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UPI Almanac for Friday, Oct. 24, 2014

Concorde's final commercial flight, Bernanke nominated to head Fed , swine flu emergency declared ... on this date in history.

By United Press International
The last British Airways Concorde flight takes off from New York's JFK Airport Oct. 24, 2003, en route to London. The airline was retiring the Concorde fleet after 27 years of service.(UPI/Ezio Petersen)
1 of 7 | The last British Airways Concorde flight takes off from New York's JFK Airport Oct. 24, 2003, en route to London. The airline was retiring the Concorde fleet after 27 years of service.(UPI/Ezio Petersen) | License Photo

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Today is Friday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2014 with 68 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Jupiter, Mercury and Venus. The evening stars are Mars, Neptune, Uranus and Saturn.


Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include pioneering Dutch microscope maker Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in 1632; journalist Sarah Josepha Hale, author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," in 1788; attorney Belva Lockwood, the first woman candidate for U.S. president, nominated by the National Equal Rights Party, in 1830; film producer-director Merian Cooper (the original "King Kong") in 1893; playwright Moss Hart in 1904; cartoonist Bob Kane, creator of Batman, in 1915; football Hall of Fame member Y.A. Tittle in 1926 (age 88); entertainer J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson in 1930; former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in 1936 (age 78); former NAACP President Kweisi Mfume in 1948 (age 66); actors David Nelson in 1936, F. Murray Abraham in 1939 (age 75) and Kevin Kline in 1947 (age 67); singer Monica (Arnold) in 1980 (age 34); model Tila Tequila in 1981 (age 33); and English soccer player Wayne Rooney in 1985 (age 29).
On this date in history:
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In 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe.

In 1861, the first telegram was transmitted across the United States from California Chief Justice Stephen Field to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in Washington.

In 1901, daredevil Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

In 1995, the United Nations marked its 50th anniversary with the largest gathering of world leaders in history.

In 2002, police arrested two suspects in a three-week series of Washington-area sniper attacks that killed 10 people and wounded three others. John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, were found sleeping in a car at a rest stop near Frederick, Md. ( Both were convicted. Muhammad was executed and Malvo sentenced to life in prison.)

In 2003, an era in aviation history ended when the supersonic Concorde took off from New York to London on its final flight.

In 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Ben Bernanke to replace Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve Board chairman. (Bernanke served two terms as boss of the Fed.)

In 2009, U.S. President Barack Obama declared a national emergency related to the outbreak of the H1N1 flu virus, also known as swine flu, to aid local authorities in dealing with the pandemic. Medical officials put the American death toll at 530 with thousands hospitalized.

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In 2012, a 41-mile final stretch of Texas Highway 130, a toll road from Mustang Ridge, south of Austin, to Seguin, opened with the highest speed limit in the United States -- 85 mph. In 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said colored and cat-like "contact lenses" sold at Halloween stores can cause serious eye problems, mainly because people use them improperly.


A thought for the day: "It ain't braggin' if you can back it up." -- Dizzy Dean

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