History Oct. 25: John Brown

History: Oct. 25

In 1760, Britain’s King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II. 

In 1854, in an event alternately described as one of the most heroic or disastrous episodes in British military history, Lord James Cardigan leads a charge of the Light Brigade cavalry against well-defended Russian artillery during the Crimean War. 

In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown went on trial in Charles Town, Virginia, for his failed raid at Harpers Ferry. (He was convicted and hanged.) 

In 1910, “America the Beautiful,” with words by Katharine Lee Bates and music by Samuel A. Ward, was first published. 

In 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. 

In 1940, Benjamin O. Davis Sr. became the first Black American promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Army. 

In 1945, Taiwan became independent of Japanese colonial rule.

In 1960, the Bulova Watch Co. introduced its electronic “Accutron” model. 

In 1962, during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II demanded that Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin confirm or deny the existence of Soviet-built missile bases in Cuba; Stevenson then presented photographic evidence of the bases to the Council. 

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

In 1980, AC/DC earns first Top 40 hit: 'Shook Me All Night Long' Australian rock gods AC/DC earn their first Top 40 hit with “You Shook Me All Night Long” (history.com)

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

In 1999, golfer Payne Stewart, 42, and five others were killed when their Learjet flew uncontrolled for four hours before crashing in South Dakota. 

In 2013, Emmy-winning comic actor Marsha Wallace, known for her roles on sitcoms including “The Bob Newhart Show” and as the voice of teacher Edna Krabappel on “The Simpsons,” died at age 70. 

In 2022, Rishi Sunak became Britain’s first prime minister of color after being chosen to lead a governing Conservative Party. (History.com 10/25/23)