Today in History for Sunday, Oct. 28, 2012

Published 8:00 am Sunday, October 28, 2012

Highlight in History

On Oct. 28, 1962, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev informed the United States that he had ordered the dismantling of missile bases in Cuba; in exchange, the U.S. secretly agreed to remove nuclear missiles from U.S. installations in Turkey.

On this date

In 1636, the General Court of Massachusetts passed a legislative act establishing Harvard College.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift from the people of France, was dedicated in New York Harbor by President Grover Cleveland.

In 1940, Italy invaded Greece during World War II.

In 1980, President Jimmy Carter and Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan faced off in a nationally broadcast, 90-minute debate in Cleveland.

In 1991, what became known as “The Perfect Storm” began forming hundreds of miles east of Nova Scotia; lost at sea during the storm were the six crew members of the Andrea Gail, a boat from Gloucester, Mass.

Ten years ago

American diplomat Laurence Foley was assassinated in front of his house in Amman, Jordan, in the first such attack on a U.S. diplomat in decades. Russian President Vladimir Putin led a national day of mourning as relatives and friends grieved for the more than 100 captives who died in the siege at a Moscow theater. A student flunking out of the University of Arizona nursing school shot three of his professors to death, then killed himself.

Five years ago

Stacy Peterson, the 23-year-old fourth wife of police sergeant Drew Peterson, went missing in suburban Chicago. (Her fate has never been determined; Drew Peterson was convicted in Sept. 2012 of murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio.) Fire ravaged a North Carolina beach house, killing seven college students.

One year ago

Monks and soldiers piled sandbags outside Bangkok’s most treasured temples and palaces as Thailand’s worst floods in decades sent ankle-high water rushing briefly into some of the capital’s main tourist districts. NBA Commissioner David Stern canceled all NBA games through November after labor negotiations broke down for the second time in a week. The St. Louis Cardinals won the World Series, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7.