would do interviews and performances from his house while he self-isolated. Tom Brady became the first player to throw 600 career touchdown passes and then tacked on two more in Tampa Bay’s 38-3 rout over the Chicago Bears.
Today’s Birthdays: Rock musician Bill Wyman is 86. Actor F. Murray Abraham is 83. Movie director-screenwriter David S. Ward is 77. Actor Kevin Kline is 75. Congressman and former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume (kwah-EE’-see oom-FOO’-may) is 74. Actor Doug Davidson is 68. Actor B.D. Wong is 62. Actor Zahn McClarnon is 56. Singer Michael Trent (Americana duo Shovels & Rope) is 45. Rock musician Ben Gillies (Silverchair) is 43. Singer-actor Monica Arnold is 42. Actor-comedian Casey Wilson is 42. R&B singer, actor and TV personality Adrienne Bailon Houghton is 39. Actor Tim Pocock is 37. R&B singer-rapper-actor Drake is 36. Actor Shenae Grimes is 33. Actor Eliza Taylor is 33. Actor Ashton Sanders (Film: “Moonlight”) is 27. Olympic gold medal gymnast Kyla Ross is 26. Actor Hudson Yang is 19.
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