On This Day: Chuck Yeager breaks sound barrier

Oct. 14 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, better known as William the Conqueror, led his invading army to victory over England's King Harold at Hastings.

In 1322, Scotland's Robert the Bruce defeats King Edward II of England at Old Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence.

In 1884, George Eastman received his first "film" patent No. US306594 A for negative paper. While this was a paper film, not the transparent film that many who were taking photographs prior to the advent of the iPhone might remember, it was not met with much success. It was, however, an important step in the development process and its improved versions were incorporated into Kodak's first camera which was introduced in 1888.

In 1908, the Chicago Cubs beat the Detroit Tigers, 2-0, clinching the World Series. They're still looking for the next one!

In 1912, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for a return to office, was shot in Milwaukee. He refused to have the wound treated until he finished his speech. Speaking later with his surgeon, Roosevelt would joke, "They will have to use higher caliber lead than that if they want to get me. It would take a Howitzer to kill a bull moose."

UPI File Photo

In 1926, A.A. Milne's Winnie-the-Pooh was published.

In 1933, Nazi Germany, angry and steeling herself to any consequences, announced her withdrawal from the League of Nations and the World Disarmament Conference."

In 1944, British and Greek troops liberated Athens, ending three years of World War II occupation by German forces.

In 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager, 24, flying a Bell X-1, became the first person to fly faster than the speed of sound.

In 1964, U.S. civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., 35, became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He accepted the prize on behalf of "all men who love peace and brotherhood.

In 1964, Nikita Khrushchev was ousted as premier of the Soviet Union and leader of the Soviet Communist party.

In 1977, Bing Crosby, one of the most popular singers of his day and winner of the Best Actor Academy Award for his role in "Going My Way," died of a heart attack while playing golf in Madrid. He was 74.

Singers Frank Sinatra (left) and Bing Crosby enjoy a drink together September 5, 1959. UPI File Photo

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Oakland A's, 4 games to 2, to win the American League pennant and become the first Canadian team to go to the World Series.

In 1994, the kidnapping of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian extremists ended with the soldier and four others being killed in a shootout. The same day, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded jointly to two Israelis, Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister Shimon Peres, and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.

In 2008, the Canadian Conservative Party, led by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, retained power by defeating the Liberal Party in the national elections.

File Photo by Heinz Ruckemann/UPI

In 2012, Arlen Specter, who served five consecutive terms in the U.S. Senate, died at his home in Philadelphia. Specter, 82, a longtime Republican after beginning his political career as a Democrat, switched back to the Democratic Party in 2009.

In 2012, Austrian daredevil Felix Baumgartner became the first person to break the sound barrier without the protection or propulsion of a vehicle.

In 2013, a court in Malaysia ruled that non-Muslims may not use "Allah" to refer to God.