Today in history: Oct. 18
In 2021, Colin Powell, a trailblazing soldier and diplomat who was the first Black person to serve as secretary of state, died at 84 of COVID-19 complications.
1767: The Mason-Dixon Line
In 1767, the Mason-Dixon line, the boundary between colonial Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware, was set as astronomers Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon completed their survey.
1968: Tommie Smith and John Carlos
In 1968, the U.S. Olympic Committee suspended Tommie Smith and John Carlos for giving a “Black power” salute as a protest during a victory ceremony in Mexico City.
1977: Hijacked Plane
In 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers.
2001: Anthrax Attacks
In 2001, CBS News announced that an employee in anchorman Dan Rather's office had tested positive for skin anthrax.
2010: Bomb Plot
In 2010, four men snared in an FBI sting were convicted of plotting to blow up New York City synagogues and shoot down military planes with the help of a paid informant who’d convinced them he was a terror operative. (James Cromitie, David Williams, Onta Williams and Laguerre Payen were each sentenced to 25 years in prison.)
2011: Exotic Animals
In 2011, fifty wild animals were released by the owner of a Zanesville, Ohio, farm, Terry Thompson, who then took his own life; authorities killed 48 of the creatures, while the remaining two were presumed eaten by other animals.
2011: Gilad Shalit
In 2011, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit (gee-LAHD’ shah-LEET’) emerged from five years in captivity as Hamas militants handed him over to Egyptian mediators in an exchange for 1,000 Palestinian prisoners.
2021: Colin Powell
In 2021, Colin Powell, a trailblazing soldier and diplomat who was the first Black person to serve as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and also the first to serve as secretary of state, died at 84 of COVID-19 complications.