19 October: Limey Loser Cornwallis Surrenders; Napoleon Retreats; War Over; Agnew Speaks! Funny Filth In Court

Today is Monday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2009. There are 73 days left in the year. The UPI Almanac.Today's Highlight in History:
On Oct. 19, 1781, British troops under General Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Va., as the American Revolution neared its end.
On this date:
In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress, meeting in New York, drew up a declaration of rights and liberties.
In 1812, French forces under Napoleon Bonaparte began their retreat from Moscow.
In 1864, Confederate Gen. Jubal A. Early attacked Union forces at Cedar Creek, Va.; the Union troops were able to rally and defeat the Confederates.
In 1944, the Navy announced that black women would be allowed into the WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).
In 1950, United Nations forces entered the North Korean capital of Pyongyang.
In 1951, President Harry S. Truman signed an act formally ending the state of war with Germany.
In 1960, President Dwight D. Eisenhower imposed an embargo on exports to Cuba covering all commodities except medical supplies and certain food products.
In 1967, the U.S. space probe Mariner 5 flew past Venus.
Forty years ago, in 1969, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew referred to anti-Vietnam War protesters  as "an effete corps of impudent snobs." Vice President Spiro T. Agnew speaks. [Yep, 40 yrs. on we're still a bunch of snooty elitists, looking down our noses at the little people in Flyover Country. — Ed.]
In 1977, the supersonic Concorde made its first landing in New York City.
In 1982, carmaker John DeLorean was arrested in Los Angeles and charged in a $24 million cocaine scheme aimed at salvaging his bankrupt sports car company. He was tried and acquitted.
In 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value.

In 1994, 22 people were killed as a terrorist bomb shattered a bus in the heart of Tel Aviv's shopping district.
In 1999, legislation to overhaul the nation's campaign finance laws fell to a filibuster by Senate Republicans for the fourth straight year. The Atlanta Braves won the National League pennant by beating the New York Mets, 10-9, in Game 6 of their championship series.
In 2001, two Army Rangers were killed in a helicopter crash in Pakistan in the first combat-related American deaths of the military campaign in Afghanistan.
In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa during a ceremony in St. Peter's Square.
In 2004, insurgents in Iraq abducted Margaret Hassan, the local director of CARE International, from her car in Baghdad. (Hassan is believed to have been slain by her captors a month later; her body has never been found.) Thirteen people were killed when a Corporate Airlines commuter turboprop crashed in northeast Missouri. Former arms control adviser Paul H. Nitze died in Washington, D.C. at age 97.
In 2005, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent to charges of premeditated murder and torture at his trial in Baghdad.
In 2006, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 12,000 for the first time, ending at 12,011.73.
In 2008, retired Gen. Colin Powell, a Republican who was President George W. Bush's first secretary of state, broke with the party and endorsed Democrat Barack Obama for president, calling him a "transformational figure" during an appearance on NBC's "Meet the Press." The Tampa Bay Rays held off the defending champion Boston Red Sox 3-1 to win the American League championship series in Game 7.
Today's Birthdays: Former U.S. ambassador to Russia Robert S. Strauss is 91. Author John le Carre is 78. Artist Peter Max is 72. Author and critic Renata Adler is 71. Actor Michael Gambon is 69. Actor John Lithgow is 64. Feminist activist Patricia Ireland is 64. Singer Jeannie C. Riley is 64. Rock singer-musician Patrick Simmons (The Doobie Brothers) is 61. Talk show host Charlie Chase is 57. Rock singer-musician Karl Wallinger (World Party) is 52. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele is 51. Singer Jennifer Holliday is 49. Boxer Evander Holyfield is 47. TV host Ty Pennington ("Extreme Makeover: Home Edition") is 45. Rock singer-musician Todd Park Mohr (Big Head Todd and the Monsters) is 44. Actor Jon Favreau is 43. Amy Carter is 42. "South Park" co-creator Trey Parker is 40. Comedian Chris Kattan is 39. Rock singer Pras Michel (The Fugees) is 37. Actor Omar Gooding is 33. Country singer Cyndi Thomson is 33. Writer-director Jason Reitman is 32.
Today In Entertainment History October 19
In 1952, Hank Williams and his second wife, Billie Jean, repeated their wedding vows on a New Orleans stage. Williams died less than three months later.
In 1959, the William Gibson play "The Miracle Worker," starring Patty Duke as Helen Keller and Anne Bancroft as Helen's teacher, Annie Sullivan, opened on Broadway. [We didn't know Mr. Cyberspace got his start on Broadway. — Ed.]
In 1966, The Yardbirds arrived in New York for their first North American tour. After only two dates, guitarist Jeff Beck left the band.
In 1967, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles released "I Second That Emotion."
In 1987, Melissa Etheridge began recording her first album, called "Melissa Etheridge."
In 1990, the jury in the 2 Live Crew obscenity trial in Florida asked the judge for permission to laugh out loud. Some of the jurors said it actually was causing them pain to hold in their laughter. [Verdict: "Filthy but funny." — Ed.]
In 1991, Grant Turner, the voice of the Grand Ole Opry, died. He was 79.
In 1994, entertainer Martha Raye died in Los Angeles at age 78.
In 2008, Mr. Blackwell, the acerbic designer famous for his annual worst-dressed list of celebrities, died in Los Angeles at age 86.
Thought for Today: "It takes a clever man to turn cynic and a wise man to be clever enough not to." — Fannie Hurst, American author (born this date in 1885, died 1968). [Clever editor thinks it's all crap. — Ed.]