What Happened on October 16

National Intelligence

1962 — Kennedy Sees Cuba Missile Photos; 13-Day Crisis Opens

High-altitude reconnaissance reveals Soviet nuclear launchers 90 miles from Florida — President convenes emergency council as Washington weighs response to secret buildup

WASHINGTON, October 16 — The Cold War's most dangerous hour began Tuesday when President John F. Kennedy examined aerial photographs showing Soviet nuclear missile bases under construction in Cuba.

The U-2 reconnaissance images, taken Tuesday over the island's western end, display medium-range ballistic missile launch sites at Sagua la Grande. Military analysts confirmed the presence of launchers capable of striking Washington and most major U.S. cities within minutes.

Kennedy, 45, summoned his top national security advisers to an emergency session at the White House this morning. The closed-door meeting launched what officials term a systematic review of American response options. The President has scheduled no public appearances.

The 13-day confrontation now unfolding marks the first direct nuclear standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union. Defense Department officials declined comment on military readiness levels.

Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev has publicly denied placing offensive weapons in Cuba. The photographed sites contradict that assurance.

Intelligence sources said additional U-2 missions are planned to track construction progress.

• Cuban Missile Crisis begins: U.S. President John F. Kennedy is informed of photos taken on October 14 by a U-2 showing nuclear missiles (the crisis will last for 13 days starting from this point).

Source: Wikipedia — Cuban Missile Crisis

Motion Picture Trade

1923 — Disney Brothers Open Hollywood Cartoon Studio on $1,500 Contract

Walt Disney and brother Roy establish West Coast production base for Alice Comedies series.

HOLLYWOOD, October 16 — In an industry still finding its footing after the silent era's convulsions, two Midwestern brothers staked their future on a talking mouse and a live-action girl. Walt Disney, 22, and Roy O. Disney, 30, incorporated the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio here today, securing their first commercial toehold in the booming motion picture business.

The venture rests upon a $1,500 commitment from New York distributor Margaret Winkler to produce six series of Alice Comedies, combining filmed children with animated surroundings. Walt Disney had negotiated the arrangement before extracting Roy from convalescence at the Sawtelle Veterans Home, where tuberculosis had confined him.

The brothers will operate initially as Winkler Pictures' West Coast production branch. Walt Disney directs; Roy Disney manages finances.

The studio opens at 4651 Kingswell Avenue. Walt Disney arrived in California eighteen months earlier, following a failed Kansas City venture.

• Roy O. Disney was convalescing from tuberculosis at the Sawtelle Veterans Home in Los Angeles when Walt visited to ask for help establishing the studio.
• Walt Disney had secured a deal with New York distributor Margaret Winkler before founding the studio.
• The studio was founded as Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio on October 16, 1923, in Hollywood.
• The studio initially served as Winkler Pictures' West Coast branch to produce the Alice Comedies series.
• Walt and Roy Disney founded the studio with a contract for $1,500 to create six series of Alice Comedies.

Source: Wikipedia — Walt Disney

London Publishing

1950 — C. S. Lewis Opens Narnia Series With Tale of Wardrobe, Witch, Lion

Clive Staples Lewis, Oxford's Magdalen College Fellow and Tutor, published his first children's fiction today, opening a projected seven-volume Narnia chronicle.

LONDON, October 16 — Clive Staples Lewis, Fellow and Tutor of Magdalen College, Oxford, saw his first work of children's fiction published today by Geoffrey Bles. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe opens a projected seven-volume chronicle of the imaginary kingdom Narnia.

• The novel was published in the United Kingdom by Geoffrey Bles on October 16, 1950.
• It is the first published and best known of seven novels in The Chronicles of Narnia series.
• The book was illustrated by Pauline Baynes, whose work has been retained in many later editions.
• Lewis wrote the book for and dedicated it to his goddaughter, Lucy Barfield.
• The manuscript for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe was complete by the end of March 1949.

Source: Wikipedia — The Chronicles of Narnia

Royal Irish Academy Proceedings

1843 — Trinity Professor Invents Three-Dimensional Number System

Hamilton names new mathematics quaternions.

William Rowan Hamilton, Andrews Professor of Astronomy at Trinity College, has invented quaternions. The system extends complex numbers into three dimensions. Hamilton devised the new mathematics on October 16 while walking in Dublin.

• William Rowan Hamilton invents quaternions, a three-dimensional system of complex numbers.

Source: Wikipedia — William Rowan Hamilton

Vatican Dispatch

1978 — Polish Cardinal Wojtyła Elected Pope; First Non-Italian in 455 Years

Cardinal Karol Wojtyła takes the name John Paul II in stunning break with centuries of papal tradition.

VATICAN CITY, Oct. 16 — Cardinal Karol Wojtyła of Poland was elected Supreme Pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church today, becoming Pope John Paul II and shattering 455 years of Italian monopoly on the papacy.

The 58-year-old archbishop of Kraków is the first non-Italian to occupy St. Peter's throne since Adrian VI of the Netherlands died in 1523. His election on the eighth ballot of the second conclave day stunned Vatican watchers who had expected another Italian successor to Pope John Paul I, whose 33-day reign ended with his death last month.

• Cardinal Karol Wojtyła is elected to the papacy as Pope John Paul II, he becomes the first non-Italian pontiff since 1523.

Source: Wikipedia — October 1978 conclave

The War Dispatch

1859 — Abolitionist Brown Seizes Federal Arsenal at Harpers Ferry

Brown and 20 followers captured the United States Armory and Arsenal before dawn on Oct. 16.

HARPERS FERRY, Va., Oct. 16 — Night still clung to the Potomac when armed men emerged from the darkness and seized the federal arsenal at this riverside town.

Abolitionist John Brown of Kansas, with 20 followers including three of his sons, captured the United States Armory and Arsenal before dawn.

• Origins of the American Civil War: Abolitionist John Brown and his supporters launch a raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia (now West Virginia).

Source: Wikipedia — Origins of the American Civil War

The Celestial Court

690 — Wu Zetian Declares Herself Emperor of All China

Former concubine shatters 1,500 years of male rule to found her own Zhou dynasty.

CHANG'AN, October 16 — The throne of the Sons of Heaven will bear a daughter today. Empress Wu Zetian has ended the Tang dynasty in name and proclaimed herself sole ruler of the Chinese Empire, the first woman to claim the imperial title in fifteen centuries of recorded history.

• Empress Wu Zetian ascends to the throne of the Tang dynasty and proclaims herself ruler of the Chinese Empire.

Source: Wikipedia — Wu Zetian

The Nobel Desk

1984 — South African Archbishop Tutu Wins Nobel Peace Prize

Anglican prelate honored for nonviolent opposition to apartheid.

OSLO, Oct. 16 — In an era when moral leadership often seemed in short supply, one cleric's voice rose above the gunfire of a divided land. Tutu, 52, learned of the honor at his home in Cape Town while reading morning newspapers. The Anglican prelate had faced repeated threats for his denunciations of apartheid. He plans to donate his $192,000 prize to aid black South Africans.

• Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Source: Wikipedia — Desmond Tutu

Olympic Bureau

1968 — Sprinters Smith and Carlos Expelled From U.S. Squad Over Black Power Salute at Mexico Games

Track stars ejected after podium protest during 200-meter medal ceremony.

MEXICO CITY, October 16 — Tommie Smith stood tall on the victory podium, then raised a black-gloved fist toward the sky. The gesture cost him his place on the American Olympic team.

Smith and bronze medalist John Carlos have been expelled from the U.S. squad for their Black Power salute during Tuesday's 200-meter medal ceremony. The two sprinters bowed their heads as the Star-Spangled Banner played, their raised fists encased in black gloves.

U.S. Olympic Committee officials ordered the pair off the team immediately, calling the demonstration a deliberate breach of Olympic protocol.

• Tommie Smith and John Carlos are ejected from the US Olympic team for participating in the Olympics Black Power salute.

Source: Wikipedia — 1968 Olympics Black Power salute

Valletta Desk

2017 — Maltese Investigative Journalist Caruana Galizia Killed by Car Bomb Near Home

The 53-year-old journalist died October 16 when explosives detonated inside her vehicle on a country road outside the northern village of Bidnija.

BIDNIJA, Malta, October 16 — Daphne Caruana Galizia died where she lived, on a country road outside this northern village, when explosives detonated inside her car.

The journalist and anti-corruption activist was killed by a car bomb planted in her vehicle near her home, authorities confirmed. She was 53.

Caruana Galizia had spent years exposing graft among Malta's political and business elite through her blog, Running Commentary. Her final post, published hours before her death, ended with a warning: "There are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate."

Police have opened a murder investigation.

• Caruana Galizia was killed by a car bomb detonated inside her vehicle near her home in Bidnija, Malta.
• Three men were arrested in December 2017 in connection with the car bomb attack.
• Yorgen Fenech, owner of Dubai-based company 17 Black, was arrested on his yacht on 20 November 2019 for her murder.
• In April 2018, an international consortium of 45 journalists from 18 news outlets launched The Daphne Project to complete her investigative work.
• Her last blog post before being killed ended with the line 'there are crooks everywhere you look now. The situation is desperate.'

Source: Wikipedia — Daphne Caruana Galizia