OCTOBER 15, 1989 - Wayne Gretzky broke Gordie Howe's NHL all-time scoring record by notching his 1,851 point on an overtime goal against his former team, the Edmonton Oilers. Called "the greatest hockey player ever," Gretzky went on to score a record 2,857 career points, 970 more points than his closest competitor. Upon his retirement Gretzky's jersey number, 99, was retired by every team in the NHL.

OCTOBER 16, 1793 - Marie Antoinette, the Queen of France, was executed by guillotine during the Reign of Terror at the height of the French Revolution. Marie, who was married to Louis XVI, died nine months after her husband met the same fate. Although several factors brought on the French Revolution, it was a growing hatred of the ruling nobility that led to the violent deaths of the royal family. Marie's last words, "Pardon me Sir, I meant not to do it," were uttered to the executioner, whose foot she accidentally stepped on while being led toward the guillotine.

OCTOBER 17, 1931 - Chicago mobster Al Capone was convicted of federal income tax evasion and sentenced to 11 years in prison. Capone was boss of the Chicago Outfit during the Prohibition years and one of the most notorious gangsters of the 20th Century. An investigation by Bureau of Prohibition agent Eliot Ness eventually led to the indictments on which Capone was convicted. Capone has been the subject of numerous books and films. What's more his personality and character continue to be used in fiction as a model for crime lords and criminal masterminds.