MONDAY, OCTOBER 12, 2009

Today is Monday, October 12, the 285th day of 2009. There are 80 days left in the year.

1492 _ Columbus arrives in the Bahamas; the real Columbus Day

1860 _ British and French troops capture Peking

1933 _ Alcatraz becomes a federal prison (unofficially)

1941 _ Russian government moves from Moscow to Volga as Nazis close in on Moscow

1960 _ Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe at U.N. General Assembly session

1973 _ Nixon nominates Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew as V.P.

1976 _ Hua Guo-feng succeeds Mao Tse-tung as chairman of Communist Party

1984 _ IRA bombs hotel where Margaret Thatcher is staying

1985_ International Physicians for Prevention of Nuclear War receives Nobel Peace Prize

1988 _ Israel and China sign trade deal, plan diplomatic relations