October 12 : National Day in Spain ( 1492 ) Illustration of French balloonist Jeanne Genevi̬ve Labrosse 1398 РThe Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights Konrad von Jungingen signed the Treaty of Salynas , the third attempt to cede Samogitia to the Knights. 1799 РJeanne Genevi̬ve Labrosse became the first woman to make a parachute descent (illustrated) , falling 900 m (3,000 ft) in a hot-air balloon gondola. 1892 РThe Pledge of Allegiance of the United States was first used in public schools to coincide with the opening of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. 1960 РJapan Socialist Party leader Inejiro Asanuma was assassinated on live television by a man using a samurai sword . 1984 РThe Provisional Irish Republican Army ...