AP Highlight in History: On Oct. 22, 1962, President John F. Kennedy announced an air and naval blockade of Cuba, following the discovery of Soviet missile bases on the island.
President John F. Kennedy
AP Photo
On this date in:
1746
Princeton University received its charter.
1797
French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet.
1844
Actress Sarah Bernhardt was born in Paris.
AP Photo
1934
Bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd was shot to death by federal agents at a farm in East Liverpool, Ohio.
AP Photo
1954
West Germany joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
1968
Apollo 7, with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard, returned to Earth.
1979
The U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment.
1981
The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.
2002
A bus driver was shot to death in Aspen Hill, Md., in the 13th and final attack by the Washington-area sniper.
2007
China's Communist Party gave President Hu Jintao a second five-year term.