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Today in History 10/14 (Cuban Missile Crisis)

US President John F. Kennedy makes a national television speech on October 22, 1962, announcing a naval blockade of Cuba until Soviet missiles are removed (© AP)(1962) Missiles in Cuba bring the world to the brink
The Cold War burns hot as a US spy plane documents the first photographic evidence of Soviet nuclear warheads stockpiled in San Cristobal, Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. What follows will be weeks of crisis negotiations between the US and USSR that bring the world perilously close to a nuclear exchange.
The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis, the Caribbean Crisis, or the Missile Scare, was a 13-day confrontation between the United States and the Soviet Union concerning American ballistic missile deployment in Italy and Turkey with consequent Soviet ballistic missile deployment in Cuba. The confrontation is often considered the closest the Cold War came to escalating into a full-scale nuclear war.
Start date: Oct 16, 1962
End date: Oct 28, 1962

1962 Cuba Missiles
Map created by American intelligence showing Surface-to-Air Missile activity in Cuba, 5 September 1962
wiki/Cuban_Missile_Crisis
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(1962) Missiles in Cuba bring the world to the brink.
Also on this day,

1066 | Anglo-Saxon rule ends as the Normans conquer England in Battle of Hastings
Almost three weeks after landing his invasion force in England, Duke William I of Normandy takes on King Harold II and his infantry at the Battle of Hastings. By sunset, the Anglo-Saxon Age ends and William the Conqueror’s Norman rule begins, with Harold dead and William soon to be crowned king.
1934 | Must-see TV, on the radio as Lux Soap lures listeners with drama on the airwaves
At 2:30 PM, the NBC Blue Network comes on the air from New York with ‘Seventh Heaven,’ an adaptation of the Broadway play and the first program in the new ‘Lux Radio Theatre’ show. The anthology series will become hugely popular and remain on the air for the next 20 years.
1947 | Sound barrier broken as Yeager’s got the right stuff to fly at Mach 1
Former WWII fighter pilot Chuck Yeager flies an experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane at a supersonic speed that some experts believe will rip apart any aircraft. Yeager pushes it to Mach 1.07, faster than the speed of sound, and afterwards lands safely in the California desert.

Today in History 10/14/17

Captain Charles E. Yeager in October 1947 standing next to the Bell X-1 supersonic research aircraft, which Yeager named the 'Glamorous Glennis' after his wife (© Underwood Archives/Getty Images)(1947) Yeager's got the right stuff to fly at Mach 1
Former WWII fighter pilot Chuck Yeager flies an experimental Bell X-1 rocket plane at a supersonic speed that some experts believe will rip apart any aircraft. Yeager pushes it to Mach 1.07, faster than the speed of sound, and afterwards lands safely in the California desert.
Charles Elwood "Chuck" Yeager is a former United States Air Force general officer and record-setting test pilot. In 1947, he became the first pilot confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.
Born: Feb 13, 1923 (age 94) · Myra, WV
Net worth: $1.50 million USD (2016)
Spouse: Victoria Scott D'Angelo (m. 2003) · Glennis Yeager (m. 1945 - 1990)
Children: Michael Yeager (Son) · Don Yeager (Son) · Susan Yeager (Daughter) · Sharon Yeager Flick (Daughter)
Education: Air War College
Awards: Presidential Medal of Freedom (1985) · Purple Heart · Distinguished Flying Cross · Silver Star · Legion of Merit · Bronze Star Medal · Air Force Distinguished Service Medal · Congressional Silver Medal
Highlights
  • 1942: After serving as an aircraft mechanic, in September 1942 he entered enlisted pilot training and upon graduation was promoted to the rank of flight officer (the World War II USAAF equivalent to warrant officer) and became a P-51 fighter pilot.

  • 1945: On February 26, 1945, Yeager married Glennis Dickhouse, and the couple had four children.

  • 1947: In 1947, he became the first pilot confirmed to have exceeded the speed of sound in level flight.

  • 1947: As the first human to officially break the sound barrier, on October 14, 1947, he flew the experimental Bell X-1 at Mach 1 at an altitude of 45,000 ft (13,700 m).

  • 1953: The Ridley/Yeager USAF team achieved Mach 2.44 on December 12, 1953.

  • 1997: On October 14, 1997, on the 50th anniversary of his historic flight past Mach 1, he flew a new Glamorous Glennis III, an F-15D Eagle, past Mach 1.

Chuck Yeager
Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager
wiki/Chuck_Yeager
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