Ronald Reagan wins the US presidential election (1980), and Rommel begins retreat from El Alamein against Hitler's order (1942). Born on this day: Matthew McConaughey, Laura Welch Bush and Tony Abbott. Died: Felix Mendelssohn, Yitzhak Rabin and Michael Crichton.
32 events, 61 births and 51 deaths on this date.
Reagan, a former Hollywood actor and California governor, defeated incumbent Jimmy Carter in a landslide. He went on to serve two terms, pushing tax cuts and a tougher line on the Soviet Union that reshaped American conservatism.
Michael Evans · Public domainErwin Rommel defied a direct order from Hitler and pulled his Axis forces back after a heavy defeat at El Alamein in Egypt. The withdrawal dragged on for months and marked the turning of the North Africa campaign against Germany.
Soviet forces moved into Hungary to crush the uprising against Moscow's control that had broken out in late October, and thousands were killed. Nearly a quarter million people fled the country in the aftermath.
Mozart's Symphony No. 36, later known as the Linz, received its first hearing in the Austrian town. Mozart, who wrote more than 800 works, is regarded as one of the greatest composers in Western music.
Barbara Krafft · Public domain
Columbus sighted the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles during his second Atlantic crossing, a fleet of seventeen ships bound for the Caribbean. The landfall extended Spanish knowledge of the chain of islands that stretches toward South America.
Ridolfo del Ghirlandaio · Public domain
With Europe already at war, the American president told customs officers to apply the Neutrality Act, letting nations fighting Germany buy weapons from the United States if they paid cash and carried them away. It was a step toward backing Britain and France without entering the conflict.
Leon Perskie · CC BY 2.0
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American actor who broke through in Dazed and Confused and later won the Academy Award for Best Actor for playing Ron Woodroof in Dallas Buyers Club. He is still working and has appeared in Interstellar and The Gentlemen.
Raph_PH · CC BY 4.0
Laura Bush was America's First Lady while her husband, George W. Bush, was president. Before that she worked as a teacher and librarian, and she is best known for championing literacy and education.
White House photo by Krisanne Johnson · Public domain
Tony Abbott was Australia's 28th prime minister, leading the Liberal Party from 2013 to 2015 after a landslide election win. Born in England, he is remembered for tough budget cuts and a hard line on asylum seekers.
MystifyMe Concert Photography (Troy) · CC BY 2.0
Mendelssohn was a German composer whose Songs Without Words became his best-known piano pieces, and whose Wedding March still turns up at weddings. He also revived interest in Bach's music, notably with a 1829 performance of the St Matthew Passion.
Eduard Magnus · Public domain
Israeli general and statesman Yitzhak Rabin was assassinated while serving as prime minister, his second spell in the job. As chief of the general staff he had overseen Israel's victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, and earlier rose to chief of operations in the Palmach.
Yaakov Saar · CC BY-SA 3.0
Michael Crichton wrote bestselling techno-thrillers such as Jurassic Park and The Andromeda Strain, many exploring the dangers of unchecked technology. He also created the television series ER and directed films including Westworld.
Jon Chase photo/Harvard News Office · CC BY-SA 3.0
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