This week in history

By Daily Illini Staff Report

Every week the Daily Illini will dig through our archives to find some of our best, most interesting and bizarre stories for this week in history. This week we found out about the voting age, racial discrimination and Hurricane Flora from Oct. 5 to Oct. 11.

Oct. 10, 1943

The U.S. started to see a decline in infant paralysis, which had been at its highest point since 1931. 679 cases had been reported in the week leading up to Oct. 2, which was a decline from 818 the week before and 1,020 for the week of Sept. 18. The previous weekly high was 1,088 cases in August of 1935.

Oct. 5, 1951

The Daily Illini Editorial Board argued that the voting age should be lowered to 18 years old. The Student Senate members suggested referring the measure to a general student referendum, which the DI Editorial Board strongly supported.

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Oct. 9, 1962

An airplane that was part of the University’s aviation training program crashed six miles west of the University Airport. The crash resulted in the death of UIUC student, Bernd Temmler, and his instructor, Merle D. Swain. Swain came to the university from the Federal Aeronautics Administration in Springfield. Temmler, a junior in education, was in the advanced core of the Air Force ROTC.

Oct. 8, 1963

The Urbana City Council unanimously voted to post an equal-opportunity resolution for the city to put an end to racial discrimination in areas like employment and housing. The resolution read, “The city of Urbana shall be committed to a policy of equal employment, status and treatment for all citizens without regard to race, religion or national origin. Furthermore we urge all citizens of Urbana, individually and collectively, to act in accord with such a policy.”

Oct. 8, 1963

Hurricane Flora caused major destruction in Haiti and Cuba. Health Minister Girard Philippeaux estimated that 2,000 Haitians died in the hurricane, and that the total would rise to 4,000. Philippeaux further said that 100,000 Haitian were homeless due to the hurricane, which had top speeds of up to 80 miles per hour. The U.S. aircraft carrier Lake Champlain and helicopters were sent to Port au Prince to aid relief efforts.

Oct. 11, 1973

Vice-President Spiro Agnew submitted his resignation to Secretary of State Henry Kissinger on Oct. 10 and pleaded no contest to a charge of tax evasion. Agnew was sentenced to 3 years of probation and a $10,000 fine. Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson said the criminal investigation against Agnew had revealed a pattern of cash payments to Agnew during the early 1960s to 1971 while he was the governor of Maryland and vice-president of the US. The Justice Department agreed to drop charges of conspiracy, bribery, and extortion against Agnew, who denied all charges except for the charge of tax evasion.