Today in History
Historical Events
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
1974
English cricketer

Winona Ryder
1971
American actress

Ralph Bakshi
1938
American director, screenwriter, producer

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
1938
Liberian politician, 24th President of Liberia

Wilfred Rhodes
1877
English cricketer
Famous Deaths
Died on this day

Jimmy Savile
2011
English radio, television host

Terry Southern
1995
American author, screenwriter

George Gurdjieff
1949
Armenian mystic

Joseph Pulitzer
1911
Hungarian/American politician, journalist, publisher, founded Pulitzer, Inc.

Nathan Bedford Forrest
1877
American Confederate Army General