Today in History - History - October 12th

1833Charles Darwin begins return trip to Buenos Aires

1973Nixon nominates Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew as VP

1960Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe on his desk at UN General Assembly session

1862JEB Stuart completes his "second ride around Mcclellan"

1915Theodore Roosevelt criticizes US citzens who identify themselves, with dual nationalities

1933John Dillinger escapes from jail in Allen County, Ohio

2008Anna Kournikova and Andy Roddick defeat Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine in a match for charity, raising over $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund

1984IRA bombs hotel where British PM Margaret Thatcher is staying, 5 die

1792First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York

1901Theodore Roosevelt renames "Executive Mansion," "The White House"

1935Luciano Pavarotti, Modena Italy, operatic tenor (Oh Giorgio, 3 Tenors), (d. 2007)

1968Hugh Jackman, Australian actor and singer (X-men, Real Steel)

1893Education pioneer Booker T. Washington (37) weds Margaret James Murray

1991Steven Spielberg weds Kate Capshaw

1980Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman (43) weds businesswoman Lisa Gottsegen (26) in Roxbury, Connecticut

1929US military leader George Marshall (48) weds Katherine Tupper

1822"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" author Victor Hugo (20) weds Adele Fourcher

1942Jazz musician Louis Armstrong (41) weds dancer Lucille Wilson (28)

1870Robert E. Lee, US General of Confederate Army, dies at 63

1999Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player, dies of congestive heart failure at 63

1845Elizabeth Fry, British social reformer and philanthropist (b. 1780)

1997John Denver, American country music star (Country Boy), dies in a plane crash at 53