Today in History....October 19

On this day in …

1765, the Stamp Act Congress, meeting in New York, drew up a declaration of rights and liberties
1781, British troops under Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Va., as the American Revolution neared its end

1812, French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte began their retreat from Moscow

1936, H.R. Ekins of the New York World-Telegram beat out Dorothy Kilgallen of the New York Journal and Leo Kieran of The New York Times in a round-the-world race on commercial flights that lasted 18 1/2 days

1950, during the Korean Conflict, United Nations forces entered the North Korean capital of Pyongyang

1953, singer Julius LaRosa, a regular on the CBS television program "Arthur Godfrey Time," was fired on the air by Godfrey, who accused him of lacking humility

1958, in Brussels, Belgium, the first world's fair held since before World War II closes its doors, after nearly 42 million people have visited the various exhibits

1960, President Eisenhower imposed an embargo on exports to Cuba covering all commodities except medical supplies and certain food products

1977, the body of West German industrialist Hanns Martin Schleyer, who had been kidnapped by left-wing extremists, was found in Mulhouse, France

1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value

2001, U.S. special forces began operations on the ground in Afghanistan, opening a significant new phase of the assault against the Taliban and al-Qaida

2005, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent to charges of premeditated murder and torture as his trial opened under heavy security in the former headquarters of his Baath Party in Baghdad