This Day in History
1854: The "Charge of the Light Brigade" takes place during the Battle of Balaclava in the Crimean War.
1971: The UN General Assembly votes to admit China and expel Taiwan.
1983: U.S. troops invade Grenada.
1993: The Liberal Party under Jean Chrétien overwhelmingly defeats the Conservatives in Canadian parliamentary elections.
2001: The day after it was passed by the House, the U.S. Senate passes, 98-1, an antiterrorism bill which some critics allege infringes on civil liberties.
2001: In a setback for the U.S.-led coalition, Taliban troops ambush and execute prominent Afghan opposition leader Abdul Haq.
2002: Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, in the midst of a difficult reelection battle, is killed along with 7 others in a plane crash on a campaign trip.
Today's Birthdays
1767: Benjamin Constant, writer (Lausanne, Switzerland; died 1830)
1800: Thomas Babington Macaulay, historian, essayist, and statesman (Leicestershire, England; died 1859)
1811: Evariste Galois, mathematician (Bourg-la-Reine, near Paris, France; died 1832)
1825: Johann Strauss the Younger, composer (Vienna, Austria; died 1899)
1838: Georges Bizet, composer (France; died 1875)
1881: Pablo Picasso, artist (Malaga, Spain; died 1973)
1888: Richard E. Byrd, aviator and Antarctic explorer (Winchester, VA; died 1957)
1889: Abel Gance, film director (Paris, France; died 1981)
1892: Leo G. Carroll, actor (Great Britain; died 1972)
1902: Henry Steele Commager, historian (Pittsburgh, PA; died 1998)
1912: Minnie Pearl, Grand Ole Opry star (Centerville, TN; died 1996)
1914: John Berryman, poet (McAlester, OK; died 1972)
1923: Bobby Thomson, baseball player (Glasgow, Scotland)
1940: Bobby Knight, college basketball coach (Ohio)
1941: Helen Reddy, singer (Melbourne, Australia)
1941: Anne Tyler, novelist (Minneapolis, MN)
1944: James Carville Jr., political consultant (Fort Benning, GA)
1948: Dave Cowens, basketball player (Newport, KY)
1971: Midori, violinist (Osaka, Japan). Pedro Martinez, baseball player (Manoguayabo, Dominican Republic)
