Today in History: Oct. 25

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 25, the 299th day of 2016. There are 67 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight:

On Oct. 25, 1962, during a meeting of the U.N. Security Council, U.S. Ambassador Adlai E. Stevenson II demanded that Soviet Ambassador Valerian Zorin confirm or deny the existence of Soviet-built missile bases in Cuba, saying he was prepared to wait “until hell freezes over” for an answer; Stevenson then presented photographic evidence of the bases to the Council.

On this date:

In 1415, during the Hundred Years’ War, outnumbered English soldiers led by Henry V defeated French troops in the Battle of Agincourt in northern France.

In 1760, Britain’s King George III succeeded his late grandfather, George II.

In 1854, the “Charge of the Light Brigade” took place during the Crimean War as an English brigade of more than 600 men charged the Russian army, suffering heavy losses.

In 1929, former Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall was convicted in Washington, D.C. of accepting a $100,000 bribe from oil tycoon Edward L. Doheny. (Fall was sentenced to a year in prison and fined $100,000; he ended up serving nine months.)

In 1939, the play “The Time of Your Life,” by William Saroyan, opened in New York.

In 1944, New York socialite and amateur soprano Florence Foster Jenkins, 76, performed a recital to a capacity crowd at Carnegie Hall. (The next day, a scathing review by Earl Wilson in the New York Post remarked, “She can sing anything but notes.”)

In 1945, Taiwan became independent of Japanese colonial rule.

In 1954, a meeting of President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s Cabinet was carried live on radio and television; to date, it’s the only presidential Cabinet meeting to be broadcast.

In 1971, the U.N. General Assembly voted to admit mainland China and expel Taiwan.

In 1983, a U.S.-led force invaded Grenada at the order of President Ronald Reagan, who said the action was needed to protect U.S. citizens there.

In 1986, in Game 6 of the World Series, the New York Mets rallied for three runs with two outs in the 10th inning, defeating the Boston Red Sox 6-5 and forcing a seventh game; the tie-breaking run scored on Boston first baseman Bill Buckner’s error on Mookie Wilson’s slow grounder. (The Mets went on to win the Series.)

In 1994, Susan Smith of Union, South Carolina, claimed that a black carjacker had driven off with her two young sons (Smith later confessed to drowning the children in John D. Long Lake, and was convicted of murder). Three defendants were convicted in South Africa of murdering American exchange student Amy Biehl.

Ten years ago: Acknowledging painful losses in Iraq, President George W. Bush told a news conference he was not satisfied with the progress of the long and unpopular war, but insisted the United States was winning and should not think about withdrawing. Serial killer Danny Harold Rolling was executed by injection for butchering five University of Florida students in Gainesville in 1990.

Five years ago: Deposed Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his son Muatassim and former Defense Minister Abu Bakr Younis were buried at dawn in a secret location, five days after Gadhafi was killed when revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte.

One year ago: Declaring that “today is a time of mercy,” Pope Francis closed a historic meeting of bishops that approved an important new direction in welcoming divorced and civilly remarried Catholics into the church. Six people were killed when a Canadian whale-watching boat capsized off Vancouver Island. Flip Saunders, 60, who rose from the backwaters of basketball’s minor leagues to become one of the most powerful men in the NBA as coach, team president and part owner of the Minnesota Timberwolves, died in Minneapolis.

Today’s birthdays: Former American League president Dr. Bobby Brown is 92. Singer-actress Barbara Cook is 89. Actress Marion Ross is 88. Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Knight is 76. Pop singer Helen Reddy is 75. Author Anne Tyler is 75. Rock singer Jon Anderson (Yes) is 72. Political strategist James Carville is 72. Singer Taffy Danoff (Starland Vocal Band) is 72. Rock musician Glenn Tipton (Judas Priest) is 69. Actor Brian Kerwin is 67. Actor Mark L. Taylor is 66. Movie director Julian Schnabel is 65. Rock musician Matthias Jabs is 60. Actress Nancy Cartwright (TV: “The Simpsons”) is 59. Country singer Mark Miller (Sawyer Brown) is 58. Rock musician Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers; Chickenfoot) is 55. Actress Tracy Nelson is 53. Actor Michael Boatman is 52. Actor Kevin Michael Richardson is 52. Actor Mathieu Amalric is 51. Singer Speech is 48. Actress-comedian-TV host Samantha Bee is 47. Actor Adam Goldberg is 46. Actor-singer Adam Pascal is 46. Rock musician Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies) is 46. Actress Persia White is 46. Country singer Chely Wright is 46. Violinist Midori is 45. Actor Craig Robinson is 45. Actor Michael Weston is 43. Actor Zachary Knighton is 38. Actress Mariana Klaveno is 37. Actor Mehcad Brooks is 36. Actor Ben Gould is 36. Actor Josh Henderson is 35. Rhythm-and-blues singer Young Rome is 35. Pop singer Katy Perry is 32. Rock singer Austin Winkler is 32. Singer Ciara is 31. Actress Conchita Campbell is 21.

Thought for Today: “You can tell the size of a man by the size of the thing that makes him mad.” — Adlai E. Stevenson II, American statesman (1900-1965).