October 29
1682
William Penn arrived in Pennsylvania.
1787
Mozart’s opera Don Giovanni debuted in Prague.
1911
American newspaperman Joseph Pulitzer died in Charleston, S.C.
1923
The Republic of Turkey was proclaimed under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
1929
The New York Stock Exchange crashed on Black Tuesday, precipitating the Great Depression.
1956
Israel invaded the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula during the Suez Canal crisis.
1964
The Star of India and other gems were stolen from the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
1966
The National Organization for Women was founded.
1998
John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth, returned to space at age 77.
2004
European leaders signed the European Union’s first constitution.
2008
A 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck Baluchistan, one of Pakistan’s poorest regions. At least 200 people were killed and more than 15,000 were left homeless.
2012
Hurricane Sandy smashed into the eastern seaboard of the U.S., killing 117 people in the U.S. and 69 in Canada and the Caribbean. The storm caused about $50 billion in damage in the U.S.
Birthdays
Fanny Brice
1891–1951, American comedienne, born in New York City as Fanny Borach.
James Boswell
diarist, author (1740)
Jean Giraudoux
French novelist and dramatist (1882)
R. B. Kitaj
painter (1932)
Richard Dreyfuss
actor (1947)
Winona Ryder
actress (1971)
Gabrielle Union
actor (1972)