On Oct. 24, 1537, Jane Seymour, third wife of England’s King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, who would become King Edward VI.
In 1648 the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years War and effectively destroyed the Holy Roman Empire.
In 1795 Poland was partitioned by Prussia, Austria and Russia.
In 1901, in a stunt to raise money to repay a loan due on her Texas ranch, Anna Edson Taylor, a 43-year-old widow, became the first person to survive a plunge over Niagara Falls in a barrel. (The barrel was equipped with a harness and cushions.)
In 1940 the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.
In 1945 the Soviet Union became the 29th nation to ratify the charter of the United Nations, and the organization went into operation.
In 1962 President John F. Kennedy’s blockade of Cuba forced several Soviet ships bound for the missile-fortified island to turn away without confrontation.
In 1976 fire destroyed the Puerto Rican Social Club in New York’s Bronx borough, killing 25 people and injuring many others.
In 1984, in New York City, the FBI arrested 11 alleged chiefs of the Colombo crime family on charges of racketeering.
In 1987 the Teamsters union, 30 years after it was expelled for refusing to answer allegations of corruption, was welcomed back into the AFL-CIO by a vote of the labor federation’s executive council.
In 1989 former television evangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced by a judge in Charlotte, N.C., to 45 years in prison for fraud and conspiracy. (The term later was reduced to eight years, then reduced to four for good behavior.)
In 1992 the Toronto Blue Jays brought Canada its first World Series crown when they edged the Atlanta Braves 4-3 in 11 innings in the series’ sixth game.
