Oct. 22 (UPI) — On this date in history:
In 1797, the first silk parachute jump from a high altitude was made by Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who dropped in a basket released from a balloon at 3,300 feet over a Paris park.
In 1836, Gen. Sam Houston was sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Texas.
In 1929, Professor Irving T. Fisher, head of the Yale department of economics, said that the recent bearish stock market had about reached its bottom and an upward movement was in sight, increasing throughout next year. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 would begin just two days later.
In 1934, federal authorities fatally shot Charles “Pretty Boy” Floyd, a fugitive suspected in the so-called Kansas City massacre in which four officers were killed.
In 1938, inventor Charles Carlson produced the first dry, or xerographic, copy. He had trouble attracting investors.
In 1962, U.S. President John Kennedy announced that Soviet missiles had been deployed in Cuba and ordered a blockade of the island.
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In 1966, The Supremes became the first all-female group to score a No. 1 album, with Supremes a Go-Go.
In 1978, Pope John Paul II was installed as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church. The new pope startled his aides on his first day when he entered a crowd of reporters and freely answered questions, forgoing more conventional and controlled interactions with journalists.
In 1983, Ten U.S. warships sailed toward the violence-wracked Caribbean island of Grenada, prompting its new Marxist leaders to mobilize their forces for a possible invasion.
In 2001, the Pentagon announced nearly 200 U.S. jets struck Taliban and al-Qaida facilities in western Afghanistan and disputed Taliban claims that 100 civilians died when a bomb hit a hospital.
In 2009, the U.S. Congress expanded a hate-crime law to make it a federal crime to assault someone because of sexual orientation or gender identity.
In 2010, nearly 400,000 previously secret U.S. documents on the war in Iraq were posted on the WikiLeaks Internet website. Three months earlier, more than 75,000 undisclosed Afghan conflict documents appeared.
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In 2012, the International Cycling Federation stripped Lance Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles amid a doping scandal.
In 2018, a device similar to a pipe bomb was discovered in the mailbox of billionaire philanthropist George Soros, the first of several attempts to send what appeared to be explosive devices to Democratic politicians such as former President Barack Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Authorities arrested Cesar Sayoc for the mailings, and he pleaded guilty to 65 counts.
In 2019, Japanese Emperor Naruhito formally proclaimed his enthronement during a ceremony in Tokyo that was attended by dignitaries from around the world.
In 2022, Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy Party, was sworn in by President Sergio Mattarella as Italy’s first female prime minister during a ceremony at the Quirinal Palace in Rome.
File Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI
