Today in History: October 18, American shatters long jump world record by nearly two feet

Posted by Admin October 18, 2024 World

Today is Friday, Oct. 18, the 292nd day of 2024. There are 74 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 18, 1968, American Bob Beamon shattered the previous long jump world record by nearly two feet, leaping 29 feet, 2 1/4 inches (8.90 meters) at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City.

Also on this date:

In 1867, the United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.

In 1898, the American flag was first raised in Puerto Rico, shortly before Spain formally relinquished control of the island to the U.S.

In 1931, inventor Thomas Alva Edison died at his home in West Orange, New Jersey, at the age of 84.

In 1954, Texas Instruments unveiled the Regency TR-1, the first commercially produced transistor radio.

In 1962, James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were honored with the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.

In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard Nixon’s veto.

In 1977, Reggie Jackson hit three home runs in Game 6 of the World Series to lead the New York Yankees to an 8-4 win and a 4-2 Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers; his success in the Fall Classic earned him the nickname “Mr. October.” Also in 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 87 hostages and four crew members and killing three of the four hijackers.

In 2018, President Donald Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico if authorities could not stop a caravan of migrants making their way from Central America.