into three small life rafts and began a 21-day ordeal drifting in the Pacific. Gordon Daniel Conant became the 12th Premier of the Canadian province of Ontario after Mitchell Hepburn suddenly resigned. German submarines U-273, U-418 and U-667 were commissioned. Born: Judith Sheindlin, lawyer and judge turned television personality (Judge Judy), in Brooklyn, New York October 22, 1942 (Thursday) The Battle of Goodenough Island began. 100 Lancaster bombers raided Genoa. The drama film Now, Voyager starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains premiered at the Hollywood Theatre in New York City. German submarine U-412 was sunk northeast of the Faroe Islands by a Vickers Wellington bomber. German submarine U-645 was commissioned. Born: Annette Funicello, actress and singer, in Utica, New York (d. 2013); Pedro Morales, professional wrestler, in Culebra, Puerto Rico (d. 2019) October 23, 1942 (Friday) The Second Battle of El Alamein began. The Battle for Henderson Field began on Guadalcanal. The Royal Air Force conducted its heaviest raid on Genoa to date. The British cruiser HMS Phoebe was torpedoed by German submarine off Pointe-Noire. Phoebe had to head to New York for repairs and returned to service in August 1943. American First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt arrived in London and met with the King and Queen of England at Buckingham Palace. Born: Michael Crichton, author, in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2008) Died: Ralph Rainger, 41, American composer (plane crash) October 24, 1942 (Saturday) Operations of the German 6th Army in Stalingrad slowed down considerably due to exhaustion after two weeks of intense fighting as well as the weather growing appreciably colder. Wilhelm Ritter von Thoma took over command of Afrika Korps after Georg Stumme went missing. A huge task force participating in Operation Torch departed England for North Africa. German submarine U-599 was depth charged and sunk northeast of the Azores by a British B-24 Liberator. German submarine U-230 was commissioned. Born: Frank Delaney, novelist, journalist and broadcaster, in Tipperary, Ireland (d. 2017) Died: James C. Morton, 58, American actor; Georg Stumme, 56, German general (died on the North African front, possibly of a heart attack) October 25, 1942 (Sunday) The Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands began. Erwin Rommel returned to the North African front and resumed command of the Afrika Korps. The Japanese cruiser Yura was heavily damaged by U.S. aircraft in the Indispensable Strait off Guadalcanal and had to be scuttled. October 26, 1942 (Monday) The