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Today in History 10/17 (Loma Prieta Earthquake)

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Workers check the damage to Interstate 880 in Oakland, California on October 19, 1989, after it collapsed during the Loma Prieta earthquake two days earlier (© Paul Sakuma/AP)(1989) San Francisco Bay Area rocked by major quake
Just minutes before Game 3 of the World Series is scheduled to start in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, a violent earthquake hits Northern California, severely pounding the San Francisco Bay Area. The quake collapses bridges and freeways, causes $7 billion in damage, nearly 4,000 injuries, and 67 deaths.
The 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake occurred in Northern California on October 17 at 5:04 p.m. local time. The shock was centered in The Forest of Nisene Marks State Park approximately 10 mi northeast of Santa Cruz on a section of the San Andreas Fault System and was named for the nearby Loma Prieta Peak in the Santa Cruz Mountains. With a moment magnitude of 6.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX, the shock was responsible for 63 deaths and 3,757 injuries. The Loma Prieta segment of the San Andreas Fault System had been relatively inactive since the 1906 San Francisco earthquake until two moderate foreshocks occurred in June 1988 and again in August 1989.
Date: Oct 17, 1989
Areas affected: Central Coast (California), San Francisco Bay Area, United States
Depth: 12 mi (19 km)
Max. intensity: IX (Violent)
Total damage: $5.6–6 billion

1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Photograph of a collapsed five-story tower, St. Joseph's Seminary, Los Altos, California. One person, Curtis Lee Currin, working in the tower was killed
One person died when a five-story tower collapsed at St. Joseph’s Seminary in Santa Clara County.
wiki/1989_Loma_Prieta_earthquake
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(1989) San Francisco Bay Area rocked by major quake.
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1860 | 1st Open Championship as golfers play a new tournament near Glasgow
A single-day championship is held near Glasgow, Scotland at Prestwick Golf Club, a 12-hole course hosting eight professional golfers for a three-round game to determine the winner of The Open. The tournament will become the oldest in golfing and be known in the US as the British Open.
1931 | A Chicago mobster’s criminal career ends with taxes due as Al Capone convicted
Brooklyn native Al Capone is brought to justice after a violent criminal career, but it’s not a rival’s bullets or a murder conviction that finally does him in. The 32-year-old known as ‘Scarface’ is convicted on tax evasion charges and sentenced to a prison term of 11 years.
1979 | Spreadsheets come to personal computers as VisiCalc released
Personal computers get down to business as VisiCalc is released for the Apple II. It will go on to sell about a million copies, with versions for the IBM PC and other platforms added in the coming years. The day will later be known as National Spreadsheet Day.

Today in History 10/17/17

Chicago crime boss Al Capone, left, wearing white hat, as he leaves the courtroom in Chicago on October 12, 1931 (© AP)(1931) A Chicago mobster's criminal career ends with taxes due
Brooklyn native Al Capone is brought to justice after a violent criminal career, but it's not a rival's bullets or a murder conviction that finally does him in. The 32-year-old known as 'Scarface' is convicted on tax evasion charges and sentenced to a prison term of 11 years.
Alphonse Gabriel Capone, sometimes known by the nickname Scarface, was an American mobster, crime boss, and businessman who attained fame during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the Chicago Outfit. His seven-year reign as crime boss ended when he was 33 years old.
Lived: Jan 17, 1899 - Jan 25, 1947 (age 48)
Height: 5' 10" (1.79 m)
Spouse: Mae Capone (m. 1918 - 1947)
TV shows: The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults
Children: Albert Francis Capone (Son)
Buried: Mount Carmel Cemetery
Capone’s criminal record in 1932
Capone's FBI criminal record in 1932, showing most of his criminal charges were discharged/dismissed
Highlights
  • 1918: Capone married Mae Josephine Coughlin at age 19 on December 30, 1918.

  • 1920: Torrio took over Colosimo's crime empire after Colosimo's murder on May 11, 1920, in which Capone was suspected of being involved.

  • 1926: On September 20, 1926, the North Side Gang used a ploy outside the Capone headquarters at the Hawthorne Inn, aimed at drawing him to the windows.

  • 1927: In January 1927, the Hawthorne's restaurant owner, a friend of Capone's, was kidnapped and killed by Moran and Drucci.

  • 1931: An indication of the attitude of local law enforcement to Capone's organization came in 1931 when Belcastro was wounded in a shooting; police suggested to skeptical journalists that Belcastro was an independent operator.

  • 1947: On January 25, 1947, Capone died of cardiac arrest after suffering a stroke.

wiki/Al_Capone
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Today in History 08/28 (St. Augustine)

Drawing of Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (© Universal History Archive/UIG via Getty Images)(1565) Spanish explorer finds site for an American settlement
Rushing to beat Huguenot French settlers, Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés speeds his fleet towards what will become ‘La Florida,’ where he today sights land, and will soon settle St. Augustine. It will become one of the oldest continuously settled European-founded cities in the continental US.
St. Augustine is a city in the Southeastern United States, on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement within the borders of the continental United States.
Population: 14,280 (2016)
Area: 12.76 sq miles
Travel tip: Saint Augustine is a luxurious, romantic vacation spot—you’ll find classic hotels and intimate restaurants. Those can be a dime a dozen, though. What sets Saint Augustine apart is its history—it’s the oldest European settlement in the U.S. And nowhere else in the world can you taste the waters of the Fountain of Youth … @tripadvisor
Colleges and universities: Flagler College · University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences · Saint Joseph College of Florida · First Coast Technical College

St. Augustine, Florida
Top, left to right: Castillo de San Marcos, St. Augustine Light, Flagler College, Lightner Museum, statue near the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine, St. Augustine Alligator Farm Zoological Park, Old St. Johns County Jail
wiki/St._Augustine,_Florida
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(1565) Spanish explorer finds site for an American settlement.
Also on this day,

1898 | Indigestion gets an intervention with a brand-new brew Pepsi-Cola
Pharmacist Caleb Bradham has developed a digestion aid at his North Carolina drug store concocted with sugar, water, caramel, lemon, nutmeg, and what he terms ‘rare oils.’ Today he names it ‘Pepsi-Cola,’ a play on the word ‘dyspepsia,’ the ailment that the drink purports to soothe.
1963 | Dr. King delivers a speech of dreams in Washington, DC
Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, his voice ringing out to some 250,000 listeners, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a stirring speech that will galvanize the civil rights movement and be heralded as one of the greatest orations in American history.
1968 | Protesters clash with police at Chicago convention
Tens of thousands of anti-war activists and an even larger number of police officers and federal troops meet in a fray of batons, fists, and tear gas in Chicago, and TV cameras capture the melee as it arrives on the doorstep of the Democratic National Convention at the Hilton Hotel.

Today in History 08/28/17

Martin Luther King, Jr. addresses the crowd during the March on Washington at the Lincoln Memorial, Washington DC, where he gave his 'I Have a Dream' speech (© Central Press/Getty Images)(1963) Dr. King delivers a speech of dreams in Washington, DC
Standing in front of the Lincoln Memorial, his voice ringing out to some 250,000 listeners, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers a stirring speech that will galvanize the civil rights movement and be heralded as one of the greatest orations in American history.
"I Have a Dream" is a public speech delivered by American civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom on August 28, 1963, in which he calls for an end to racism in the United States and called for civil and economic rights. Delivered to over 250,000 civil rights supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., the speech was a defining moment of the Civil Rights Movement.
wiki/I_Have_a_Dream
An officer from the Chicago police department struggles with a protestor outside the Democratic National Convention headquarters on Aug 28, 1968 (© APA/Getty Images)(1968) Protesters clash with police at Chicago convention
Tens of thousands of anti-war activists and an even larger number of police officers and federal troops meet in a fray of batons, fists, and tear gas in Chicago, and TV cameras capture the melee as it arrives on the doorstep of the Democratic National Convention at the Hilton Hotel.
Protest activity took place prior to and during the 1968 Democratic National Convention. In 1967, counterculture and anti-Vietnam War protest groups had been promising to come to Chicago and disrupt the convention, and the city promised to maintain law and order. For eight days, the protesters and the Chicago Police Department met in the streets and parks of Chicago while the U.S. Democratic Party met at the convention in the International Amphitheater.
Date: 1968
File:1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago. Sept 68 C15 8 1313, Photo by Bea A Corson, Chicago. Purchased at estate sale in 2011 by Victor Grigas Released Public Domain
1968 Democratic National Convention, Chicago. Sept 68 C15 8 1313 , Photo by Bea A Corson, Chicago. Purchased at estate sale in 2011 by Victor Grigas Released Public Domain

wiki/1968_Democratic_National_Convention_protest_activity
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