In an embarrassing breach of the United States' air-defense capability, a Cuban defector enters U.S. air space undetected and lands his Soviet-made MiG-17 at Homestead Air Force Base, south of Miami, Florida. The presidential aircraft Air Force One was at the base at the time, waiting to return President Richard M. Nixon to Washington. The base was subsequently put on continuous alert, and it opened a new radar tracking facility to prevent the repetition of a similar incident in the future.
Also on This Day
- Lead Story
- First presidential speech on TV, 1947
- American Revolution
- Washington informs Congress of espionage, 1775
- Automotive
- Enzo Ferrari makes his debut as a race car driver, 1919
- Civil War
- Union scores a victory at the Battle of Allatoona, 1864
- Cold War
- Iran-Contra scandal unravels, 1986
- Crime
- The Dalton gang performs their last robbery attempt, 1892
- Disaster
- Blimp crashes in France, 1930
- General Interest
- Tecumseh defeated, 1813
- Chief Joseph surrenders, 1877
- Cuban defector lands MiG in Miami, 1969
- American circumnavigates the globe on foot, 1974
- Dalai Lama wins Peace Prize, 1989
- Apple founder Steve Jobs dies, 2011
- Hollywood
- Henry & June is first NC-17 film, 1990
- Literary
- Isaac Singer wins Nobel Prize, 1978
- Music
- Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch earn a #1 hit with "Good Vibrations", 1991
- Old West
- The Dalton Gang is wiped out in Coffeyville, Kansas, 1892
- Presidential
- Chester Arthur is born, 1829
- Sports
- Yanks win their fifth series in a row, 1953
- Vietnam War
- South Vietnamese generals plan coup, 1963
- President Johnson under fire from his own party, 1964
- World War I
- Britain and France commit troops to operation in Salonika, Greece, 1915
- World War II
- "Stalingrad must not be taken by the enemy.", 1942
Cuban defector lands MiG in Miami
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This Week in History, Oct 5 - Oct 11
- Oct 05, 1813
- Tecumseh defeated
- Oct 05, 1877
- Chief Joseph surrenders
- Oct 05, 1969
- Cuban defector lands MiG in Miami
- Oct 05, 1974
- American circumnavigates the globe on foot
- Oct 05, 1989
- Dalai Lama wins Peace Prize
- Oct 05, 2011
- Apple founder Steve Jobs dies
- Oct 06, 1683
- First Mennonites arrive in America
- Oct 06, 1961
- Kennedy urges Americans to build bomb shelters
- Oct 06, 1973
- Yom Kippur War begins
- Oct 07, 1780
- Battle of King's Mountain
- Oct 07, 1913
- Moving Assembly Line at Ford
- Oct 07, 1949
- East Germany created
- Oct 07, 2001
- U.S.-led attack on Afghanistan begins
- Oct 08, 1919
- First transcontinental air race
- Oct 08, 1967
- Che Guevara defeated
- Oct 08, 2005
- Massive earthquake hits Kashmir region
- Oct 09, 1635
- Rhode Island founder banished from Massachusetts
- Oct 09, 1940
- St. Paul's Cathedral bombed
- Oct 09, 1974
- Oskar Schindler dies
- Oct 09, 1975
- Sakharov wins Peace Prize
- Oct 10, 732
- Battle of Tours
- Oct 10, 1845
- Birth of the U.S. Naval Academy
- Oct 10, 1970
- October Crisis in Canada
- Oct 10, 1973
- Vice President Agnew resigns
- Oct 11, 1776
- Benedict Arnold and the Battle of Valcour Island
- Oct 11, 1899
- Boer War begins in South Africa
- Oct 11, 1962
- Pope opens Vatican II
- Oct 11, 1968
- Apollo 7 launched
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