Fun On this date in history...

I've read that Oct 13 1307 was a Friday, and that's where the superstition started. One more thing to blame on the bloody Templars. And their Illuminati masters.

Not sure if serious...

 

If I may...

ON OCTOBER 14th:


In 1066, Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.

In 1322, Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeated King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence.

In 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial in England, accused of committing treason against Queen Elizabeth I. (Mary was beheaded in February 1587.)

In 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th President of the U.S., was born in Denison, TX.

In 1908, the Chicago Cubs defeated the Detroit Tigers, 2–0, clinching the World Series, their last Series title to date.

In 1912, former President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for the White House as the Progressive ("Bull Moose") candidate, went ahead with a speech in Milwaukee after being shot in the chest by New York saloonkeeper John Schrank, declaring, "It takes more than one bullet to kill a bull moose."

In 1913, 439 workers died in a massive coal-mine explosion at the Sengenhydd colliery in Wales.

In 1926, the children’s book Winnie-the-Pooh by A.A. Milne was first published in England.

In 1927, in London, the birth was celebrated of Moore, Roger Moore.

In 1939, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship anchored at Scapa Flow in Scotland's Orkney Islands; 833 of the more than 1,200 men aboard were killed.

In 1943, prisoners at the Nazi Sobibor extermination camp in Poland revolted against the Germans, killing eleven SS guards, and wounding many more. About 300 of the Sobibor Camp's 600 prisoners escaped, and about 50 of these survived the end of the war.

In 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide at age 52, rather than face trial and certain execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

In 1947, Air Force test pilot Charles E. ("Chuck") Yeager broke the sound barrier as he flew the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane, called Glamorous Glennis, over Muroc Dry Lake in California.

In 1949, actress Katy Manning of the UNIT Family was born in Guildford, Surrey, England.

In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy suggested the idea of a Peace Corps while addressing an audience of students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis began, after photographs taken by a high-altitude U-2 spy plane, piloted by Maj. Richard Heyser, offered incontrovertible evidence that Soviet-made medium-range missiles in Cuba—capable of carrying nuclear warheads—were stationed 90 miles off the American coastline.

In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Also in 1964, Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev was toppled from power; he was succeeded by Leonid Brezhnev as first secretary and by Alexei Kosygin as premier.

Also also in 1964, inventor Robert Moog presented his prototype electronic music synthesizer to a meeting of the Audio Engineering Society in New York.

In 1977, singer/actor Bing Crosby died in Madrid, Spain at age 74.

In 1987, a 58-hour drama began in Midland, Texas, as 18-month-old Jessica McClure slid 22 feet down an abandoned well at a private day care center; she was rescued on Oct. 16.

In 1990, composer/conductor/musician Leonard Bernstein died in Manhattan at age 72.

In 2009, wrestler/manager/actor “Captain Lou” Albano died in Westchester County, NY at age 76.

 

On This Day.

On Oct 15, 1917, famous spy Mata Hari was executed via French firing squad.

 

In 1783, the Montgolfier brothers’ hot air balloon, while tethered, made the first human ascent, piloted by Jean-Francois Pilatre de Rozier.

In 1860, 11-year-old Grace Bedell of Westfield, New York, wrote a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.

In 1881, author P.G. Wodehouse was born in Guildford, Surrey, England. Perhaps Jeeves can think up a way to properly mark the occasion.

In 1914, the Clayton Antitrust Act, which expanded on the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson.

In 1924, actor Mark Lenard was born in Chicago. So far as I know, he’s still the only actor to play a Klingon, a Romulan and a Vulcan. And an ape general and a Seattle sawmill owner.

In 1928, the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin landed in Lakehurst, New Jersey, completing its first commercial flight across the Atlantic.

In 1939, New York City Municipal Airport was dedicated by Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia, for whom the facility was later renamed.

In 1945, the former premier of Vichy France, Pierre Laval was executed by a firing squad for treason.

In 1946, Nazi war criminal Hermann Goering fatally poisoned himself hours before he was to have been executed.

In 1951, the classic sit-com “I Love Lucy” premiered on CBS-TV. And, no, it was not sponsored by Vitameatavegamin.

In 1959, the crime drama “The Untouchables”, starring Robert Stack, premiered on ABC-TV.

In 1964, Britain's Labour Party, led by Harold Wilson, returned to power in general elections.

Also in 1964, composer/songwriter Cole Porter died in Santa Monica at age 73.

In 1976, in the first debate of its kind between vice-presidential nominees, Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole faced off in Houston.

In 1969, the “Moratorium to End the War in Vietnam” demonstration was held in Washington D.C. and across the US.

In 2008, singer/actress Edie Adams died in Los Angeles at age 81.

In 2012, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond agreed on a deal setting out the terms of a referendum on Scottish independence at a meeting in Edinburgh.

 

On This Day...

Actress Angela Lansbury was born on Oct 16, 1927

 

In 1793, during the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the queen of France, was beheaded.

In 1859, radical abolitionist John Brown led a group of 21 men in a raid on Harpers Ferry in western Virginia.

In 1923, the Walt Disney Company was founded by Walt Disney and his brother, Roy Disney.

In 1934, Chinese Communists, under siege by the Nationalists, began their "long march" lasting a year from southeastern to northwestern China.

In 1939, the comedy "The Man Who Came to Dinner," by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, opened on Broadway at the Music Box Theater.

In 1943, Chicago Mayor Edward J. Kelly officially opened the city's new subway system during a ceremony at the State and Madison Street station.

In 1964, China set off its first atomic bomb, codenamed "596," on the Lop Nur Test Ground.

In 1966, actor John Reynolds, best-known for playing Torgo in “Manos, the Hands of Fate”, died.

In 1968, United States athletes Tommie Smith and John Carlos were kicked off the US team for participating in the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute.

In 1969, the New York Mets capped their miracle season by winning the World Series, defeating the Baltimore Orioles, 5-3, in Game 5 played at Shea Stadium.

In 1978, the College of Cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church chose Cardinal Karol Wojtyla to be the new pope; he took the name John Paul II.

In 1984, Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his decades of non-violent struggle for racial equality in South Africa.

In 1987, a 58-1/2-hour drama in Midland, Texas, ended happily as rescuers freed Jessica McClure, an 18-month-old girl trapped in an abandoned well.

In 1991, a deadly shooting rampage took place in Killeen, Texas, as George Hennard opened fire at a Luby's Cafeteria, killing 23 people before taking his own life.

In 1995, the “Million Man March” occurred in Washington, D.C.

In 1999, a New York Air National Guard plane rescued Dr. Jerri Nielsen from a South Pole research center after she'd spent five months isolated by the Antarctic winter, forced to treat herself for a cancerous breast lump.

 

On This Day...

On Oct 17, 1989, a 7.1 Earthquake strikes San Francisco during the Oakland A's/San Francisco Giants World Series game, ultimately killing 63 people, injuring more than 3,000 others and destroying more than 100,000 buildings.

 

In 1777, British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered to American troops in Saratoga, New York, in a turning point of the Revolutionary War.

In 1807, Britain declared it would continue to reclaim British-born sailors from American ships and ports regardless of whether they held U.S. citizenship.

In 1814, the London Beer Flood inundated the St. Giles district of the British capital as a vat at Meux's Brewery on Tottenham Court Road ruptured, causing other vats to burst as well and sending more than 320-thousand gallons of beer into the streets; up to nine people were reported killed.

In 1914, writer Jerry Siegel, co-creator of Superman, was born in Cleveland, OH.

In 1919, Radio Corp. of America was chartered.

In 1926, actress Beverly Garland was born in Santa Cruz, CA.

In 1931, mobster Al Capone was convicted of income tax evasion.

In 1933, Albert Einstein arrived in the United States as a refugee from Nazi Germany.

Also in 1933, astronaut William Anders, one of the crew of Apollo 8, was born in British Hong Kong.

In 1939, Frank Capra's comedy-drama "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," starring James Stewart as an idealistic junior senator, had its premiere in the nation's capital.

In 1948, actress Margot Kidder, best-known for playing Lois Lane in several “Superman” movies, was born in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.

In 1956, the all-star movie "Around the World in 80 Days," produced by Michael Todd, had its world premiere in New York.

In 1957, the film “Jailhouse Rock”, starring Elvis Preseley, premieres in Memphis.

In 1961, French police attacked Algerians protesting a curfew in Paris. (Reports of the resulting death toll vary widely, with some estimates of up to 200.)

In 1966, actor/writer Mark Gatiss, best-known for his work on “Sherlock” and “Doctor Who”, was born in Sedgefield, County Durham, England.

In 1979, Mother Teresa of India was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2005, actor Peter Mayhew became a U.S. citizen. So far as I know, Chewie is still a citizen of Kashyyyk.

In 2006, journalist Christopher Glenn, best-known for his “In the News” segments for CBS on Saturday mornings, died in Norwalk, CT at age 68.

In 2009, composer/songwriter Vic Mizzy, best-known for his themes for “Green Acres” and “The Adams Family”, died in Bel Air at age 93.

In 2013, producer Lou Scheimer, co-founder of the Filmation animation company, died in Tarzanna, CA at age 84.

 

If I may...

ON OCTOBER 18th:


In 1685, King Louis XIV signed the Edict of Fontainebleau, revoking the Edict of Nantes that had established legal toleration of France's Protestant population, the Huguenots.

In 1767, the Mason-Dixon line, the boundary between Pennsylvania and Maryland, was set as astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon completed their survey.

In 1867, the United States took formal possession of Alaska from Russia.

In 1892, the first long-distance telephone line between New York and Chicago was officially opened (it could only handle one call at a time).

In 1922, the British Broadcasting Co., Ltd. (later the British Broadcasting Corp.) was founded.

In 1928, sportscaster Keith Jackson, the original third man in the booth for “Monday Night Football”, was born in Roopville, GA.

In 1938, actress Dawn Wells was born in Reno, NV. Later, one of her characters would take a highly-eventful three-hour tour.

In 1944, Soviet troops invaded Czechoslovakia during World War II.

In 1954, Texas Instruments unveiled the Regency TR-1, the first commercially-produced transistor radio.

In 1962, James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were honored with the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.

In 1969, the federal government banned artificial sweeteners known as cyclamates because of evidence they caused cancer in laboratory rats.

In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard Nixon's veto.

In 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 86 hostages and killing three of the four hijackers.

 

Huh. I seem to be missing a post, because I'm sure I posted something about a pipeline in Nigeria erupting on this day in 1998.

 

If I may...

ON OCTOBER 19th:


In 1781, British troops under Gen. Lord Cornwallis surrendered at Yorktown, Virginia, as the American Revolution neared its end.

In 1789, John Jay was sworn in as the first Chief Justice of the United States.

In 1814, the first documented public performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner" took place at the Holliday Street Theater in Baltimore, where it was performed by an actor now known only as "Mr. Hardinge."

In 1903, actor/wrestler Tor Johnson was born in Sweden. Years later, one of his characters would be found dead, murdered, and someone’s responsible!

In 1914, the U.S. Post Office began delivering mail with government-owned cars, as opposed to using contracted vehicles.

Also in 1914, the First Battle of Ypres began during World War I.

In 1943, Streptomycin, the first antibiotic remedy for tuberculosis, is isolated by researchers at Rutgers University.

In 1944, the U.S. Navy began accepting black women into WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service).

In 1951, President Harry S. Truman signed an act formally ending the state of war with Germany.

In 1960, the United States began a limited embargo against Cuba covering all commodities except medical supplies and certain food products.

In 1977, the supersonic Concorde made its first landing in New York City.

In 1984, Rev. Jerzy Popieluszko, a Polish Catholic priest with ties to the Solidarity labor movement, was abducted and murdered by communist secret police.

In 1985, the first Blockbuster video-rental store opens, in Dallas, TX.

In 1987, the stock market crashed as the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 508 points, or 22.6 percent in value, to close at 1,738.74.

In 1989, a British court freed the "Guildford Four," who'd been wrongly convicted of an Irish Republican Army bombing.

In 1994, 22 people were killed as a terrorist bomb shattered a bus in the heart of Tel Aviv's shopping district.

 

Also on this day...

On Oct 19, 1984, Automobile executive John Z. Delorean is arrested at an LA airport with a briefcase containing $24 million worth of cocaine. He wasr late aquitted and died of a stroke in 2005.

 

If I may...

ON OCTOBER 20th:


In 1714, the coronation of Britain's King George I took place in Westminster Abbey.

In 1803, the U.S. Senate ratified the Louisiana Purchase.

In 1818, the Convention of 1818 was signed between the United States and the United Kingdom which, among other things, settled the Canada-U.S. border on the 49th parallel for most of its length.

In 1873, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and Rutgers universities drafted the first code of American football rules.

In 1882, actress/singer Margaret Dumont was born in Brooklyn, NY. She’d later be acknowledged by Groucho as the unofficial fifth Marx Brother.

Also in 1882, actor Bela Lugosi was born in Lugos, Hungary. The unfortunate typecasting would come later.

In 1913, singer/musician Grandpa Jones was born in Niagra, KY. My Mom liked him on “Hee Haw”.

In 1931, baseball player/sportscaster Mickey Mantle was born in Spavinaw, OK.

In 1935, actor/singer Jerry Orbach was born in the Bronx. chungCHUNG

In 1941, actress Annke Wills, best-known for playing Polly on “Doctor Who”, was born in Berkshire. Unfortunately, the majority of the episodes she was featured in got zapped by the BBC. Fans are still searching for them, though.

In 1944, during World War II, Gen. Douglas MacArthur stepped ashore at Leyte in the Philippines, 2 1/2 years after saying, "I shall return."

Also in 1944, liquid natural gas leaking from storage tanks in Cleveland, OH, resulted in an explosion and fire that levelled 30 blocks and killed 130 people.

In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee opened hearings into alleged Communist influence and infiltration in the U.S. motion picture industry.

In 1964, Herbert C. Hoover, 31st president of the U.S., died in New York at age 90.

In 1967, seven men were convicted in Meridian, MS, of violating the civil rights of slain civil rights workers James Chaney, Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman.

In 1968, former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy married Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis.

In 1973, in the so-called "Saturday Night Massacre," special Watergate prosecutor Archibald Cox was dismissed and Attorney General Elliot L. Richardson and Deputy Attorney General William B. Ruckelshaus resigned, rather than follow President Nixon’s order to fire Cox.

In 1977, during a flight from Greenville, SC, to Baton Rouge, LA, rock group Lynyrd Skynyrd's tour plane crashed in a heavily wooded area of southeastern Mississippi during a failed emergency landing attempt, killing band-members Ronnie Van Zant, Steve Gaines and Cassie Gaines as well as the band's assistant road manager and the plane's pilot and co-pilot. Twenty others survived the crash.

In 1979, part four of the “Doctor Who” serial “City of Death”, featuring a cameo appearance by Eleanor Bron and John Cleese, was broadcast on BBC 1.

In 1981, a bungled armored truck robbery carried out by members of the Black Liberation Army and the Weather Underground in Nanuet, New York, left a guard and two police officers dead.

In 1994, actor Burt Lancaster died in Los Angeles at age 80.

In 2003, actor Jack Elam died in Ashland, OR at age 82.

In 2004, After being just three outs from getting swept in the AL championship series three nights earlier, the Boston Red Sox finally beat the New York Yankees, winning Game 7 in a 10-3 shocker to become the first major league team to overcome a 3-0 postseason series deficit. Sometime later, the Curse of the Bambino would finally be reversed.

In 2006, actress Miss Jane Wyatt died in Bel-Air, CA at age 96.

In 2011, Moammar Gadhafi, Libya's dictator for 42 years, was killed at age 69 as revolutionary fighters overwhelmed his hometown of Sirte and captured the last major bastion of resistance two months after his regime fell.


Long one today...

 

On This Day...

Jazz great Dizzie Gillespie was born on Oct 21, 1917

 

In 1797, the U.S. Navy frigate Constitution, also known as "Old Ironsides," was christened in Boston's harbor.

In 1805, a British fleet commanded by Adm. Horatio Nelson defeated a French-Spanish fleet in the Battle of Trafalgar; Nelson, however, was killed.

In 1833, chemist/engineer Alfred Nobel, both the inventor of Dynamite and the founder of the Nobel Prize, was born in Stockholm, Sweden.

In 1879, Thomas Edison perfected a workable electric light at his laboratory in Menlo Park, New Jersey.

In 1917, members of the 1st Division of the U.S. Army training in Luneville, France, became the first Americans to see action on the front lines of World War I.

In 1924, actress Joyce Randolph, best-known for playing Trixie Norton on “The Honeymooners”, was born in Detroit, MI.

In 1944, during World War II, U.S. troops captured the German city of Aachen, the first German city to fall to the Allies.

In 1945, women in France were allowed to vote in parliamentary elections for the first time.

In 1956, actress/author Carrie Fisher was born in Beverly Hills. Please wish her a Happy Birthday in a manner befitting her royal station.

In 1959, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opened to the public in New York.

In 1964, the movie musical "My Fair Lady," starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison, had its world premiere at the Criterion Theater in New York.

In 1967, the Israeli destroyer INS Eilat was sunk by Egyptian missile boats near Port Said (sah-EED'); 47 Israeli crew members were lost.

In 1983, principal photography for “Star Trek III: The Search for Spock” was completed.

In 2014, journalist Ben Bradlee died in Washington, D.C. at age 93.

 

Actually, many Americans saw front-line action long before that, fighting as volunteers in European armies (Lafayette Escadrille being the most famous example). The 1st Div was the first unit to see action in American uniforms in WW1.

 

Thanks for the clarification, Sarge.

If I may...

ON OCTOBER 22nd:


In 1746, Princeton University was first chartered as the College of New Jersey.

In 1777, American defenders of Fort Mercer on the Delaware River repulsed repeated Hessian attacks in the Battle of Red Bank.

In 1797, French balloonist Andre-Jacques Garnerin made the first parachute descent, landing safely from a height of about 3,000 feet over Paris.

In 1836, Sam Houston was inaugurated as the first constitutionally elected president of the Republic of Texas.

In 1883, the original Metropolitan Opera House in New York held its grand opening with a performance of Gounod's "Faust."

Was Curly Howard born in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn on this day in 1903? Why, soitenly!

In 1934, bank robber Charles "Pretty Boy" Floyd was shot to death by federal agents and local police at a farm near East Liverpool, Ohio.

In 1937, producer/studio executive Alan Ladd, Jr. was born in Los Angeles. He’s best-known for his time at 20th Century Fox in the mid-1970’s, and giving his support to some space opera George Lucas was working on.

In 1942, actress/singer/Mouseketeer Annette Funicello was born in Utica, NY.

In 1957, U.S. military personnel suffered their first casualties in the war when 13 Americans are wounded in three terrorist bombings of Military Assistance Advisory Group and U.S. Information Service installations in Saigon.

In 1962, President John F. Kennedy revealed the presence of Soviet-built missile bases under construction in Cuba and announced a quarantine of all offensive military equipment being shipped to the Communist island nation.

In 1979, the U.S. government allowed the deposed Shah of Iran to travel to New York for medical treatment — a decision that precipitated the Iran hostage crisis the following month.

In 1981, the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization was decertified by the federal government for its strike the previous August.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law sweeping tax-overhaul legislation.

In 2006, the first two episodes of the “Doctor Who” spin-off “Torchwood” premiered on BBC 3.

In 2009, actor/comedian Soupy Sales died in the Bronx at age 83.

In 2012, Lance Armstrong was formally stripped of the seven Tour de France titles he won from 1999 to 2005 and banned for life from competitive cycling after being charged with systematically using illicit performance-enhancing drugs and blood transfusions as well as demanding that some of his Tour teammates dope in order to help him win races.

 

If I may...

ON OCTOBER 23rd:


In 42 B.C., at the Second Battle of Philippi, Mark Antony and Octavian decisively defeated Brutus’ army, leading to Brutus’ suicide.

In 1707, the first Parliament of Great Britain, created by the Acts of Union between England and Scotland, held its first meeting.

In 1910, actor Hayden Rorke was born in Brooklyn. Years later, he’d be busy keeping his eye on Major Nelson.

In 1915, tens of thousands of women marched in New York City, demanding the right to vote.

Also in 1915, cricketer W.G. Grace died in Mottingham, Kent, England at age 67.

In 1923, “filmmaker” Harold P. “Hal” Warren was born. His magnum opus, “Manos, the Hands of Fate”, has achieved some notoriety.

Heeeeeere’s Johnny! In 1925, comedian/TV host Johnny Carson was born in Corning, IO.

In 1935, mobster Dutch Schultz, 34, was shot and mortally wounded with three other men during a gangland hit at the Palace Chophouse in Newark, New Jersey. (Schultz died the following day.)

In 1941, the Disney film "Dumbo" premiered in New York City.

In 1942, during World War II, Britain launched a major offensive against Axis forces at El Alamein in Egypt, resulting in an Allied victory.

Also in 1942, author/producer/director Michael Crichton was born in Chicago.

In 1944, the World War II Battle of Leyte Gulf began, resulting in a major Allied victory against Japanese forces.

In 1950, singer/actor Al Jolson died in San Francisco at, it is believed, the age of 64.

In 1954, West Germany was invited to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which it did the following year.

In 1956, a student-sparked revolt against Hungary's Communist rule began; as the revolution spread, Soviet forces started entering the country, and the uprising was put down within weeks.

In 1958, the first story featuring the Smurfs, created by Belgian comics artist Peyo, was published in the French-Belgian comics magazine “Spirou”.

In 1959, musician/songwriter/comedian “Weird Al” Yankovick was born in Downey, CA.

In 1966, the Jimi Hendrix Experience recorded their first single, “Hey Joe”, at De Lane Lea Studios in London.

In 1972, the musical "Pippin", starring Ben Vereen and directed by Bob Fosse, opened on Broadway at the Imperial Theater.

In 1976, part four of the “Doctor Who” serial “The Hand of Fear” was aired on BBC 1. It marked the last regular appearance of Elisabeth Sladen as Sarah Jane Smith. (Don’t worry, folks; she’ll be back.)

In 1983, 241 U.S. service members, most of them Marines, were killed in a suicide truck-bombing at Beirut International Airport in Lebanon; a near-simultaneous attack on French forces killed 58 paratroopers.

In 1993, “Mystery Science Theater 3000” aired the episode featuring the movie “Mitchell”. The episode marked the last regular appearance of Joel Hogdson as Joel Robinson, and the introduction of Michael J. Nelson as Mike Nelson. The flamewar between fans started later.

In 2002, gunmen seized a crowded Moscow theater, taking hundreds hostage and threatening to kill their captives unless the Russian army pulled out of Chechnya.

In 2004, singer Ashlee Simpson walked off stage after the wrong vocal track was played during her performance on "Saturday Night Live," which revealed she was lip-synching.

In 2007, space shuttle Discovery carried the original prop of Luke Skywalker’s lightsaber into orbit.

 

On This Day...

On Oct 24, 1901, the first barrel plunge over Niagara Falls occurs.

 

In 1537, Jane Seymour, the third wife of England's King Henry VIII, died 12 days after giving birth to Prince Edward, later King Edward VI.

In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia ended the Thirty Years War and effectively destroyed the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1851, William Lassell, discovered the moons Umbriel, and Ariel, orbiting Uranus. Yes, this day is dedicated to the moons of Uranus!

In 1857, Sheffield F.C., the world's oldest association football club still in operation, was founded in Sheffield, England.

In 1861, the first transcontinental telegraph message was sent by Chief Justice Stephen J. Field of California from San Francisco to President Abraham Lincoln in Washington, D.C., over a line built by the Western Union Telegraph Co.

In 1915, cartoonist Bob Kane, co-creator (with Bill Finger) of Batman, was born in New York City.

In 1931, eight months ahead of schedule, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River.

In 1936, the short story "The Devil and Daniel Webster" by Stephen Vincent Benet was published in The Saturday Evening Post.

In 1939, Benny Goodman and His Orchestra recorded their signature theme, "Let's Dance," for Columbia Records in New York.

Also in 1939, DuPont began publicly selling its nylon stockings in Wilmington, Delaware.

In 1940, the 40-hour work week went into effect under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938.

In 1964, Northern Rhodesia became the independent Republic of Zambia.

In 1972, baseball player Jackie Robinson died in Stamford, CT at age 53.

In 1991, Gene Roddenberry, the Great Bird of the Galaxy, died in Santa Monica at age 70.

In 1992, the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Atlanta Braves in the sixth game of the World Series to win the championship. It was the first time a Canadian team had ever won the trophy.

In 1994, actor Raul Julia died in Manhasset, NY at age 54.

In 1997, voice actor Don Messick, best-known for his work with Hanna-Barbera, died in Salinas, CA at age 71.

In 2002, authorities apprehended Army veteran John Allen Muhammad and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo near Myersville, Maryland, in the Washington-area sniper attacks. (Malvo was later sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole; Muhammad was sentenced to death and executed in 2009.)

In 2003, the supersonic Concorde jet made its last commercial passenger flight, traveling at twice the speed of sound from Kennedy International Airport in New York City to London's Heathrow Airport.

 

Has it really been that long since the sniper shootings? Sometimes it feels like just yesterday when it happened. (I don't live in the area where it happened, but there was a lot of coverage of it both nationally and locally, because of the fear [and a few false alarms], that the snipers would take their operation down near my area)