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Today in History: October 17, Loma Prieta earthquake strikes California

C.Nguyen34 min ago
For information on submitting an obituary, please contact Reading Eagle by phone at 610-371-5018, or email at or fax at 610-371-5193.

Most obituaries published in the Reading Eagle are submitted through funeral homes and cremation services, but we will accept submissions from families. Obituaries can be emailed to .

In addition to the text of the obituary, any photographs that you wish to include can be attached to this email. Please put the text of the obituary in a Word document, a Google document or in the body of the email. The Reading Eagle also requires a way to verify the death, so please include either the phone number of the funeral home or cremation service that is in charge of the deceased's care or a photo of his/her death certificate. We also request that your full name, phone number and address are all included in this email.

All payments by families must be made with a credit card. We will send a proof of the completed obituary before we require payment. The obituary cannot run, however, until we receive payment in full.

Obituaries can be submitted for any future date, but they must be received no later than 3:00 p.m. the day prior to its running for it to be published.

Please call the obituary desk, at 610-371-5018, for information on pricing.

Today is Thursday, Oct. 17, the 291st day of 2024. There are 75 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 17, 1989, an earthquake measuring 6.9 in magnitude struck northern California, killing 63 people and causing up to $10 billion worth of damage.

Also on this date:

In 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, New York, in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

In 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted in Chicago of income tax evasion; he would be sentenced to 11 years in prison.

In 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

In 1967, Puyi, the last emperor of China, died in Beijing at age 61.

In 1979, Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1989, Game 3 of the World Series was canceled as the Loma Prieta earthquake struck Northern California just 30 minutes before the game was scheduled to begin at Candlestick Park in San Francisco; the game would eventually be played 10 days later.

In 2018, residents of the Florida Panhandle community of Mexico Beach who had fled Hurricane Michael a week earlier returned to find houses, businesses and campers ripped to shreds; the storm had killed at least 59 people and caused more than $25 billion in damage in Florida, Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia.

Today's Birthdays:

  • Singer Gary Puckett is 82.
  • Actor-musician Michael McKean is 77.
  • Actor George Wendt is 76.
  • Astronaut Mae Jemison is 68.
  • Country singer Alan Jackson is 66.
  • Film critic Richard Roeper is 65.
  • Film director Rob Marshall is 64.
  • Animator-filmmaker Mike Judge is 62.
  • Reggae singer Ziggy Marley is 56.
  • Actor Wood Harris is 55.
  • Musician Wyclef Jean (zhahn) is 55.
  • Golf Hall of Famer Ernie Els is 55.
  • Singer Chris Kirkpatrick ('N Sync) is 53.
  • Rapper Eminem is 52.
  • Actor Matthew Macfadyen is 50.
  • Actor Felicity Jones is 41.
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