Today in History: October 17, Loma Prieta earthquake strikes California
- ️Mon Oct 07 2024
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Today in history:
On Oct. 17, 1989, an earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude struck northern California, killing 63 people and causing up to $10 billion worth of damage.
Also on this date:
In 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, New York, in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.
Chicago crime boss Al Capone, center, in the custody of U.S. marshals, leaves the courtroom of Federal Judge James H. Wilkerson in Chicago on Oct. 24, 1931. (AP Photo)
Chicago crime boss Al Capone, center, in the custody of U.S. marshals, leaves the courtroom of Federal Judge James H. Wilkerson in Chicago on Oct. 24, 1931. (AP Photo)
In 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted in Chicago of income tax evasion; he would be sentenced to 11 years in prison.
Prof. Albert Einstein uses the blackboard as he delivers the 11th Josiah Willard Gibbs lecture at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the auditorium of the Carnegie Institute of Technology Little Theater at Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 28, 1934. (AP Photo)
Prof. Albert Einstein uses the blackboard as he delivers the 11th Josiah Willard Gibbs lecture at the meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in the auditorium of the Carnegie Institute of Technology Little Theater at Pittsburgh, Pa., on Dec. 28, 1934. (AP Photo)
In 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.
50-year-old Henry Pu-Yi, the last Manchu emperor of China, seen in a Communist prison in Fushan, China, Dec. 28, 1956. (AP Photo)
50-year-old Henry Pu-Yi, the last Manchu emperor of China, seen in a Communist prison in Fushan, China, Dec. 28, 1956. (AP Photo)
In 1967, Puyi, the last emperor of China, died in Beijing at age 61.
Mother Teresa, head of the Missionaries of Charity order, cradles an armless baby girl at her order’s orphanage in Calcutta, India in 1978. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams)
Mother Teresa, head of the Missionaries of Charity order, cradles an armless baby girl at her order’s orphanage in Calcutta, India in 1978. (AP Photo/Eddie Adams)
In 1979, Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
Members of the Oakland Athletics stand and stare as Candlestick Park-goers leave the stadium in the wake of the major earthquake that struck Northern California just before game 3 of the World Series against the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 17, 1989. (AP Photo)
Members of the Oakland Athletics stand and stare as Candlestick Park-goers leave the stadium in the wake of the major earthquake that struck Northern California just before game 3 of the World Series against the San Francisco Giants on Oct. 17, 1989. (AP Photo)
In 1989, Game 3 of the World Series was canceled as the Loma Prieta earthquake struck Northern California just 30 minutes before the game was scheduled to begin at Candlestick Park in San Francisco; the game would eventually be played 10 days later.
Ronnie Poole walks through debris as he checks on a friend’s home in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
Ronnie Poole walks through debris as he checks on a friend’s home in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael in Mexico Beach, Fla., Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2018. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert)
In 2018, residents of the Florida Panhandle community of Mexico Beach who had fled Hurricane Michael a week earlier returned to find houses, businesses and campers ripped to shreds; the storm had killed at least 59 people and caused more than $25 billion in damage in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.
Click here to see who was born on October 17.