Today is Thursday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2021. There are 78 days left in the year.
Today in history
On Oct. 14, 1947, U.S. Air Force Capt. Charles E. (“Chuck”) Yeager became the first test pilot to break the sound barrier as he flew the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake in California.
Also on this date:
In 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial in England, accused of committing treason against Queen Elizabeth I. (Mary was beheaded in February 1587.)
In 1939, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship anchored at Scapa Flow in Scotland’s Orkney Islands; 833 of the more than 1,200 men aboard were killed.
In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. ... Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev was toppled from power; he was succeeded by Leonid Brezhnev as First Secretary and by Alexei Kosygin as Premier.
In 1968, the first successful live telecast from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.
Fun fact
The stick, as in a small tree branch, was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 2008. Organizers called it one of the world’s oldest toys and said sticks “promote free play — the freedom to invent and discover.”
Record setters
The most lasso Texas skips in one minute is 100, achieved by Javier Escamilla, of Mexico, July 7, 2016, on the set of NBC’s TODAY, in New York.
Guinness World Records
Trending words
“Extricate:” verb; (EK-struh-kayt). Definition: To free or remove someone or something from an entanglement or difficulty.
— Merriam-Webster
Today’s birthdays
Classical pianist Gary Graffman is 93. Movie director Carroll Ballard is 84. Country singer Melba Montgomery is 84. Former White House counsel John W. Dean III is 83. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is 82. Singer Sir Cliff Richard is 81. Singer-musician Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) is 75. Actor Greg Evigan is 68. TV personality Arleen Sorkin is 66. World Golf Hall of Famer Beth Daniel is 65. Singer-musician Thomas Dolby is 63. Actor Lori Petty is 58. Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi is 57. Actor Steve Coogan is 56. Singer Karyn White is 56. Actor Edward Kerr is 55. Actor Jon Seda is 51. Country singer Natalie Maines (The Chicks) is 47. Actor-singer Shaznay Lewis (All Saints) is 46. Actor Stephen Hill is 45. Singer Usher is 43. TV personality Stacy Keibler is 42. Actor Ben Whishaw is 41. Actor Jordan Brower is 40. Director Benh Zeitlin is 39. Actor Skyler Shaye is 35. Actor-comedian Jay Pharoah is 34. Actor Max Thieriot is 33.
The Edge is compiled by Dallas Marshall. She can be contacted at dmarshall@lmtribune.com.
