Today in history: Oct. 29
Five years ago: All but 10 members of the Houston Texans took a knee during the national anthem, reacting to a remark from team owner Bob McNair to other NFL owners that “we can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
1929: "Black Tuesday"
In 1929, “Black Tuesday” descended upon the New York Stock Exchange. Prices collapsed amid panic selling and thousands of investors were wiped out as America’s “Great Depression” began.
1956: The Suez Canal
In 1956, during the Suez Canal crisis, Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula.
1960: California Polytechnic State University Football
In 1960, a chartered plane carrying the California Polytechnic State University football team crashed on takeoff from Toledo, Ohio, killing 22 of the 48 people on board.
1987: Douglas Ginsburg
In 1987, following the confirmation defeat of Robert H. Bork to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court, President Ronald Reagan announced his choice of Douglas H. Ginsburg, a nomination that fell apart over revelations of Ginsburg’s previous marijuana use.
1987: Woody Herman
In 1987, Jazz great Woody Herman died in Los Angeles at age 74.
1994: Francisco Martin Duran
In 1994, gunman Francisco Martin Duran fired more than two dozen shots from a semiautomatic rifle at the White House. (Duran was later convicted of trying to assassinate President Bill Clinton and was sentenced to 40 years in prison.)
1998: John Glenn
In 1998, Sen. John Glenn, at age 77, roared back into space aboard the shuttle Discovery, retracing the trail he’d blazed for America’s astronauts 36 years earlier.
2004: Osama Bin Laden
In 2004, four days before Election Day in the U.S., Osama bin Laden, in a videotaped statement, directly admitted for the first time that he’d ordered the September 11 attacks and told Americans “the best way to avoid another Manhattan” was to stop threatening Muslims’ security.
2011: Afghanistan
In 2011, a Taliban suicide bomber rammed a vehicle loaded with explosives into an armored NATO bus on a busy thoroughfare in Kabul, killing 17 people, including 12 Americans.
2011: Joe Paterno
In 2011, Joe Paterno broke Eddie Robinson’s record for victories by a Division I coach with No. 409 in Penn State’s sloppy 10-7 win over Illinois.
2011: Snow Storm
In 2011, a “white Halloween” storm with record-setting snowfalls brought down trees across the northeastern U.S., knocking out power to millions; 39 deaths were blamed on the weather.
2012: Superstorm Sandy
In 2012, Superstorm Sandy slammed ashore in New Jersey and slowly marched inland, devastating coastal communities and causing widespread power outages; the storm and its aftermath were blamed for at least 182 deaths in the U.S.
2015: Paul Ryan
In 2015, Paul Ryan was elected the 54th speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
2016: Hillary Clinton
In 2016, Hillary Clinton lashed out at the FBI’s handling of a new email review, leading a chorus of Democratic leaders who declared the bureau’s actions just days before the election were “unprecedented” and “deeply troubling.”
2017: Bob McNair
Five years ago: All but 10 members of the Houston Texans took a knee during the national anthem, reacting to a remark from team owner Bob McNair to other NFL owners that “we can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
2017: Houston Texans
In 2017, all but 10 members of the Houston Texans took a knee during the national anthem, reacting to a remark from team owner Bob McNair to other NFL owners that “we can’t have the inmates running the prison.”
2020: Hurricane Zeta
In 2020, six people were killed and millions were without power after Hurricane Zeta tore across the South, leaving shattered buildings and thousands of downed trees.