Today in History - History - October 29th

1682William Penn lands at what is now Chester Pennsylvania

1958Boris Pasternak refuses Nobel prize for literature

1618English adventurer, writer, and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh is beheaded for allegedly conspiring against James I of England.

2004The Arabic news network Al Jazeera broadcasts an excerpt from a video of Osama bin Laden in which the terrorist leader first admits direct responsibility for the September 11, 2001 attacks and references the 2004 U.S. presidential election.

1945Getulio Vargas, President of Brazil, resigns.

1982Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson release "Girl is Mine"

1960Muhammad Ali's (Cassius Clay) 1st professional fight, beats Tunney Hunsaker in 6

1967Kathy Whitworth wins LPGA Alamo Ladies' Golf Open

1948Kate Jackson, Birmingham Ala, actress (Rookies, Charlie's Angels)

1897[Paul] Joseph Goebbels, Rheydt, Germany, Nazi Reich Minister of Information and Propaganda

1971Winona Ryder, [Horowitz], Mn, actress (Heathers, Edward Scissorhand)

1938Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia

1953Denis Potvin, Vanier Ontario, NY Islander defenseman (Norris trophy)

1959Mike Gartner, Ottawa Ontario, NHL right wing (Toronto Maple Leafs)

1885George McClellan, Union army major general, dies of a heart attack at 58

1618Walter Raleigh, English scholar/poet/historian, beheaded for treason

1877Nathan Bedford Forrest, American Confederate general, dies at 56

1783Jean-Baptiste Le Rond d'Alembert, French philosophe/mathematician, dies at 66