OCTOBER 28th

On this date in:
1636	Harvard College was founded.
1793	Eli Whitney applied for a patent for the cotton gin.
1919	Congress enacted the Volstead Act, which provided for enforcement of Prohibition, over President Woodrow Wilson's veto.
1922	Fascism came to Italy as Benito Mussolini took control of the government.
1940	Italy invaded Greece during World War II.
1958	The Roman Catholic patriarch of Venice, Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, was elected pope, taking the name John XXIII.
1962	Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of Soviet missile bases in Cuba.
1965	Pope Paul VI issued a decree absolving Jews of collective guilt for the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
1976	Former Nixon aide John D. Ehrlichman entered a federal prison camp in Safford, Ariz., to begin serving his sentence for Watergate-related convictions.
1980	Republican nominee Ronald Reagan asked voters during a debate with President Jimmy Carter in Cleveland, "Are you better off than you were four years ago?"
2002	American diplomat Laurence Foley was assassinated in front of his house in Amman, Jordan.
2004	Insurgents executed 11 Iraqi soldiers and declared on an Islamic militant Web site that Iraqi fighters would avenge "the blood" of women and children killed in U.S. strikes on the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.
2005	Vice President Dick Cheney's top adviser, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, resigned after he was indicted on charges of obstruction of justice, perjury and making false statements in the CIA leak investigation. (Libby was convicted and sentenced to 30 months in prison. President George W. Bush commuted his sentence.)
2006	Hall of Fame basketball coach Red Auerbach died at age 89.
2007	Argentina's first lady, Cristina Fernandez, claimed victory in the country's presidential election; she became the first woman elected to the post.

Article of the day

Gateway Arch completed

On this day in 1965, construction is completed on the Gateway Arch, a spectacular 630-foot-high parabola of stainless steel marking the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial on the waterfront of St. Louis, Missouri.
The Gateway Arch, designed by Finnish-born, American-educated architect Eero Saarinen, was erected to commemorate President Thomas Jefferson's Louisiana Purchase of 1803 and to celebrate St. Louis' central role in the rapid westward expansion that followed. As the market and supply point for fur traders and explorers--including the famous Meriwether Lewis and William Clark--the town of St. Louis grew exponentially after the War of 1812, when great numbers of people began to travel by wagon train to seek their fortunes west of the Mississippi River.
In 1947-48, Saarinen won a nationwide competition to design a monument honoring the spirit of the western pioneers. In a sad twist of fate, the architect died of a brain tumor in 1961 and did not live to see the construction of his now-famous arch, which began in February 1963. Completed in October 1965, the Gateway Arch cost less than $15 million to build. With foundations sunk 60 feet into the ground, its frame of stressed stainless steel is built to withstand both earthquakes and high winds. An internal tram system takes visitors to the top, where on a clear day they can see up to 30 miles across the winding Mississippi and to the Great Plains to the west.
In addition to the Gateway Arch, the Jefferson Expansion Memorial includes the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Old Courthouse of St. Louis, where two of the famous Dred Scott slavery cases were heard in the 1860s. Today, some 4 million people visit the park each year to wander its nearly 100 acres, soak up some history and take in the breathtaking views from Saarinen's gleaming arch.

Source: http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history.do?action=VideoArticle&id=5477

Today Birthdays

Brad Paisley turns 36 years old today.

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill Country singer Brad Paisley turns 36 years old today.

81 Cleo Laine Jazz singer 79 Joan Plowright Actress 72 Charlie Daniels Country musician 71 Lenny Wilkens Hall of Fame basketball coach 69 Jane Alexander Actress 67 Curtis Lee Singer 64 Dennis Franz Actor ("NYPD Blue") 63 Wayne Fontana Singer 60 Telma Hopkins Actress 59 Bruce Jenner Olympic track and field gold medalist 56 Annie Potts Actress ("Designing Women") 53 Bill Gates Microsoft Corp. Chairman 51 Stephen Morris Rock musician (New Order) 50 Ron Hemby Country musician (The Buffalo Club) 50 William Reid Rock musician (The Jesus & Mary Chain) 48 Mark Derwin Actor 46 Daphne Zuniga Actress ("Melrose Place") 45 Lauren Holly Actress 43 Jami Gertz Actress 42 Chris Bauer Actor 42 Andy Richter Actor, comedian 41 Julia Roberts Actress 40 Caitlin Cary Country musician 39 Jeremy Davies Actor 39 Ben Harper Rock singer 36 Terrell Davis Football player 34 Joaquin Phoenix Actor ("Walk the Line") 30 Justin Guarini Singer ("American Idol") 29 Brett Dennen Singer 29 Dave Tirio Rock musician (Plain White T's)