On this day, October 25th: US troops invade Grenada

1 of 4 | U.S. Marines armed with M16A1 rifles take up defensive positions along a hillside on October 25, 1983, during Operation Urgent Fury, the United States-led invasion of Grenada following a coup in the small Caribbean country. File photo courtesy of USMC

In 1929, Albert B. Fall, who served as U.S. President Warren Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, was found guilty of accepting bribes while in office during the Teapot Dome scandal. He was the first member of the presidential cabinet to be convicted of a crime.

In 1944, the Japanese military deployed its first unit of kamikaze pilots during the Battle of Leyte Gulf off the coast of the Philippines.

In 1971, the United Nations admitted China as a member, thereby overthrowing the nationalist Chinese government of Taiwan.

In 1983, US troops, supported by six Caribbean countries, invaded the tiny, left-wing island of Grenada, rescued 1,000 American students and restored order to the country. The death toll in the roughly two months of fighting exceeded 100.

In 1993, Canadian voters rejected Prime Minister Kim Campbell’s Progressive Conservative Party, giving the Liberal Party, led by Jean Chretien of Quebec, a clear majority in parliament.

File photo by H. Ruckemann/UPI

In 1994, Susan Smith falsely reported that her two young sons were missing after a car theft. After several days of intense public and media scrutiny, the South Carolina woman admitted that she drove her car into a lake with her children inside, killing them. She was sentenced to life in prison for the murders.

In 2002, Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and seven others were killed when a small plane crashed about 180 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

File photo by Chris Corder/UPI

In 2009, the World Health Organization reported a global death toll from the H1N1 virus, known as swine flu, at 5,700. The disease has been confirmed in around 440,000 people.

In 2010, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake killed more than 400 coastal residents in western Sumatra and left thousands homeless. About 750 miles away in central Java, the Mount Merapi volcano triggered a series of three eruptions that reportedly left more than 300 dead and about 6,000 homeless.

In 2022, Rishi Sunak officially became British Prime Minister, his third in three months. He was the first person of color to serve in this role.

In 2023, House Republicans will elect Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana to be the next Speaker of the House.

File photo by Pat Benic/UPI