Our front page for October 14 — written and set by The Yesterday Times from the events below. Not an archival document.
Day of the year
287
Days left in 2026
78
In 2026 it falls on a
Wednesday
Star sign
Libra
Birthstone
Opal
On October 14 in 1947, 79 years ago, Yeager Breaks Sound Barrier in Rocket Plane Over Mojave. This page reports 8 stories from the date, 25 people born on this day and 15 who died on it.
The stories in full
Aviation Desk
1947 — Yeager Breaks Sound Barrier in Rocket Plane Over Mojave
American test pilot exceeds Mach 1 in Bell X-1; first confirmed supersonic flight in level conditions opens new era of high-speed research.
The test pilot stands beside the rocket plane before his record-breaking flight — U.S. Air Force photo
MOJAVE DESERT, Calif., Oct. 14 — Captain Chuck Yeager became the first man to fly faster than sound today, pushing the rocket-powered Bell X-1 to Mach 1.05 at 45,000 feet above the California desert. Yeager, a 24-year-old Army Air Forces test pilot, reached the speed in level flight, shattering the aerodynamic wall that had blocked military and civilian designers since the first jet engines appeared. The sound barrier, the sharp rise in drag and instability as an aircraft nears the speed of sound, had endangered pilots on earlier attempts. The Bell X-1, built for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, carries no propeller and no jet intake. Four-chamber rocket motors propel the bullet-shaped craft after release from a mother plane at altitude.
Chuck Yeager flew the Bell X-1 at Mach 1.05 at an altitude of 45,000 feet on October 14, 1947.
Yeager was the first pilot confirmed to exceed the speed of sound in level flight.
The Bell X-1 was an experimental rocket-powered aircraft flown for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA).
Yeager won both the Collier and Mackay trophies in 1948 for breaking the sound barrier.
The sound barrier is the large increase in aerodynamic drag and other effects when an aircraft approaches the speed of sound.
LONDON, Oct. 14 — A small boy and his stuffed bear have taken their place on English nursery shelves this week, as Methuen & Co. releases A. A. Milne's "Winnie-the-Pooh" to booksellers throughout the kingdom.
The volume, published today in England and by E. P. Dutton in New York, collects verses and stories that first appeared in the London Evening News last Christmas Eve. That initial tale, "The Wrong Sort of Bees," introduced readers to the bear of little brain and his companion, the boy Christopher Robin. Sales have reached 150,000 copies since publication.
Milne, forty-four, is already known to Punch readers and London theatergoers. The book's illustrator, Ernest H. Shepard, contributes line drawings of the Hundred Acre Wood and its inhabitants: Piglet, Eeyore, Kanga, and the rest. Christopher Robin joins Pooh and friends for a birthday party in one plate.
The volume follows Milne's successful "When We Were Very Young" of 1924. A Latin translation, "Winnie ille Pu," is not yet projected. The book will enter American public domain on January 1, 2022.
The book sold 150,000 copies before the end of 1926.
Winnie-the-Pooh was published on 14 October 1926 by Methuen & Co. in England and E. P. Dutton in the United States.
The book entered the public domain in the United States on 1 January 2022.
A 1958 Latin translation, Winnie ille Pu, was the first foreign-language book on the New York Times Best Seller List.
The first chapter was adapted from 'The Wrong Sort of Bees', published in the London Evening News on Christmas Eve 1925.
1066 — Norman William Kills Harold, Seizes English Throne
Saxon king dies at Hastings; Norman duke ends Anglo-Saxon rule.
Harold takes an arrow in the eye, from the Bayeux Tapestry — 12th century
King Harold Godwinson fell on Senlac Hill near Hastings on October 14, slain by arrow and blade after a day of fighting. His exhausted fyrd had marched south from victory over Norwegian forces at Stamford Bridge on September 25. William's invasion force of thousands, landed at Pevensey two weeks earlier, included Norman knights, French spearmen, Flemish infantry, and Breton bowmen. The mixed army held the ridge against English shield-wall charges until gaps broke the Saxon line. William will be crowned King of England this Christmas Day in London.
Harold Godwinson was killed at the Battle of Hastings on 14 October 1066.
William's invasion force of thousands of men and hundreds of ships landed at Pevensey in Sussex on 28 September 1066.
Harold Godwinson had just defeated and killed Norwegian king Harald Hardrada at the Battle of Stamford Bridge on 25 September 1066.
William was crowned king of England on Christmas Day, 1066, in London.
William's army included Norman, French, Flemish, and Breton troops.
1806 — Napoleon Crushes Prussia in Twin Victory at Jena and Auerstedt
Emperor's marshals and main force shatter Frederick William's march on Berlin in single day.
Prussian officers hand their swords to French victors after the battle — Felician Myrbach
The age of Frederican drill ended on the Saale plain as Emperor Napoleon's Grande Armée destroyed the main Prussian field army in two simultaneous battles that leave Berlin undefended. At Jena, Napoleon himself directed the assault that broke the Prussian line by afternoon. Forty miles north at Auerstedt, Marshal Davout's single corps, outnumbered two to one, crushed the Duke of Brunswick's army and sent the Prussian king fleeing toward the Russian frontier. The double defeat ends the War of the Fourth Coalition before it properly began. Prussian officers handed their swords to French victors on both fields. Napoleon will dictate peace from Berlin within the fortnight.
War of the Fourth Coalition: Napoleon decisively defeats Prussia at the Battle of Jena–Auerstedt.
2012 — Baumgartner Breaks Sound Barrier in Record Stratosphere Plunge
The 43-year-old Austrian leapt from 38,969.3 metres at 843.6 mph, falling 36,402.6 metres in 4 minutes and 19 seconds.
ROSWELL, N.M. — Felix Baumgartner plummeted from the stratosphere today and became the first human to break the sound barrier without a vehicle, reaching 1,357.64 km/h in a four-minute free fall from the edge of space.
The 43-year-old Austrian jumped from a helium balloon at 38,969.3 metres, or roughly 127,852 feet, over eastern New Mexico. His top speed of 843.6 mph equaled Mach 1.25.
Baumgartner's free fall lasted 4 minutes and 19 seconds, falling a record 36,402.6 metres before his parachute deployed. The feat fell 17 seconds short of Joseph Kittinger's 1960 free-fall duration record.
Mission control aborted the original October 9 launch due to weather. Today, conditions held. Baumgartner landed safely on his feet in the desert.
Baumgartner jumped from a helium balloon at 38,969.3 metres (127,852 feet) on 14 October 2012.
He reached a top speed of 1,357.64 km/h (843.6 mph), or Mach 1.25, becoming the first human to break the sound barrier outside a vehicle.
His free fall lasted 4 minutes and 19 seconds, 17 seconds shorter than Joseph Kittinger's 1960 record.
Baumgartner landed in eastern New Mexico after falling a record distance of 36,402.6 metres (119,431 feet).
The launch was originally scheduled for 9 October 2012 but was aborted due to adverse weather.
1991 — Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Burmese Dissident Suu Kyi
Opposition leader honored while under military house arrest.
OSLO, October 14 — Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The 46-year-old dissident, daughter of independence hero Aung San, remains confined to her Rangoon home by the ruling military junta. She has led the National League for Democracy since 1988.
Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
1956 — Ambedkar Leads Mass Conversion to Buddhism in Nagpur Ceremony
Half a million 'Untouchables' take refuge in new faith as leader prescribes 22 vows.
NAGPUR, India — On a plain outside this central Indian city, B.R. Ambedkar knelt before a crowd of half a million and embraced Buddhism on October 14, 1956, launching a mass movement that would reshape the spiritual and political landscape of the nation's oppressed castes.
The 65-year-old leader of India's "Untouchables," who had completed his final work "The Buddha and His Dhamma" earlier that year, accepted the Three Jewels and Five Precepts alongside his wife. He then prescribed 22 vows for the converts, binding them to reject Hindu caste hierarchy.
The conversion drew some 500,000 supporters who had gathered for the ceremony. Ambedkar, architect of India's constitution and lifelong champion of Dalit rights, afterward traveled to Kathmandu to attend the Fourth World Buddhist Conference.
Ambedkar converted to Buddhism on 14 October 1956 in Nagpur, along with his wife.
He converted some 500,000 of his supporters who were gathered around him at the ceremony.
He prescribed the 22 Vows for the converts after accepting the Three Jewels and Five Precepts.
He had completed his final work, 'The Buddha and His Dhamma', earlier in 1956.
After the conversion, he traveled to Kathmandu, Nepal to attend the Fourth World Buddhist Conference.
1888 Louis Le Prince films earliest surviving motion picture — 138 years agosource
1968 Apollo 7 crew performs first live TV broadcast from orbit — 58 years agosource
1774 First Continental Congress denounces British Intolerable Acts — 252 years agosource
1994 Arafat, Rabin, Peres receive Nobel Peace Prize — 32 years agosource
1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights draws 75,000 — 47 years agosource
1908 Chicago Cubs clinch 1908 World Series — 118 years agosource
1968 Jim Hines first to break ten-second barrier in 100 meters — 58 years agosource
Famous birthdays on October 14
1894E. E. CummingsEdward Estlin Cummings, commonly known as e e cummings or E. E. Cummings, was an American poet, painter, essayist, author, and playwright.
1900W. Edwards DemingWilliam Edwards Deming was an American business theorist, composer, economist, industrial engineer, management consultant, statistician, and writer.
1893Lois LenskiLois Lenore Lenski Covey was a Newbery Medal-winning author and illustrator of picture books and children's literature.
1976Tillakaratne Dilshan(50 this year)Tillakaratne Mudiyanselage Dilshan, commonly known as TM Dilshan is a former Sri Lankan cricketer and former captain of the Sri Lanka national cricket team.
1999Quinn Hughes(27 this year)Quintin Jerome Hughes is an American professional ice hockey player who is a defenseman for the Minnesota Wild of the National Hockey League (NHL).
1257Przemysł II of PolandPrzemysł II was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków from 1290 to 1291, and Gdańsk Pomerania (Pomerelia) from 1294 to 1296, and then King of Poland from 1295 until his death.
1563Jodocus HondiusJodocus Hondius was a Flemish engraver and cartographer.
1630Sophia of HanoverSophia was Electress of Hanover from 1692 to 1698 as the consort of Prince-Elector Ernest Augustus.
1733François Sébastien Charles Joseph de CroixFrançois Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt was a military commander in the army of the Holy Roman Empire.
1842Joe StartJoseph Start, nicknamed "Old Reliable", was one of the most durable regulars of baseball's earliest era, and one of the top first basemen of his time.
1894Sail MohamedMohand Amezian ben Ameziane Saïl was an Algerian anarchist and anti-colonial activist.
1910John WoodenJohn Robert Wooden was an American basketball coach and player.
1938Melba MontgomeryMelba Joyce Montgomery was an American country music singer and songwriter.
1938John Dean(88 this year)John Wesley Dean III is a disbarred American attorney who served as White House Counsel for U.S. President Richard Nixon from July 1970 until April 1973.
1941Jerry Glanville(85 this year)Jerry Michael Glanville is an American football coach.
1941Art Shamsky(85 this year)Arthur Louis Shamsky, nicknamed "Sham" and "Smasher", is an American former Major League Baseball player.
1941Roger Taylor(85 this year)Roger Taylor MBE is a British former tennis player, born in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.
1942Evelio JavierEvelio Bellaflor Javier was a Filipino lawyer and politician.
1942Péter Nádas(84 this year)Péter Nádas was a Hungarian writer, playwright and essayist.
1955Iwona Blazwick(71 this year)Iwona Maria Blazwick OBE is a British curator and writer.
1956Jennell JaquaysJennell Allyn Jaquays was an American game designer, video game artist, and illustrator of tabletop role-playing games (RPGs).
1960Steve Cram(66 this year)Stephen Cram, is a British retired track and field athlete.
1963Lori Petty(63 this year)Lori Petty is an American actress, director, and screenwriter.
1965Steve Coogan(61 this year)Stephen John Coogan is a British actor, comedian, screenwriter and producer.
1968Dwayne SchintziusDwayne Kenneth Schintzius was an American basketball player who played eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Died on October 14
2006Klaas RuniaKlaas Runia was a Dutch theologian, churchman and journalist.
1984Martin RyleSir Martin Ryle was an English radio astronomer who developed revolutionary radio telescope systems and used them for accurate location and imaging of weak radio sources.
1619Samuel DanielSamuel Daniel (1562–1619) was an English poet, playwright and historian in the late-Elizabethan and early-Jacobean eras.
2010Simon MacCorkindaleSimon Charles Pendered MacCorkindale was a British actor, film director, writer, and producer from Ely, England.
2008Robert FurmanRobert Ralph Furman was a civil engineer who during World War II was the chief of foreign intelligence for the Manhattan Engineer District directing espionage against the German nuclear energy project.
1998Cleveland AmoryCleveland Amory was an American author, reporter, television critic, commentator and animal rights activist.
1092Nizam al-MulkAbū ʿAlī al-Ḥasan ibn ʿAlī Ṭūsī, better known by his honorific title of Niẓām al-Mulk, was a Persian Sunni scholar, jurist, and vizier of the Seljuk Empire.
2019Harold BloomHarold Bloom was an American literary critic and the Sterling Professor of humanities at Yale University.
1969Haguroyama MasajiHaguroyama Masaji was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Nakanokuchi, Niigata.
1990Leonard BernsteinLeonard Bernstein was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian.
2012Gart WesterhoutGart Westerhout was a Dutch-American astronomer.
1758James Francis Edward KeithJames Francis Edward Keith was a Scottish-born army officer and Generalfeldmarschall of the Prussian Army.
1999Julius NyerereJulius Kambarage Nyerere was a Tanzanian politician, anti-colonial activist, revolutionary and political theorist.
2019SulliChoi Jin-ri, known professionally as Sulli, was a South Korean singer and actress.
996Al-Aziz BillahAbu Mansur Nizar, known by his regnal name as al-Aziz Billah, was the fifth caliph of the Fatimid dynasty, from 975 to his death in 996.
Holidays and observances
Angadrisma
Fortunatus of Todi
Intercession of the Theotokos
Joseph Schereschewsky (Episcopal Church (USA))
October 14 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Pope Callixtus I
Day of the Cathedral of the Living Pillar (Georgian Orthodox Church)
Mother's Day (Belarus)
National Education Day (Poland), formerly Teachers' Day
Nyerere Day (Tanzania)
Second Revolution Day (Yemen)
World Standards Day (International)
Quote of the Day
“Cowards die many times before their deaths; The valiant never taste of death but once.” — William Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
October 14 History Quiz
Who was the first person to break the sound barrier in level flight?
Chuck Yeager
In what year did William the Conqueror defeat Harold at the Battle of Hastings?
1066
Which literary character lives in Hundred Acre Wood?
Every event on this page was picked by hand from the historical record, written up as a news report, and checked against its source. Photographs are matched to the event they illustrate and verified before they are used. Sources are linked on each story.
The Chosen, Chaim Potok
“Ben”, 
Clear and Present Danger, Tom Clancy
The Lost World, Michael Crichton
The Bear and the Dragon, Tom Clancy
“Bodak Yellow (Money Moves)”, 
The Cuban Affair, Nelson DeMille
“Paint The Town Red”, 
The Last Devil to Die, Richard Osman
