1581 Commissioned by Catherine de’ Medici, the 1st ballet “Ballet Comique de la Reine” is staged in Paris
1582 Gregorian calendar introduced in Spain, Portugal and pontifical states, after skipping 10 days after Oct 4 to sync the calendar
1815 Napoleon Bonaparte arrives on island of St Helena to begin his exile
1969 Vietnam Moratorium Day; millions nationwide protest the war
1993 Nelson Mandela and South African President F. W. de Klerk awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY
TODAY IN MUSIC
1977 Debbie Boone’s “You Light Up My Life” goes #1 & stays #1 for 10 weeks
TODAY IN SPORT
1989 Wayne Gretzky passes Gordie Howe as NHL’s all time top scorer
1917 Dutch dancer Mata Hari is executed by firing squad for spying for Germany during WWI at Vincennes near Paris
1860 11-year-old Grace Bedell writes to Abraham Lincoln telling him to grow a beard
FAMOUS WEDDINGS
1501 Heir to the English throne Prince Arthur marries Catherine of Aragon
1913 Author Beatrix Potter (47) weds solicitor William Heelis at St Mary Abbots in Kensington, London
1927 Writer Graham Greene (23) weds Vivien Dayrell-Browning at St. Mary’s Church in Hampstead, North London
