On this date in history

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Today is Tuesday, Oct. 16, the 289th day of 2007 with 76 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include(Gil-ts4ms)
lexicographer Noah Webster in 1758; Irish author and dramatist Oscar Wilde in 1854; David Ben-Gurion, Israel's first prime minister, in 1886; playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1888; Irish revolutionist Michael Collins in 1890; Supreme Court Justice William Orville Douglas in 1898; German novelist Gunter Grass in 1927 (age 80); actor Barry Corbin ("Northern Exposure") in 1940 (age 67); actresses Linda Darnell in 1923; Angela Lansbury in 1925 (age 82) and Suzanne Somers in 1946 (age 61); Grateful Dead co-founder Bob Weir in 1947 (age 60); actor Tim Robbins in 1958 (age 49); and actress Kellie Martin in 1975 (age 32).




On this date in history:

In 1701, Yale University was founded.

In 1793, French Queen Marie Antoinette was beheaded.

In 1859, abolitionist John Brown led a raid on the federal arsenal at Harper's Ferry, Va. He was convicted of treason and hanged.

In 1868, America's first department store, ZCMI, opened in Salt Lake City.

In 1916, the nation's first birth control clinic was opened in New York by Margaret Sanger and two other women.

In 1946, at Nuremberg, Germany, 10 high-ranking Nazi officials were executed by hanging for World War II war crimes. Hermann Goering, founder of the Gestapo and chief of the German air force, was to have been among them but he committed suicide in his cell the night before.

In 1964, China detonated its first atomic bomb.

In 1972, a light plane carrying House Democratic leader Hale Boggs of Louisiana and three other men was reported missing in Alaska. The plane was never found.

In 1984, black Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa won the Nobel Peace Prize for his struggle against apartheid.

In 1991, George Hennard reportedly shot and killed 22 people and then took his own life after driving his pickup truck through the front window of Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas.

In 1998, Protestant David Trimble and Roman Catholic John Hume, both political leaders in Northern Ireland, were named as co-winners of the 1998 Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward bringing peace to Ulster.

In 2002, U.S. President George Bush signed into law the joint congressional resolution authorizing him to use military force if necessary to rid Iraq of its suspected weapons of mass destruction.

In 2003, the U.N. Security Council unanimously passed a resolution endorsing a U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq.

In 2004, the World Health Organization said smoke from home stoves and fires in developing countries had become a major cause of death and disease.

Also in 2004, in a letter to fans on her Web site, homemaking guru Martha Stewart assured all she was adjusting to life in a West Virginia federal prison which she described as "like an old-fashioned college campus -- without the freedom, of course."

In 2005, unofficial preliminary reports said Iraqi voters had approved a new constitution.

Also in 2005, Louisiana state officials were investigating the possibility of euthanasia in 215 deaths at 19 New Orleans hospitals and nursing homes in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

In 2006, U.S. intelligence officials confirmed an underground explosion in North Korea a week before was he test of a nuclear device. The explosive yield was reported less than 1 kiloton of conventional explosives.


A thought for the day: Irish author and dramatist Oscar Wilde's dying words were said to have been, "This wallpaper is killing me; one of us has got to go."

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Today is Wednesday, Oct. 17, the 290th day of 2007 with 75 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include(rod-ts4ms);( Aldo-ts4ms); Jupiter Hammon, America's first published black poet, in 1711; actress Irene Ryan in 1902; big band trombonist and wide-eyed comic Jerry Colonna, best remembered as a featured comedian on Bob Hope shows, in 1905; playwright Arthur Miller in 1915; actress Rita Hayworth in 1918; actor Tom Poston in 1921; actor Montgomery Clift in 1920; newspaper columnist Jimmy Breslin in 1930 (age 77); daredevil Robert "Evel" Knievel in 1938 (age 69) actors Michael McKean in 1947 (age 60) and Margot Kidder and George Wendt, both in 1948 (age 59); and former astronaut Mae Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, in 1956 (age 51); and rapper Eminem in 1972 (age 35).




On this date in history:

In 1777, at one of the turning points of the American Revolution, British Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American Gen. Horatio Gates at Saratoga, N.Y.

In 1945, Juan Peron became dictator of Argentina. He remained in power for 11 years before being overthrown.

In 1973, the Arab-dominated Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said it would cut oil exports to the United States and other nations that provided military aid to Israel in the Yom Kippur War of October 1973. A full oil embargo hit the United States in December causing a serious energy crisis.

In 1979, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, a Roman Catholic nun who cared for the sick and poor, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1986, Congress passed a landmark immigration bill, the first U.S. law authorizing penalties for employers who hire illegal aliens.

In 1989, the most powerful California earthquake since the legendary temblor of 1906 struck the San Francisco Bay Area at evening rush hour, just before the scheduled start of Game Three of the World Series in San Francisco between the Giants and the Oakland A's. At least 67 people were killed.

In 1990, U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar said military force would be a legitimate response to the Iraqi occupation of Kuwait if sanctions did not work.

In 1994, North Korea agreed to freeze its nuclear weapons program and allow international inspections of its facilities.

In 1996, O.J. Simpson, who had been acquitted in a highly publicized trial of killing his estranged wife and her friend, went on trial in civil court in a suit brought by the victims' families and accusing him of responsibility for the deaths.

In 1998, by request of Spanish authorities, British police arrested former Chilean dictator Gen. Augusto Pinochet for questioning about "crimes of genocide and terrorism that include murder."

In 2001 the anthrax scare continued as the U.S. Congress began closing down for security sweeps after 321 staff members and police tested positive for exposure to anthrax.

In 2003, the U.S. hostile fire death toll in the Iraqi war reached 100 since U.S. President George Bush announced the end of major combat in May.

In 2004, Brazil authorized its air force to shoot down planes suspected of smuggling drugs.

In 2005, General Motors estimated it would save about $1 billion a year under an agreement with the United Auto Workers Union to cut annual health benefits for workers and retirees.

Also in 2005, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a government demand for $280 billion in penalties from American cigarette makers.

In 2006, North Korea termed U.N. sanctions to punish it for its recent nuclear test a declaration of war. Reports meanwhile said there was evidence a second nuclear test was planned.


A thought for the day: Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky wrote

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Today is Thursday, Oct. 18, the 291st day of 2007 with 74 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include novelist Fannie Hurst in 1889; former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in 1919; former Republican Sen. Jesse Helms of North Carolina, in 1921 (age 86); Greek actress Melina Mercouri in 1925; rock 'n' roll legend Chuck Berry in 1926 (age 81); actors George C. Scott in 1927 and Peter Boyle in 1935; Lee Harvey Oswald, assumed assassin of President John F. Kennedy, in 1939; former pro football star and coach Mike Ditka in 1939 (age 68); actor Joe Morton in 1947 (age 60); actress Pam Dawber in 1951 (age 56); musician Wynton Marsalis in 1961 (age 46); and actor Jean-Claude Van Damme and actress Erin Moran ("Happy Days"), both in 1960 (age 47).


On this date in history:

In 1776, the border between Maryland and Pennsylvania was settled. Dubbed the "Mason-Dixon" line, it became the unofficial boundary between North and South.

In 1898, the United States took control of Puerto Rico one year after Spain had granted self-rule to the Caribbean nation.

In 1922, the British Broadcasting Corp. was established.

In 1931, Thomas Alva Edison, one of the most prolific inventors in history, died in West Orange, N.J., at the age of 84.

In 1959, the Soviet Union announced an unmanned space vehicle had taken the first pictures of the far side of the moon.

In 1974, the jury in the Watergate cover-up trial heard a tape recording in which U.S. President Richard Nixon told aide John Dean to try to stop the Watergate burglary investigation before it implicated White House personnel.

In 1984, U.S. President Ronald Reagan ordered an investigation of a CIA handbook for Nicaraguan rebels that suggested assassination as a political tactic.

In 1990, Iraq, pinched by economic sanctions, offered to sell oil to anyone at half the going price.

In 1991, Israel and the Soviet Union agreed to renew full diplomatic relations for the first time since 1967.

Also in 1991, the United States and Soviet Union formally invited Israeli and Arab leaders to a conference in Spain to initiate direct bilateral peace talks.

In 1992, numerous civilians were killed or wounded when Serbian forces unleashed a citywide artillery barrage on Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

In 2002, North Korea revealed it was working on a secret nuclear weapons program and U.S. intelligence officials concluded that Pakistan was a major supplier of critical equipment for it.

In 2003, a published report said British authorities foiled a plot to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin.

In 2004, exhumation orders were issued for 42 bodies in Sonthofen, Germany, where a hospital orderly admitted to giving lethal injections to 16 patients.

In 2005, Iraqi election officials said parliamentary election results would be delayed "a few days" while procedures were checked at 12 voting sites where as many as 99 percent of ballots favored a new constitution.

Also in 2005, Iran wants former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein charged also with genocide and the use of chemical weapons in the war with Iran when he goes on trial for war crimes in Baghdad.

In 2006, despite opposition in both countries, the U.S. government reportedly was pressing the Iraqi government to offer a broad amnesty to insurgents.



A thought for the day: French author George Sand (Mme. Amandine Aurore Lucile Dudevant) said, "Simplicity is the essence of the great, the true and the beautiful in art."

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Today is Friday, Oct. 19, the 292nd day of 2007 with 73 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this day are under the sign of Libra. They include English physician and scholar Thomas Browne in 1605; abolitionist Cassius Marcellus Clay in 1810; historian and city planner Lewis Mumford in 1895; actress LaWanda Page ("Sanford and Son") in 1920; newspaper columnist Jack Anderson in 1922; English spy novelist John Le Carre, whose real name is David Cornwell, in 1931 (age 76); pop artist Peter Max in 1937 (age 70); actor John Lithgow and feminist Patricia Ireland, both in 1945 (age 62); former heavyweight boxing champion Evander Holyfield in 1962 (age 45) and Amy Carter, daughter of former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, in 1967 (age 40).


On this date in history:

In 1781, Britain's Lord Cornwallis surrendered with more than 7,000 troops to Gen. George Washington at Yorktown, Va., effectively ending the American War of Independence.

In 1812, Napoleon's beaten French army began its long, disastrous retreat from Moscow.

In 1982, carmaker John DeLorean was arrested in Los Angeles and charged in a $24 million cocaine scheme aimed at salvaging his bankrupt sports car company. He was tried and acquitted.

In 1987, the New York stock market suffered its biggest setback, with the bellwether Dow Jones industrial average nose diving 508 points in one session.

In 1993, a U.N. oil-and-arms embargo against Haiti was reinstated in an effort to return the exiled Jean-Bertrand Aristide as president of Haiti.

In 1994, more than 20 people were killed in the terrorist bombing of a bus in Tel Aviv, Israel. Islamic militants claimed responsibility.

In 2000, independent counsel Robert Ray said in his final report about the White House travel office scandal dubbed "Travelgate" that first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton gave "factually false" sworn testimony. But, he said, there was not enough evidence to bring criminal charges.

In 2003, Pope John Paul II beatified Mother Teresa before hundreds of thousands of pilgrims packed into St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, the last formal step to sainthood.

In 2005, a defiant Saddam Hussein pleaded innocent as he went on trial in Baghdad on charges of murder and torture during his reign as president of Iraq. The initial session, with the former dictator questioning the court's legitimacy and scuffling with guards, lasted three hours before the judge ordered an adjournment until Nov. 28.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush warned that any attempts to move any nuclear-related material into or out of North Korea will be stopped by the United States.

Also in 2006, courts-martial were ordered for four U.S. soldiers accused of raping a teenage Iraqi girl and killing her and her family in Mahmoudiya south of Baghdad.

A thought for the day: Greek playwright Euripides wrote, "Do not consider

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Today is Saturday, Oct. 20, the 293rd day of 2007 with 72 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include (Poobah-ts4ms) English astronomer and architect Christopher Wren in 1632; French poet Arthur Rimbaud in 1854; James Robert Mann, Illinois congressman and author of the "White Slave Traffic Act," also known as the "Mann Act," in 1856; educator John Dewey in 1859; composer Charles Ives in 1874; actor Bela Lugosi ("Dracula") in 1882; singer/pianist/composer Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton in 1890; mystery writer Ellery Queen (Frederic Dannay) in 1905; TV personality Arlene Francis in 1907; country singer Grandpa (Louis Marshall) Jones in 1913; actor Herschel Bernardi in 1923; humorist Art Buchwald in 1925; former New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle in 1931; actors William Christopher ("M*A*S*H") in 1932 (age 75) and Jerry Orbach in 1935; and rock singer Tom Petty in 1950 (age 57).




On this date in history:

In 1818, the United States and Britain agreed to establish the 49th parallel as the official boundary between the United States and Canada.

In 1918, Germany accepted U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's terms to end World War I.

In 1944, U.S. Army Gen. Douglas MacArthur kept his promise to return to the Philippines Islands when he landed with U.S. forces during World War II.

In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened public hearings into communist influence in Hollywood.

In 1973, U.S. President Richard Nixon fired special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox.

In 1982, the world's worst soccer disaster occurred in Moscow when 340 fans were crushed to death in an open staircase during a game between Soviet and Dutch players.

In 1990, the rap group 2 Live Crew was acquitted in Miami of obscenity charges arising from a performance of selections from the album "As Nasty As They Wanna Be."

In 1992, one of Europe's leading environmentalists, Germany's Greens Party founder Petra Kelly, was found shot to death by her companion, Gert Bastian, who then committed suicide.

In 1994, Hollywood heavyweight Burt Lancaster died at the age of 80.

In 2000, a former U.S. Army sergeant pleaded guilty to joining in a terrorist plot against the United States, linking Saudi fugitive Osama bin Laden to the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya.

In 2002, showing its displeasure with North Korea for restarting its nuclear program, the United States was reported to be considering cutting off fuel oil supplies to that country.

In 2003, The London Mirror said that British Princess Diana claimed there was a plot to kill her in a car crash in a handwritten letter 10 months before she died in an auto accident.

In 2004, Margaret Hassan, chief of operations for the British-based CARE charity, was kidnapped on her way to work in Iraq by unknown armed militants. CARE suspended its work in Iraq soon after.

Also in 2004, retired Gen. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono was sworn in as Indonesia's sixth president after winning the country's first direct elections for head of state.

In 2005, former U.S. House Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Texas, was booked in Houston after his indictment on conspiracy and money laundering charges. He was freed on $10,000 bond.

Also in 2005, Pakistan set the official death toll of the Oct. 8 quake at 47,000 but various aid officials claim it was closer to 80,000. Three million people were reported without shelter as winter approached the Himalayan region.

In 2006, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, speaking to Chinese officials, said Pyongyang isn’t planning a second nuclear test. Several diplomats taking part in talks on the situation said there were signs pointing to a second test.


A thought for the day: American Red Cross founder Clara Barton said, "The surest test of discipline is its absence."

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Today is Monday, Oct. 22, the 295th day of 2007 with 70 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Hungarian composer Franz Liszt in 1811; actresses Sarah Bernhardt in 1844 and Joan Fontaine in 1917 (age 90); English author Doris Lessing, winner of the 2007 Nobel Prize for literature, in 1919 (age 88); psychologist and LSD advocate Timothy Leary in 1920; artist Robert Rauschenberg in 1925 (age 82); actors Derek Jacobi and Christopher Lloyd, both in 1938 (age 69), Annette Funicello in 1942 (age 65), Catherine Deneuve in 1943 (age 64), and Jeff Goldblum in 1952 (age 55); and champion skater Brian Boitano in 1963 (age 44).


On this date in history:

In 1797, the first parachute jump was made by Andre-Jacques Garnerin, who dropped from a height of about 6,500 feet over a Paris park.

In 1836, Gen. Sam Houston was sworn in as the first president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1938, inventor Charles Carlson produced the first dry, or xerographic, copy, but had trouble attracting investors.

In 1962, U.S. President John Kennedy announced that Soviet missiles had been deployed in Cuba and ordered a blockade of the island.

In 1966, The Supremes became the first all-female group to score a No. 1 album, with "Supremes a Go-Go."

In 1978, Pope John Paul II was installed as pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.

In 1990, U.S. President George H.W. Bush vetoed the Civil Rights Act of 1990, saying it would lead to a quota system.

In 1991, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir warned that Israel would refuse to negotiate with any Palestinians who claimed alliance to the PLO.

In 1992, pioneer sportscaster Red Barber died at age 84.

In 2001, anthrax spores were found in a mail-opening machine serving the White House. Preliminary tests on 120 workers who sort mail for the executive mansion were negative.

Also in 2001, the Pentagon announced nearly 200 U.S. jets struck Taliban and al-Qaida communications facilities, barracks and training camps and disputed Taliban claims that 100 civilians died when a bomb hit a hospital in western Afghanistan.

And in 2001, an estimated 500 people were killed when the Nigerian army attacked villages throughout the eastern state of Benue.

In 2003, a poll showed 59 percent of Palestinians wanted attacks against Israel to continue even if Israel leaves the West Bank and Gaza.

In 2004, British hostage Margaret Hassan, the kidnapped head of CARE International operations in Iraq, pleaded with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to save her life by pulling troops out of Iraq.

Also in 2004, rescuers confirmed 64 dead following an explosion in a central China coal mine. Eighty-four miners were missing in the toxic gas-filled shaft.

In 2005, Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai ordered an investigation into the reported desecration of bodies by U.S. troops said to be captured on tape by a TV crew.

In 2006, despite stepping up operations, the U.S. military admitted that insurgency attacks in Baghdad were continuing to rise.



A thought for the day: of the existence of God, Clarence Darrow said, "I do not consider it an insult, but rather a compliment to be called an agnostic. I do not pretend to know where many ignorant men are sure -- that is all that agnosticism means."

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Today is Tuesday, Oct. 23, the 296th day of 2007 with 69 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include(Harvey-ts4ms);( Lin-ts4ms); French chef Nicholas Appert, inventor of the canning process, in 1752; Adlai E. Stevenson, U.S. vice president under Grover Cleveland from 1893-97, in 1835; pioneering college football coach John Heisman in 1869; William Coolidge, inventor of the X-ray tube, in 1873; Gertrude Ederle, the first woman to swim the English Channel, in 1906; former "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson in 1925; pro golfer Juan "Chi Chi" Rodriguez in 1935 (age 72); Brazilian soccer star Pele (Edson Arantes do Nascimento) in 1940 (age 67); author Michael Crichton in 1942 (age 65); filmmaker Ang Lee in 1954 (age 53); singers Dwight Yoakam in 1956 (age 51) and "Weird Al" Yankovic in 1959 (age 48); and football players Doug Flutie and Mike Tomczak, both in 1962 (age 45).




On this date in history:

In 1707, the British Parliament met for the first time.

In 1942, the British Eighth Army launched an offensive at El Alamein in Egypt, a World War II battle that eventually swept the Germans out of North Africa.

In 1945, Jackie Robinson, the first black baseball player hired by a major league team, was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers and sent to their Montreal farm team. He moved up to the Dodgers in 1947 and became one of the sport’s greatest stars.

In 1972, earthquakes killed more than 10,000 people in Nicaragua.

In 1983, suicide bomb attacks on peacekeeping troops in Beirut killed 241 U.S. Marines and 58 French soldiers.

In 1989, Hungary formally declared an end to 40 years of communist rule and proclaimed itself a republic, setting the stage for creation of Western-style democracy in the Eastern Bloc state.

In 1990, Iraq released 64 British hostages.

In 1995, the U.S. Defense Department announced it was ending a program designed to help minority-owned firms secure government contracts.

In 1998, after nine days of tense negotiations at the Wye Conference Center in Queenstown, Md., Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat signed an agreement to revive the stalled Middle East peace process.

Also in 1998, Dr. Barnett Slepian, an obstetrician who performed abortions, was shot to death by a sniper who fired a bullet through a window of Slepian's home in Amherst, N.Y.

In 2002, a group of 20 Chechen gunmen stormed a Moscow theater, taking hostage more than 700 members of the audience, actors and theater staff and demanding an end to the war in the separatist republic.

In 2003, the U.S. Congress passed a bill banning late-term abortions, a procedure that critics refer to as partial-birth abortions.

In 2004, with the U.S. presidential election less than two weeks away, a Time survey had President George W. Bush holding a 5-point lead over Democratic challenger John Kerry.

Also in 2004, insurgents struck at three minibuses carrying U.S.-trained Iraqi soldiers, reportedly killing about 50 of them.

In 2005, all 117 people aboard were reported killed in the crash of a Nigerian plane crash shortly after takeoff from Lagos.

In 2006, Iran said it is ready to have talks on its nuclear program while other reports spoke of threatened retaliation if U.N. sanctions were imposed.

Also in 2006, Panamanians voted overwhelmingly to support a proposal to expand the world-famous Panama Canal to allow larger ships to pass through.


A thought for the day: The New Testament says, "Charity shall cover a multitude of sins."

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Today is Wednesday, Oct. 24, the 297th day of 2007 with 68 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include pioneering Dutch microscope maker Anton Van Leeuwenhoek in 1632; journalist Sarah Josepha Hale, author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," in 1788; attorney Belva Lockwood, the first woman candidate for U.S. president, nominated by the National Equal Rights Party, in 1830; film producer-director Merian Cooper (the original "King Kong") in 1893; former Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in 1936 (age 71); former NAACP president Kweisi Mfume in 1948 (age 59); actors David Nelson in 1936 (age 71), F. Murray Abraham in 1939 (age 68) and Kevin Kline in 1947 (age 60); and singer Monica (Arnold) in 1980 (age 27).


On this date in history:

In 1648, the Treaty of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years' War in Europe.

In 1861, the first telegram was transmitted across the United States from California Chief Justice Stephen Field to U.S. President Abraham Lincoln in Washington.

In 1901, daredevil Annie Edson Taylor became the first person to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

In 1945, following Soviet ratification, U.S. Secretary of State James Byrnes announced the U.N. charter was in effect. Establishment of the United Nations came less than two months after the end of World War II.

In 1984, the FBI arrested 11 alleged chiefs of the Colombo crime family on charges of racketeering in New York City.

In 1989, TV evangelist Jim Bakker was sentenced to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000 for fleecing his flock.

In 1990, U.S. Rep. Donald Lukens, R-Ohio, resigned over sex charges.

In 1993, the death of Burundi President Melchior Ndadaye in a military coup was confirmed.

In 1995, the United Nations marked its 50th anniversary with the largest gathering of world leaders in history.

In 2001, Pakistan officials said they needed no help in securing the nation's nuclear weapons despite fears the weapons might fall into the hands of Islamic extremists.

In 2002, police arrested two suspects in the 3-week series of sniper attacks in the Washington area that killed 10 and wounded three others. John Allen Muhammad, 41, and John Lee Malvo, 17, were found sleeping in a car at a rest stop outside Frederick, Md.

In 2003, an era in aviation history ended when the supersonic Concorde took off from New York to London on its final flight.

In 2004, a series of severe earthquakes in northern Japan killed 21 people and injured more than 1,500 others.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma roared into Florida, packing 125 mph winds and lashing rain, inflicting heavy damage to beaches and buildings. Ten deaths were reported and some 2.5 million South Floridians were without power.

Also in 2005, U.S. President George Bush nominated Ben Bernanke, his chief economic adviser, to replace Alan Greenspan as Federal Reserve Board chairman.

In 2006, a CNN poll said 60 percent of U.S. citizens contracted said they believed neither the United States nor insurgents were winning the war in Iraq.

Also in 2006, U.S. military leaders said Iraq's own security forces wouldn’t be ready to assume responsibility for the country for 12-18 months.


A thought for the day: Hindu nationalist leader Mohandas Gandhi said, "I believe that a man is the strongest soldier for daring to die unarmed."

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Today is Thursday, Oct. 25, the 298th day of 2007 with 67 to follow.

The moon is waxing. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include(Luanne-ts4ms);( ronmhjr-ts4ms); British historian Thomas Macaulay in 1800; Austrian composer Johann Strauss in 1825; French composer Georges Bizet in 1838; artist Pablo Picasso in 1881; explorer Richard Byrd in 1888; country comedian Minnie Pearl in 1912; actors Tony Franciosa in 1928 and Marion Ross in 1928 (age 79); basketball coach Bobby Knight in 1940 (age 67); author Anne Tyler and pop singer Helen Reddy, both in 1941 (age 66); and violinist Midori in 1971 (age 36).




On this date in history:

In 1825, the Erie Canal, America's first man-made waterway, was opened, linking the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Ocean via the Hudson River.

In 1854, known to history as the Charge of the Light Brigade, 670 British cavalrymen fighting in the Crimean War attacked a heavily fortified Russian position and were wiped out.

In 1881, Pablo Picasso, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the 20th century, was born in Malaga, Spain.

In 1929, during the Teapot Dome scandal, Albert B. Fall, who served as U.S. President Warren G. Harding's interior secretary, was found guilty of accepting a bribe while in office, first individual convicted of a crime committed while a presidential cabinet member.

In 1971, the United Nations admitted China as a member, ousting the Nationalist Chinese government of Taiwan.

In 1983, U.S. troops, supported by six Caribbean nations, invaded the tiny, leftist-ruled island of Grenada. Nineteen Americans died in the fighting.

In 1986, the International Red Cross ousted South African delegates from a Geneva meeting because of Pretoria's policy of apartheid. It was the first such ejection in the organization's 123 years.

In 1993, Canadian voters rejected the Progressive Conservative party of Prime Minister Kim Campbell and gave the Liberal Party, led by Jean Chretien of Quebec, a firm majority in Parliament.

In 1994, Susan Smith reported to police in Union, S.C., that her two young boys had been taken in a carjacking. Nine days later, she confessed she had rolled her car into a lake, drowning the children.

In 2000, AT&T announced it would break itself into four separate businesses in a bid to renew investor support.

In 2001, the U.S. Senate, by a 90-1 vote, approved a final package of anti-terror reforms designed to help law enforcement monitor, observe and detain suspected terrorists.

In 2002, Democratic U.S. Sen. Paul Wellstone of Minnesota and seven others were killed in the crash of a small plane near the Eveleth-Virginia Municipal Airport, about 180 miles northeast of Minneapolis.

In 2003, California wildfires, fueled by fierce Santa Ana winds, destroyed 60 homes near Los Angeles and threatened dense housing tracts.

In 2004, at least 78 Muslim detainees suffocated or were crushed to death in southern Thailand after the police rounded up 1,300 people and packed them into trucks following a riot.

Also in 2004, a top civilian at the U.S. Department of Defense Pentagon called for a federal investigation into how contracts in Iraq and the Balkans were awarded to the Halliburton company, formerly run by U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.

In 2005, civil rights icon Rosa Parks died in Detroit at age 92. Parks, an African-American woman, gave new impetus to the rights movement when in 1955 she refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery, Ala., bus.

Also in 2005, Iraq's draft constitution was reported approved by more than three-quarters of the voters in the Oct. 15 referendum.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush said he would authorize higher troops levels in Iraq if U.S. generals ask for it.

Also in 2006, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that same-sex couples "must be afforded on equal terms the same rights and benefits enjoyed by opposite-sex couples."

A thought for the day: Pablo Picasso said, "I am only an entertainer who has understood his time."

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Today is Friday, Oct. 26, the 299th day of 2007 with 66 to follow.

The moon is full. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include(intromaster-ts4ms); Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in 1879; gospel singer Mahalia Jackson in 1911; bandleader Charlie Barnet in 1913; French President Francois Mitterrand in 1916; Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the last shah of Iran, in 1919; actor Bob Hoskins in 1942 (age 65); author Pat Conroy in 1945 (age 62); TV personality Pat Sajak in 1946 (age 61); U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., wife of former U.S. President Bill Clinton and presidential candidate, in 1947 (age 60); and actors Jaclyn Smith in 1945 (age 62) and Cary Elwes and Dylan McDermott, both in 1962 (age 45); and singer Natalie Merchant in 1963 (age 44).




On this date in history:

In 1906, workers in St. Petersburg set up the first Russian "soviet," or council.

In 1920, the Lord Mayor of Cork, Ireland, Terence McSwiney, died after a 2 1/2-month hunger strike in a British prison cell, demanding independence for Ireland.

In 1942, Japanese warships sank the aircraft carrier USS Hornet off the Solomon Islands.

In 1944, after four days of furious fighting, the World War II battle of Leyte Gulf, largest air-naval clash in history, ended with a decisive U.S. victory over the Japanese.

In 1965, The Beatles were presented Member of the Order of the British Empire medals by Queen Elizabeth.

In 1979, South Korean President Park Chung-hee was assassinated by the director of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency.

In 1984, Dr. Leonard L. Bailey performed the first baboon-to-human heart transplant, replacing a 14-day-old infant girl's defective heart with a healthy, walnut-sized heart of a young baboon at Loma Linda University Medical Center in California.

In 1990, District of Columbia Mayor Marion Barry was sentenced to six months in prison and fined $5,000 for his conviction on misdemeanor drug charges.

In 1992, besieged GM Chairman Robert Stempel resigned as head of the No. 1 U.S. automaker.

In 1994, Israel and Jordan signed a peace treaty at a desert site along the Israeli-Jordanian border.

In 1995, Islamic Jihad leader Fathi ash-Shiqaqi was assassinated in Malta.

In 1998, just one day before threatened NATO airstrikes were to begin, Serbian soldiers and police began what was said to be a significant pullback from positions in the Yugoslav province of Kosovo, where they reportedly were massacring ethnic Albanians.

Also in 1998, the presidents of Ecuador and Peru signed a peace treaty, ending a decades-long border dispute between the two countries.

In 2001, six weeks after the worst terrorist attack on U.S. soil, U.S. President George Bush signed into law a tough new measure giving law enforcement agencies expanded authority in their battle against terrorism.

In 2002, Moscow's four-day hostage crisis came to a bloody end when Russian soldiers stormed a theater where Chechen rebels had held 700 people for ransom. Ninety hostages and 50 rebels were killed.

In 2003, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz escaped a rocket attack on a heavily guarded Baghdad hotel.

In 2004, a U.N. investigation into Iraq's oil-for-food program reportedly turned up names of several prominent politicians in France, Russia and elsewhere said to have received illegal Iraqi oil from Saddam Hussein.

In 2005, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad ignited international outrage when he said Israel should be wiped off the map.

In 2006, U.S. President George Bush signed a bill authorizing construction of nearly 700 miles of fencing on the U.S. border with Mexico.

Also in 2006, Nicaragua's National Assembly voted unanimously to ban all abortions.

And, authorities sought to determine how Los Alamos National Laboratory disks that may contain nuclear secrets wound up in the home of a subcontractor.


A thought for the day: English writer William Hazlitt said, "Men of genius do not excel in any profession because their labor in it, but they labor in it because they excel."

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Today is Saturday, Oct. 27, the 300th day of 2007 with 65 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include(CMVer-ts4ms);( Debbyd57-ts4ms); Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus in 1466; English explorer Capt. James Cook in 1728; Italian violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini in 1782; Isaac Singer, developer of the first practical home sewing machine, in 1811; Theodore Roosevelt, 26th president of the United States, in 1858; etiquette arbiter Emily Post in 1872; longtime "Tonight Show" producer/director Fred De Cordova in 1910; Welsh poet Dylan Thomas in 1914; actresses Nanette Fabray in 1920 (age 87) and Ruby Dee in 1924 (age 83); pop artist Roy Lichtenstein in 1923; former Secretary of State Warren Christopher in 1925 (age 82); pop pianist Floyd Cramer in 1933; comedian John Cleese in 1939 (age 68); filmmaker Ivan Reitman in 1946 (age 61); actors Carrie Snodgress in 1945, Roberto Benigni ("Life Is Beautiful") in 1952 (age 55), and Robert Picardo ("Star Trek: Voyager") in 1953 (age 54) and singer Simon Le Bon in 1958 (age 49).




On this date in history:

In 1659, William Robinson and Marmaduke Stevenson, two Quakers who left England in 1656 to escape religious persecution, were executed in the Massachusetts Bay Colony for their outlawed religious beliefs.

In 1787, a New York newspaper published the first of 77 essays explaining the new Constitution and urging its ratification, written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay and later combined as "The Federalist Papers."

In 1795, a treaty with Spain settled Florida's northern boundary and gave navigation rights on the Mississippi River to the United States.

In 1904, the first rapid transit subway system in America opened in New York City.

In 1946, the travel show "Geographically Speaking," sponsored by Bristol-Myers, became the first television program with a commercial sponsor.

In 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio divorced, reportedly after a blowup over her famous scene in "The Seven Year Itch," in which a blast of air lifts her skirt.

In 1981, the National Labor Relations Board withdrew recognition of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization for an illegal strike by its members.

In 1990, CBS founder William S. Paley died at age 89. And band leader/rumba king Xavier Cugat died at 90.

In 1991, Poland had its first fully free parliamentary elections.

In 1992, Israeli tanks rolled into Lebanon as air force jets staged renewed raids in an effort to crush Muslim fundamentalist guerrillas.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton presented Congress with the administration's new plan for healthcare reform in a ceremony at the Capitol.

Also in 1993, Southern California was hit by dozens of brush fires -- the worst in six years. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and thousands of people were forced to flee the flames.

In 1994, the U.S. Justice Department announced that the U.S. prison population topped the 1 million mark.

In 1998, Hurricane Mitch, one of the strongest Atlantic storms ever recorded, began its four-day siege of Central America, causing at least 10,000 deaths.

In 2003, as many as 40 civilians and U.S. soldiers were killed in a flurry of terrorist bombings in Baghdad. Among the targets was the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

In 2005, after weeks of blistering criticism from both Democrats and Republicans about her qualifications, Harriet Miers withdrew her nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In 2006, a former General Services Administration official was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison for helping lobbyist Jack Abramoff. David Safavian told the judge he didn’t realize that passing on inside information about properties controlled by the GSA was wrong.


A thought for the day: U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt said, "The first requisite of a good citizen in this Republic of ours is that he shall be able and willing to pull his own weight."

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Today is Sunday, Oct. 28, the 301st day of 2007 with 64 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include(Sance-ts4ms); rifle maker Eliphalet Remington in 1793; actress Elsa Lanchester in 1902; English novelist Evelyn Waugh in 1903; Dr. Jonas Salk, a developer of the polio vaccine, in 1914; former baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn in 1926; country musician Charlie Daniels in 1936 (age 71); actors Jane Alexander in 1939 (age 68) and Dennis Franz in 1944 (age 63); singer/actress Thelma Hopkins in 1948 (age 59); Olympic decathlon champion-turned-sportscaster Bruce Jenner in 1949 (age 58); Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates in 1955 (age 52); Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in 1956 (age 51); actresses Annie Potts in 1952 (age 55); Lauren Holly in 1963 (age 44), Jami Gertz in 1965 (age 42); and Julia Roberts in 1967 (age 40).




On this date in history:

In 312, in a battle that marked the beginning of the Christian era in Europe, Constantine's army, wearing the cross, defeated the forces of Maxentius at Mulvian Bridge in Rome.

In 1636, Harvard College, now Harvard University, was founded in Massachusetts.

In 1846, the pioneering Donner Party of 90 people set out from Springfield, Ill., for California.

In 1886, the Statue of Liberty, a gift of friendship from the people of France to the United States, was dedicated in New York Harbor by U.S. President Grover Cleveland.

In 1919, the U.S. Congress passed the Volstead Act, over U.S. President Woodrow Wilson's veto, enforcing the constitutional amendment prohibiting the use of alcoholic beverages.

In 1962, Russian chief Nikita Khrushchev announced that all Soviet offensive missiles would be removed from Cuba.

In 1985, the leader of the so-called "Walker family spy ring," John Walker, pleaded guilty to giving U.S. Navy secrets to the Soviet Union.

In 1986, the Statue of Liberty reached the 100th anniversary of its dedication.

In 1989, the Oakland A's wrapped up an earthquake-delayed sweep of the World Series over the San Francisco Giants.

In 1992, scientists using sonar to map Scotland's Loch Ness made contact with a mysterious object but declined to speculate what that implies about whether legendary monster "Nessie" exists.

In 1994, U.S. President Bill Clinton visited U.S. troops in Kuwait during a Middle Eastern trip.

In 2001, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed a third New Jersey postal worker had an anthrax inhalation infection, bringing the total number to eight, including three people who died from the most serious form of the disease.

Also in 2001, on this date, U.S.-led forces resumed air strikes against targets in Afghanistan, bombing the Taliban's southern stronghold of Kandahar.

In 2002, U.S. diplomat John Foley was slain in Amman, Jordan. An unknown group called the Honest People of Jordan claimed responsibility, calling it a response to U.S. support of Israel and actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In 2003, U.S. President George Bush warned Iran and Syria not to allow terrorists to cross into Iraq from their territory.

In 2004, insurgents executed 11 Iraqi soldiers in what they said was revenge for women and children killed in U.S. strikes on the guerrilla stronghold of Fallujah.

In 2005, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, chief of staff and national security adviser to the vice president, resigned after he was indicted on multiple counts in the CIA leak case in which a covert operative's name was revealed to the media.

In 2006, the deadly fast-moving wildfire near Palm Springs, Calif., was reported 40 percent contained after killing five firefighters, scorching about 40,000 acres and consuming 27 homes and other buildings. Authorities said the fire was caused by arson.


A thought for the day: poet Emily Dickinson wrote,

"I'll tell you how the sun rose --

"A Ribbon at a time --"

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Today is Monday, Oct. 29, the 302nd day of 2007 with 63 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Scottish biographer James Boswell in 1740; singer/composer Daniel Decatur Emmett, who wrote the words and music for "Dixie," in 1815; comedian/singer Fanny Brice in 1891; Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels in 1897; political cartoonist Bill Mauldin in 1921; singer Melba Moore in 1945 (age 62); actor Richard Dreyfuss in 1947 (age 60); and actresses Kate Jackson in 1948 (age 59), Finola Hughes in 1960 (age 47), Joely Fisher in 1967 (age 40) and Winona Ryder in 1971 (age 36).


On this date in history:

In 1618, Sir Walter Raleigh was beheaded in London. He had been charged with plotting against King James I.

In 1901, Leon Czolgosz was electrocuted for the assassination of U.S. President William McKinley.

In 1923, the musical "Runnin' Wild," which introduced the Charleston, opened on Broadway.

In 1929, the sale of 16 million shares marked the collapse of the stock market, setting the stage for the Great Depression.

In 1969, the first connection on what would become the Internet was made when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute. This was the beginning of ARPANET, the forerunner to the Internet developed by the Department of Defense.

In 1991, in a first meeting between Soviet and Israeli heads of state, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and Israeli Prime Minister Yizhak Shamir conferred at the Soviet Embassy.

In 1992, Alger Hiss said Russia had cleared him of the charge of being a Communist spy that sent him to prison for four years and helped propel Richard Nixon's political career.

In 1994, a Colorado man was arrested after he sprayed the White House with bullets from an assault rifle. U.S. President Bill Clinton was inside at the time but no one was injured.

In 1998, Sen. John Glenn, D-Ohio, who in 1962 became the first U.S. astronaut to orbit the Earth, returned to space aboard the shuttle Discovery. At 77, he was the oldest person to travel in space.

In 2002, U.S. President George W. Bush, elected in a chaotic tableau of ballot mishaps and court challenges, signed legislation said to help reduce ballot-counting errors and ensure greater citizen participation in the election process.

In 2003, digging through more than 164 feet of rock, rescuers liberated 11 of 13 Russian miners trapped underground for six days after a methane gas explosion.

Also in 2003, the third-largest recorded solar blast slammed into the Earth causing a severe but short-lived geomagnetic storm.

In 2004, Osama bin Laden, in a videotape to the American people, admitted publicly that he ordered the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington.

Also in 2004, EU leaders signed the European Union's first constitution.

In 2005, three explosions in India's capital of New Delhi hit a bus and markets crowded with holiday shoppers, killing at least 65 people.

Also in 2005, a reported 102 people died in a train wreck in southern India, where heavy rains caused major flooding.

In 2006, a Boeing 737 crashed near Nigeria's Abuja airport killing 96 of the 104 people aboard. Officials said the pilot took off after disobeying an air traffic controller and crashed moments later.

Also in 2006, 17 instructors and two translators were gunned down at a British-run police academy at Basra, Iraq. It was the first attack of its kind in southern Iraq.



A thought for the day: Scottish biographer James Boswell wrote, "I think no innocent species of wit or pleasantry should be suppressed and that a good pun may be admitted among the smaller excellencies of lively conversation."

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Today is Tuesday, Oct. 30, the 303rd day of 2007 with 62 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include John Adams, second president of the United States, in 1735; French Impressionist painter Alfred Sisley in 1839; French poet Paul Valery in 1871; poet Ezra Pound in 1885; strongman Charles Atlas in 1893; actress Ruth Gordon in 1896; film director Louis Malle in 1932; rock singer Grace Slick in 1939 (age 68); actor/director Henry Winkler in 1945 (age 62); news correspondent Andrea Mitchell in 1946 (age 61); and actor Harry Hamlin in 1951 (age 56).

On this date in history:

In 1817, Simon Bolivar established the independent government of Venezuela.

In 1938, Orson Welles triggered a national panic with a realistic radio dramatization of a Martian invasion, based on H.G. Wells' "War of the Worlds."

In 1941, more than a month before the United States entered World War II, a U.S. destroyer, the Reuben James, was sunk by a German submarine.

In 1975, as dictator Francisco Franco was near death, Prince Juan Carlos assumed power in Spain.

In 1983, the Rev. Jesse Jackson announced plans to become the first African-American to mount a full-scale campaign for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in the United States.

In 1991, the Middle East peace conference convened in Madrid with participants including Israel, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Palestinians from the Israeli-occupied territories.

In 1992, Muslim Slav, Croatian soldiers and civilians were driven from the strategic Bosnian town of Jajce in fierce street battles with Serbian forces.

In 1993, the U.N. Security Council condemned Haiti's military leaders for preventing the return of exiled President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.

In 1995, by a narrow margin, Quebec voters decided to remain a part of Canada.

In 2001, terrorist strikes, coupled with the parade of bleak corporate news and a slew of layoff announcements since Sept. 11, slashed October's U.S. consumer confidence to its lowest level in more than seven years.

In 2002, Russia broke four days of official silence on the composition of gas used by special forces in the raid on a Moscow theater that killed more than 100 hostages and said an opiate had been used in the operation.

In 2003, the death toll in the Southern California wildfire outbreak was set at 20 with 2,605 homes destroyed and 657,000 acres seared.

In 2004, Yasser Arafat's closest aides said the 75-year-old, long-time Palestinian leader had lost control of his mental faculties and couldn’t communicate clearly. Arafat was flown to Paris for treatment of what was believed to be an acute blood disorder.

In 2005, Indian authorities sent army divers to look for people trapped in a derailed train near Veligonda, the result of massive flooding. Officials said 112 died in the train wreck while another 100 perished in the flood.

Also in 2005, an obscure radical Islamic group in India claimed responsibility for the bombings at two crowded New Delhi markets and on a bus that killed more than 60 people and injured close to 200.

In 2006, Pakistan hit an Islamic school near the Afghan border, killing at least 80 suspected militants.

Also in 2006, St. Louis was listed as the most dangerous U.S. city in which to live in the Morgan Quitno annual report based on FBI statistics. Brick, N.J. was named as the safest.

A thought for the day: in a letter to Thomas Jefferson, John Adams said, "You and I ought not to die before we have explained ourselves to each other." (The two former presidents and political rivals died on July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.)

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Today is Wednesday, Oct. 31, the 304th day of 2007 with 61 to follow.

This is Halloween.

The moon is waning. The morning stars are Mercury, Venus, Mars and Saturn. The evening stars are Uranus, Neptune and Jupiter.

Those born on this date are under the sign of Scorpio. They include Dutch painter Jan Vermeer in 1632; English poet John Keats in 1795; Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low in 1860; Gen. Chiang Kai-shek, the first leader of Nationalist China, in 1887; actress/singer Ethel Waters in 1896; actresses Dale Evans in 1912 and Barbara Bel Geddes in 1922; astronaut Michael Collins in 1930 (age 77); TV news anchorman Dan Rather in 1931 (age 76); actor/producer Michael Landon in 1936; folk singer/songwriter Tom Paxton in 1937 (age 70); actors David Ogden Stiers in 1942 (age 65) and Stephen Rea in 1946 (age 61); actress Deidre Hall in 1947 (age 60); comic actor John Candy in 1950; broadcaster Jane Pauley also in 1950 (age 57); comic actor Rob Schneider in 1963 (age 44); and rapper Vanilla Ice in 1968 (age 39).


On this date in history:

In 1517, Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by nailing a proclamation to the door of a church in Wittenberg, Germany.

In 1864, Nevada was admitted to the Union as the 36th state.

In 1926, magician, illusionist and escape artist Harry Houdini died of peritonitis in a Detroit hospital following a blow to the abdomen.

In 1931, with the Great Depression in full swing, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that 827 banks had failed during the previous two months.

In 1941, the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota -- consisting of the sculpted heads of U.S. Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt -- was completed.

In 1968, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson announced a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam.

In 1984, India's Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by Sikh guards. Her son, Rajiv, succeeded her.

In 1985, salvage divers located the remains of the booty-laden pirate ship Whydah, which sank Feb. 17, 1717, off Cape Cod, Mass.

In 1988, former Philippine first lady Imelda Marcos pleaded innocent to charges that she and her husband, deposed President Ferdinand Marcos, embezzled more than $100 million from the Philippine government.

In 1992, more than 300 people were killed in renewed fighting as Angola slid back into civil war.

In 2001, U.S.-led forces resumed air strikes in Afghanistan, hitting Taliban positions in the northern part of the country and outside the capital, Kabul. The Taliban claimed 1,500 people were killed.

In 2002, Andrew Fastow, former Enron chief financial officer, was indicted on 78 counts of wire fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in the collapse of the Houston energy trading company.

In 2003, a rebel group known to kidnap children and sell them in Sudan as slaves struck a village in northern Uganda, killing 18 and abducting many more.

In 2004, Iranian lawmakers chanted, "Death to America!" after a unanimous vote to allow their government to resume uranium enrichment activities.

Also in 2004, Japan confirmed a Japanese man taken hostage in Baghdad had been beheaded. The kidnappers had demanded Japan pull its troops out of Iraq.

In 2005, Samuel Alito, a 55-year-old conservative federal appeals judge, was nominated by U.S. President George Bush to the U.S. Supreme Court to succeed Sandra Day O'Connor.

Also in 2005, the U.N. Security Council, in a unanimous vote, warned Syria to stop obstructing the investigation into the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri.

In 2006, a U.S. congressional report claimed China helped North Korea develop its nuclear program within the past year.

Also in 2006, former South African President and Prime Minister P.W. Botha, one of his country’s most powerful and feared leaders, died of a stroke. He was 90.


A thought for the day: English poet John Keats wrote, "If I should die, I have left no immortal work behind me -- nothing to make my friends proud of my memory -- but I have loved the principle of beauty in all things, and if I had had time I would have made myself remembered."