Today in History

Today is Thursday, Oct. 29, the 303rd day of 2020. There are 63 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:On Oct. 29, 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.

On this date:

In 1956, during the Suez Canal crisis, Israel invaded Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula. “The Huntley-Brinkley Report” premiered as NBC’s nightly television newscast.

In 1967, Expo 67 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, closed after six months.

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.)

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.

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.”

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Richard Dreyfuss is 73. Actor Dan Castellaneta (TV: “The Simpsons”) is 63. Rapper Paris is 53. Actor Winona Ryder is 49. Actor Ben Foster is 40. Actor Janet Montgomery is 35