Today in History....October 25

On this day in …

1774, the First Continental Congress sends a respectful petition to King George III to inform his majesty that if it had not been for the acts of oppression forced upon the colonies by the British Parliament, the American people would be standing behind British rule

1854, the "Charge of the Light Brigade" took place during the Crimean War as an English brigade of more than 600 men, facing hopeless odds, charged the Russian army during the Battle of Balaclava and suffered heavy losses
1929, during the Teapot Dome scandal, Albert B. Fall, who served as secretary of the interior in President Warren G. Harding's cabinet, is found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office. Fall was the first individual to be convicted of a crime committed while a presidential cabinet member

1944,during the Battle of the Leyte Gulf, the Japanese deploy kamikaze ("divine wind") suicide bombers against American warships for the first time

1951, peace talks aimed at ending the Korean Conflict resumed in Panmunjom after 63 days

1962, U.S. ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson presented photographic evidence of Soviet missile bases in Cuba to the U.N. Security Council

1971, the U.N. General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan

1983, a U.S.-led force invaded Grenada at the order of President Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there

1986, in Game 6 of the World Series, the Boston Red Sox lost to the New York Mets 6-5 on a wild pitch and an error in the tenth inning, forcing a seventh game, which the Mets ended up winning

1996, federal judge Richard Matsch granted Oklahoma City bombing defendants Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols separate trials

2001, a day after the House signed on, the Senate sent President Bush the USA Patriot Act, a package of anti-terror measures giving police sweeping new powers to search terror suspects' homes and business records secretly and to eavesdrop on telephone and computer conversations