In 1770, the Boston Massacre took place as British soldiers who had been taunted by a crowd of colonists opened fire, killing five people. The killing fueled colonists' outrage in the run-up to the American Revolution.
On Feb. 25, 1986, President Ferdinand Marcos fled the Philippines after 20 years of rule in the wake of a tainted election; opposition leader Corazon Aquino the first woman to lead the country assumed the presidency.
On Nov. 6, 1860, former Illinois congressman Abraham Lincoln of the Republican Party was elected president of the United States as he defeated John Breckinridge, John Bell and Stephen Douglas. Also on this date: In 1861, an unopposed Jefferson Davis was elected to a six-year term as president of the Confederate States of America, after serving much of the year as its provisional president.
On Nov. 5, 1872, suffragist Susan B. Anthony defied the law by casting a vote in the presidential election; she was later arrested and charged with knowingly voting without having a lawful right to vote. Found guilty at trial, she was fined $100, which she refused to pay. Also on this date: In 1605, the Gunpowder Plot failed as Guy Fawkes was seized before he could blow up the English Parliament; Fawkes and his co-conspirators were later convicted of treason and hanged.
On Oct. 31, 1950, Earl Lloyd of the Washington Capitols became the first African-American to play in an NBA game; Lloyd would go on to play for nine seasons, winning an NBA championship in 1955 with the Syracuse Nationals. Also on this date: In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed a proclamation making Nevada the 36th state, eight days before the presidential election.
On Oct. 23, 2001, Apple released the iPod. An estimated 450 million iPod devices were sold before the line was discontinued in 2022. Also on this date: In 1915, an estimated 25,000 women marched on Fifth Avenue in New York City in support of women's suffrage. In 1942, during World War II, Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein (el ah-lah-MAYN') in Egypt, resulting in an Allied forces victory.
In 1707, the British Parliament met for the first time after the Treaty of Union dissolved both the Parliaments of England and Scotland and created a new Kingdom of Great Britain. The Parliament of Great Britain eventually became the Parliament of the United Kingdom. In 1915, an estimated 25,000 women marched in New York City demanding the right to vote throughout the United States.
Today is Friday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2025. There are 75 days left in the year. Today in history: On Oct. 17,1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany. Also on this date: In 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, New York, in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.
On Sept. 18, 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army. Also on this date: In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol. In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners. The act was repealed in 1864 during the American Civil War.
William Jennings Bryan believes that John T. Scopes, defendant in the evolution trial, 'is doing more harm to the teachers of the country than to any other class.' This harm, he declared today, would be 'indefinitely increased if his (Scopes') views as to the independence of the teacher were established.' Bryan expressed the belief that the welfare of teachers is best preserved under the 'present system.' Under this system, he said, personal views of the teachers are left free, and the control of what is to be taught is left to those who employ the teachers.
