Important Events From This day in History – 14th October

Today in History

• 1994 – Two Israelis and a Palestinian Share the Nobel Peace Prize

  The Israeli Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin and Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres shared the Nobel Peace Prize annually awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee based in Oslo, with the President of the Palestinian National Authority, Yasser Arafat. The Award was given out to the two parties for their efforts and work on the Oslo Accords, a series of agreements between the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and Israel. The Accords created the Palestinian Authority and made it the official governing body to interact with Israel on issues affecting Palestinians’ lives in Israel.

• 1984 – Joseph Kittinger Starts on his Solo Gas Balloon Flight Across the Atlantic

  4 days later, on September 18, Kittinger became the first person to traverse the Atlantic in a balloon called the Balloon of Peace. As a member of the US Armed Forces, Kittinger jumped from a height of 102,800 feet on August 16, 1960, becoming the first person ever to jump from that height.

• 1947 – First Human to Fly Faster than the Speed of Sound

  American Air Force test pilot, Chuck Yeager, flew the Bell X-1, an experimental aircraft at Mach 1.07 at an altitude of 45,000 ft. In doing so, he became the first person to break the sound barrier.

• 1926 – Winnie-the-Pooh Makes his Literary Debut

  The popular children’s book character was created by British author A.A. Milne and first appeared in a collection of short stories called Winnie-the-Pooh. Winnie, a teddy bear, lives in Ashdown Forest, Sussex, England. The book followed his adventures in the forest with his friends Piglet, Owl, Rabbit, and Eeyore.

• 1913 – Senghenydd Colliery Disaster

  In what is considered to be one of the worst mine disasters in recorded history, 440 people were killed when an explosion ripped through the Senghenydd coal mine in Wales.