October 19, 1972 (Thursday)
- Kinshichi Kozuka and Hiroo Onoda, the last two members of a group of Japanese soldiers who had continued to fight the enemy since the end of the Second World War, set fire to a rice harvest on the Philippine island of Lubang, and then exchanged gunfire with local police. Kozuka was killed, leaving Onoda to fight the war alone. Onoda finally surrendered his sword to his original commanding officer in 1974.
- With the beginning of a three-day Paris summit meeting, the leaders of the nine members of the recently enlarged European Community came together for the first time.
Read more about this topic: October 1972
Famous quotes containing the word october:
“Especially when the October wind
With frosty fingers punishes my hair,”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)