Today in History

Historical Events

2012

Hurricane Sandy hits the US's eastern coast. Hurricane Sandy, a category 2 storm by the time it made landfall in the US, hit the US's eastern coast. The estimated damage from the hurricane was $50 billion.

2008

Delta Air Lines merged with Northwest. The merger resulted in creating world's largest airline. The merged entity took on the name of Delta Airlines, and the Northwest Airlines brand name was retired.

2005

Bombings in Delhi. 3 separate bombings in India's capital city of Delhi a few days before the important festival of Diwali left about 60 people dead.

1998

Oldest person to fly in space. John Glenn flew on the Discovery shuttle at the age of 77 years, making him the oldest person to fly in space.

1863

Red Cross founded. Also known as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Red Cross is a humanitarian institution that has been a three-time recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Famous Births

Born on this day

Michael Vaughan

Michael Vaughan

1974

English cricketer

Winona Ryder

Winona Ryder

1971

American actress

Ralph Bakshi

Ralph Bakshi

1938

American director, screenwriter, producer

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

1938

Liberian politician, 24th President of Liberia

Wilfred Rhodes

Wilfred Rhodes

1877

English cricketer

Famous Deaths

Died on this day

Jimmy Savile

Jimmy Savile

2011

English radio, television host

Terry Southern

Terry Southern

1995

American author, screenwriter

George Gurdjieff

George Gurdjieff

1949

Armenian mystic

Joseph Pulitzer

Joseph Pulitzer

1911

Hungarian/American politician, journalist, publisher, founded Pulitzer, Inc.

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest

1877

American Confederate Army General