October 14
October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in Leap years). There are 78 days remaining.
- 1066 - Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings - In England on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings, the Norman invasion forces of William the Conqueror defeat the English army and kill King Harold II of England.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Battle of Bristol Station - Confederate General Robert E. Lee forces fail to drive the Union army out of Virginia.
- 1912 - While campaigning in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, former president Theodore Roosevelt is shot by saloonkeeper William Schrank. With a fresh flesh wound and the bullet still in him, Roosevelt still delivers his scheduled speech.
- 1926 - The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A.A. Milne, is published for the first time.
- 1944 - World War II: Given the choice between a public treason trial and a certain death by firing squad or suicide with honor, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel chooses the latter.
- 1947 - Chuck Yeager flies a Bell X-1 faster than the speed of sound, the first man to do so in level flight.
- 1960 - US presidential candidate John F. Kennedy first suggests the idea for the Peace Corps.
- 1962 - Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U-2 flight over Cuba takes photos of Soviet nuclear weapons being installed.
- 1964 - Leonid Brezhnev becomes general secretary of the CPSU and leader of the Soviet Union, ousting Nikita Khrushchev.
- 1964 - American civil rights movement leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr becomes the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, which was awarded to him for leading non-violent resistance to end racial prejudice in the United States.
- 1966 - The city of Montreal inaugurates its metro system (see Montreal Metro).
- 1968 - Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the United States Army and United States Marines will be sending about 24,000 troops back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours.
- 1979 - The first gay rights march in the United States takes place in Washington, DC, involving many tens of thousands of people.
- 1981 - Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected President of Egypt one week after Anwar Sadat was assassinated.
- 1987 - 18 month old Jessica McClure ("Baby Jessica") falls down an abandoned well in Midland, Texas (her nationally televised rescue takes 58 hours).
- 1998 - Eric Robert Rudolph is charged with 6 bombings including the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia.
Births
- 1630 - Sophia of Hanover
- 1633 - James II of England and VII of Scotland
- 1644 - William Penn, English founder of Pennsylvania († 1718)
- 1857 - Elwood Haynes, automobile pioneer
- 1861 - Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer
- 1882 - Eamon de Valera, Irish politician and patriot († 1975)
- 1890 - Dwight D. Eisenhower, US General of the Army, 34th president of the United States
- 1893 - Lillian Gish, actress († 1993)
- 1894 - E. E. Cummings, American poet († 1962)
- 1904 - Christian Pineau, French World War II resistance fighter
- 1906 - Hannah Arendt, intellectual
- 1910 - John Wooden, basketball coach
- 1911 - Le Duc Tho, Nobel Peace Prize recipient († 1990)
- 1916 - C. Everett Koop, United States Surgeon General
- 1927 - Roger Moore, actor
- 1930 - Joseph Mobutu, president of Zaire († 1997)
- 1935 - La Monte Young, American composer
- 1938 - John W. Dean III, former White House counsel, Watergate figure
- 1938 - Empress Farah Diba of Iran
- 1939 - Ralph Lauren, fashion designer
- 1940 - Cliff Richard, British rock singer
- 1941 - Jerry Glanville, American football coach and commentator
- 1944 - Udo Kier, actor
- 1946 - Craig Venter, American biologist
- 1946 - Justin Hayward, musician ("The Moody Blues")
- 1958 - Thomas Dolby, rock musician
- 1969 - David Strickland, American actor († 1999)
- 1978 - Usher Raymond, singer, actor
Deaths
- 1066 - Harold Godwinson, king of England
- 1660 - Thomas Harrison, English soldier
- 1944 - Erwin Rommel, German Feldmarschall
- 1959 - Errol Flynn, Australian actor
- 1976 - Dame Edith Evans, actress
- 1977 - Bing Crosby, American singer, actor
- 1990 - Leonard Bernstein, American composer, conductor
- 1997 - Harold Robbins, American novelist
- 1998 - Frankie Yankovic, polka musician
- 1998 - Cleveland Amory, writer, animal rights activist
- 2003 - Patrick Dalzel-Job, inspiration for Ian Fleming's James Bond
Holidays
See Also: January,
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
September,
October,
November,
December
October 13 - October 15 - September 14 - November 14 - more historical anniversaries