October 12

This Day in History

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Lead Story
Columbus reaches the New World, 1492
American Revolution
British troops head up East River, 1776
Automotive
Silent-film star Tom Mix dies in Arizona car wreck; brained by "Suitcase of Death", 1940
Civil War
Confederate leader Robert E. Lee dies, 1870
Cold War
Nikita Khrushchev throws a tantrum at the United Nations, 1960
Crime
The victim of an anti-gay assault dies, 1998
Disaster
Fire rages in Minnesota, 1918
General Interest
The origin of Oktoberfest, 1810
British nurse executed in WWI, 1915
Conscientious objector wins Medal of Honor, 1945
USSR leads the space race, 1964
USS Cole attacked by terrorists, 2000
Terrorists kill 202 in Bali, 2002
Hollywood
Al Gore wins Nobel Prize in the wake of An Inconvenient Truth, 2007
Literary
Actress, playwright, novelist Alice Childress is born, 1912
Music
John Denver dies in an aircraft accident, 1997
Old West
The Cowboy actor Tom Mix dies in an Arizona car accident, 1940
Presidential
Thomas Jefferson composes romantic letter, 1786
Sports
Athletics score 10 in eighth inning of championship game, 1929
Vietnam War
Dean Rusk criticizes Congress while fighting continues in South Vietnam, 1967
Nixon announces another round of troop withdrawals, 1970
Racial violence breaks out aboard U.S. Navy ships, 1972
World War I
British nurse Edith Cavell executed , 1915
World War II
Gen. Joseph Stilwell dies, 1946

Cold War

Oct 12, 1960:

Nikita Khrushchev throws a tantrum at the United Nations

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In one of the most surreal moments in the history of the Cold War, Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev removes his shoe and pounds a table with it in protest against a speech critical of Soviet policy in Eastern Europe.

During a debate over a Russian resolution decrying colonialism, a representative of the government of the Philippines charged the Soviets with employing a double standard, pointing to their domination of Eastern Europe as an example of the colonialism they were criticizing in their resolution. In response, Khrushchev took off one of his shoes and began to furiously pound the table. The chaotic scene finally ended when General Assembly President Frederick Boland (Ireland) broke his gavel calling the meeting to order, but not before the image of Khrushchev as a hotheaded buffoon was indelibly etched into America's collective memory.

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This Week in History, Oct 12 - Oct 18

Oct 12, 1960
Nikita Khrushchev throws a tantrum at the United Nations
Oct 13, 1957
Popular sci-fi film reflects America's ambivalence about nuclear weapons
Oct 14, 1962
The Cuban Missile Crisis begins
Oct 15, 1990
Mikhail Gorbachev wins Nobel Peace Prize
Oct 16, 1964
China joins A-bomb club
Oct 17, 1986
U.S. aid to Contras signed into law
Oct 18, 1989
East Germany and Hungary move toward democracy

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