On This Day in History - October 19th - Almanac

Today is Thursday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2017 with 73 to follow.

The moon is new. Morning stars are Mars and Venus. Evening stars are Jupiter and Saturn.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1810; motion picture pioneer Louis Lumiere in 1862; newspaper columnist Jack Anderson in 1922; English spy novelist John Le Carre, born David Cornwell, in 1931 (age 86); actor Robert Reed in 1932); pop artist Peter Max in 1937 (age 80); actor Michael Gambon in 1940 (age 77); actor John Lithgow in 1945 (age 72); feminist Patricia Ireland in 1945 (age 72); singer Jeannie C. Riley in 1945 (age 72); British writer Philip Pullman in 1946 (age 71); boxer Floyd Mayweather Sr. in 1952 (65); U.S. political figure Grover Norquist in 1956 (age 61); singer Jennifer Holliday in 1960 (age 57); former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield in 1962 (age 55); television personality Ty Pennington in 1964 (age 53); actor/director Jon Favreau in 1966 (age 51); Amy Carter, daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in 1967 (age 50); Trey Parker, co-creater of Southpark, in 1969 (age 48); actor Chris Kattan in 1970 (age 47); actor Desmond Harrington in 1976 (age 41); Canadian director Jason Reitman 1977 (age 40); actor Gillian Jacobs in 1982 (age 35); actor Art Parkinson in 2001 (age 16).

On this date in history:

In 1781, Britain's Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered with more than 7,000 troops to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va., effectively ending the American War of Independence and guaranteeing the colonialists freedom from the crown.

In 1789, John Jay, one of the founding fathers and president of the Continental Congress, was sworn in as first chief justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

In 1812, Napoleon's beaten French army began its long, disastrous retreat from Moscow.

In 1964, under the leadership of new Communist Party Chief Leonid Brezhnev, the Kremlin moved toward patching up its grievances with Red China.

In 1973, the Israeli military was pitched in a two-front battle against Arab forces, in the south against Egypt, and in the north against the armies of Syria, Iraq and Jordan. Subsequently, Saudi Arabia threatened a total cutoff of oil shipments to the United States unless they halted all military aid to Israel. This standoff would lead to the 1973 oil crisis.

In 1982, carmaker John DeLorean was arrested in Los Angeles and charged in a $24 million cocaine scheme aimed at salvaging his bankrupt sports car company. He was tried and acquitted.

In 1987, U.S. Navy ships bombarded an Iranian oil platform in retaliation for a missile attack on a U.S.-flagged ship and Iran threatened a "crushing response," warning the United States "has got itself into a full-fledged war."

In 1994, a terrorist bombing killed more than 20 people on a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims packed into St. Peter's Square in Vatican City. This was the last formal step before her sainthood in 2015.

In 2005, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent as he went on trial in Baghdad on charges of murder and torture during his reign as president of Iraq. Saddam was executed Dec. 30, 2006.

In 2008, two weeks before Election Day, Colin Powell, a Republican and former secretary of state in the George W. Bush administration, endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president.

In 2009, the U.S. government announced it would no longer prosecute people who use or sell marijuana for medicinal purposes if they are complying with state laws.

In 2012, Big Tex, the 52-foot statue that welcomes visitors to the Texas State Fair for 60 years, burned to the ground. Authorities said the fire apparently was caused by an electrical short in Tex's motorized boot. The giant was replaced with a new structure the following year.

In 2013, a violin played by the musical conductor of the Titanic as the ship sank after hitting an iceberg in the North Atlantic in 1912 sold for more than $1.7 million at an auction in London.

A thought for the day: "Youngsters of Little League can survive under-coaching a lot better than over-coaching." -- baseball Hall of Fame member Willie Mays.