This Day in History – October 19, 2011

1781 At Yorktown, Virginia, representatives of British commander Lord Cornwallis handed over Cornwallis’ sword and formally surrendered to George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau. 1789 Chief Justice John Jay is sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States. 1818 US & Chicasaw Indians sign a treaty 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell became 1st woman in US to receive medical degree 1856 James Kelly & Jack Smith fight bare-knuckle for 6h15m in Melbourne 1864 Battle of Cedar Creek Union Army under Philip Sheridan destroy the Confederate Army under Jubal Early. 1864 St. Albans Raid Confederate raiders launch an attack on Saint Albans, Vermont from Canada. 1870 1st (4) blacks elected to House of Reps 1872 World’s largest gold nugget (215 kg) found in New South Wales 1873 Yale, Princeton, Columbia, and Rutgers universities draft the first code of American football rules. 1917 The Love Field in Dallas, Texas is opened. 1919 1st Distinguished Service Medal awarded to a woman 1919 Reds beat White Sox, 5 games to 3 in 16th World Series. This series is known as the black sox scandal as 7 White Sox throw the series 1933 Berlin Olympic Committee vote to introduce basketball in 1936 1933 Germany withdraws from the League of Nations. 1935 The League of Nations places economic sanctions on fascist Italy for its invasion of Ethiopia. 1943 Yankee 2nd baseman Joe Gordon announces retirement (hates NY) 1943 Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University. 1950 The People’s Republic of China joins the Korean War by sending thousands of troops across the Yalu river to fight United Nations forces. 1956 The Soviet Union and Japan sign a Joint Declaration, officially ending the state of war between the two countries that had existed since August 1945. 1973 President Richard Nixon rejects an Appeals Court decision that he turn over the Watergate tapes. 1982 Automaker John DeLorean arrested on cocaine charges (Not guilty) 1987 In retaliation for Iranian attacks on ships in the Persian Gulf, the U.S. Navy disables three of Iran’s offshore oil platforms. 1987 Black Monday – the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls by 22%, 508 points. 2001 SIEV-X, an Indonesian fishing boat en-route to Christmas Island, carrying over 400 asylum seekers, sinks in international waters with the loss of 353 people. 2003 Mother Teresa is beatified by Pope John Paul II. 2004 Care International aid worker Margaret Hassan is kidnapped in Iraq. 2005 Saddam Hussein goes on trial in Baghdad for crimes against humanity. 2005 Hurricane Wilma becomes the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record with a minimum pressure of 882 mb. 2007 Philippines. A bomb explosion rocked Glorietta 2, a shopping mall in Makati. The blast killed 11 and injured more than 100 people.]]]]> ]]>