October 14th

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Two Israelis and a Palestinian Share the Nobel Peace Prize. The Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres shared the Nobel Peace Prize, which is annually awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo, with the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat. The Award was given out to the two parties for their efforts and work on the Oslo Accords, a series of agreements between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. The Accords created the Palestinian Authority and made it the official governing body to interact with Israel on issues that effect the lives of Palestinians in Israel.

Composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein died in New York at age 72.

Joseph Kittinger Starts on his Solo Gas Balloon Flight Across the Atlantic. 4 days later, on September 18, Kittinger became the first person to traverse the Atlantic in a balloon called the Balloon of Peace. As a member of the US Armed Forces, Kittinger jumped from a height of 102,800 feet on August 16, 1960, becoming the first person in ever to jump from that height.

The first live telecast from a staffed U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.

Martin Luther King, Jr., was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in civil rights.

First Human to Fly Faster than the Speed of Sound. American Air Force test pilot, Chuck Yeager, flew the Bell X-1, an experiment aircraft at Mach 1.07 at an altitude of 45,000 ft. In doing so, he became the first person to break the sound barrier.

Nazi Germany withdrew from the Geneva disarmament conference and the League of Nations.

Winnie-the-Pooh Makes his Literary Debut. The popular children’s book character was created by British author A.A. Milne and first appeared in a collection of short stories called Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie, a teddy bear, lives in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England. The book followed his adventures in the forest with his friends Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and Eeyore.

Senghenydd Colliery Disaster. In what is considered to be one of the worst mine disasters in recorded history, 440 people were killed when an explosion ripped through the Senghenydd coal mine in Wales.

15th and last Tokugawa Shogun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu resigns in Japan.

1st Continental Congress makes Declaration of Colonial Rights in Philadelphia.

Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence.

Battle of Hastings, Duke William of Normandy and the Norman army defeat English forces of Harold II.