Oct 10
1973
U.S. Vice President Spiro T. Agnew resigns
On this day in 1973, U.S. Vice Pres. Spiro Agnew pleaded nolo contendere in federal court to a single count of tax evasion. Before delivering his plea, he resigned, becoming only the second person in U.S. history to resign the vice presidency—and the first to resign under duress. He was later replaced by Gerald Ford, who would go on to replace Pres. Richard Nixon.
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To improve the then-unsatisfactory methods of instructing midshipmen, George Bancroft—historian, educator, and secretary of the navy—founded the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, on this day in 1845.
Featured Biography
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Born October 9 or 10, 1813, Giuseppe Verdi was the leading Italian composer of the 19th century, noted for operas such as Rigoletto (1851), La traviata (1853), Aida (1871), and Falstaff (1893) and for his Requiem (1874).
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2010
The Netherlands Antilles—formerly an autonomous part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands consisting of a group of five islands in the Caribbean Sea—was officially dissolved. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about the Caribbean.]
© Jerry Coli/Dreamstime.com
1979
Canadian hockey player Wayne Gretzky made his NHL debut, with the Edmonton Oilers. [How much do you know about hockey?]
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1969
American gridiron football player Brett Favre, who broke all the major NFL career passing records as quarterback of the Green Bay Packers, was born. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about American football.]
© 1963 United Artists Corporation; photograph from a private collection
1963
The British spy film From Russia with Love premiered in London; the second film in the James Bond franchise, it is considered one of the best in the series. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about films.]
© 1956 Giant Productions, courtesy of Warner Bros.; photograph, Culver Pictures
1956
The American classic Giant had its world premiere; the saga was especially notable for being the last movie of James Dean, who died in a car accident shortly after filming was completed. [Test your knowledge of A-list actors.]
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1917
American pianist and composer Thelonious Monk, among the first creators of modern jazz, was born. [Test your knowledge of music.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1911
A group of revolutionaries launched an uprising in Wuchang, China, which many regard as the formal beginning of the Chinese Revolution, a nationalist democratic revolt that overthrew the Qing dynasty. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about China.]
