Once Upon A Time – October 7 – 1919 – KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, Established (Oldest Existing Airline)

1571 Battle of Lepanto: Holy League of southern European nations destroy Ottoman fleet in significant loss off Western Greece

1737 A cyclone causes 40 foot waves that are believed to have killed 300,000 in Calcutta, India

1763 George III of Great Britain issues Proclamation of 1763, closing lands in North America north and west of Alleghenies to white settlement

1919 KLM, Royal Dutch Airlines, established (oldest existing airline)

2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan starts with an air assault and covert operations on the ground

HISTORICAL EVENTS TODAY

TODAY IN FILM & TV

1971 “The French Connection” directed by William Friedkin and starring Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider and Fernando Rey premieres in the US (Academy Awards Best Picture 1972)

TODAY IN MUSIC

1982 Musical “Cats” opens at Winter Garden Theater on Broadway, NYC; runs for nearly 18 years before closing on September 10, 2000, wins 7 Tony and 1 Grammy Award

TODAY IN SPORT

2000 Last ever competitive soccer match at Wembley Stadium, England defeated 1-0 by Germany, last goal scored by Liverpool’s Dietmar Hammann. Match is Tony Adams’ 60th at Wembley, the record for most appearances at the stadium.

1959 Far side of Moon seen for the 1st time, courtesy of USSR’s Luna 3 space probe

1916 Georgia Tech, coached by John Heisman, defeats Cumberland, 222-0; most lopsided score in the history of US college football

FAMOUS WEDDINGS

1649 Philip IV, King of Spain (44) marries his niece Mariana of Austria (14) in Navalcarnero, Spain

1776 Crown Prince Paul of Russia marries Sophie Marie Dorothea of Württemberg.

1914 Businessman Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (26) weds John F. Fitzgerald’s daughter, Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy (24)