TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Wednesday, Oct. 11, the 284th day of 2017. There are 81 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 11, 1942, the World War II Battle of Cape Esperance began in the Solomon Islands, resulting in an American victory over the Japanese.
On this date:
In 1779, Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski, fighting for American independence, died two days after being wounded during the Revolutionary War Battle of Savannah, Georgia.
In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first former U.S. president to fly in an airplane during a visit to St. Louis.
In 1932, the first American political telecast took place as the Democratic National Committee sponsored a program from a CBS television studio in New York.
In 1958, the lunar probe Pioneer 1 was launched; it failed to go as far out as planned, fell back to Earth, and burned up in the atmosphere.
In 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard. The government of Panama was overthrown in a military coup.
In 1979, Allan McLeod Cormack and Godfrey Newbold Hounsfield were named co-recipients of the Nobel Prize for Medicine for their work in developing the CAT scan X-ray.
In 1984, Challenger astronaut Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space as she and fellow Mission Specialist David C. Leestma spent 3 1/2 hours outside the shuttle.
In 1992, in the first of three presidential debates, three candidates faced off against each other in St. Louis: President George H.W. Bush, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton and businessman Ross Perot.
Ten years ago: The Bush administration reported that the federal budget deficit had fallen to $162.8 billion in the just-completed budget year, the lowest amount of red ink in five years. Cold medicines for babies and toddlers were pulled off shelves amid concerns about unintentional overdoses. Briton Doris Lessing won the 2007 Nobel Prize in literature. Werner von Trapp, a member of the musical family made famous by the musical “The Sound of Music,” died in Waitsfield, Vermont, at age 91.
Five years ago: Vice President Joe Biden and Republican opponent Paul Ryan squared off in their only debate of the 2012 campaign; the two repeatedly interrupted each other as they sparred over topics including the economy, taxes and Medicare.
One year ago: President Barack Obama, in an op-ed on CNN’s website, sought to reinvigorate his six-year-old call for the U.S. to send humans to Mars by the 2030s. Samsung Electronics said it was stopping production of Galaxy Note 7 smartphones permanently, a day after halting global sales of the ill-fated devices amid reports that batteries were catching fire.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Earle Hyman is 91. Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry is 90. Actor Ron Leibman is 80. Actor Amitabh Bachchan is 75. Country singer Gene Watson is 74. Singer Daryl Hall is 71. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is 67. Country singer Paulette Carlson is 66. Actor David Morse is 64. Actor Stephen Spinella is 61. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Steve Young is 56. Actress Joan Cusack is 55. Comedy writer and TV host Michael J. Nelson is 53. Actor Sean Patrick Flanery is 52. Actor Lennie James is 52. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Chris Spielman is 52. Actor Luke Perry is 51. Country singer-songwriter Todd Snider is 51. Actorcomedian Artie Lange is 50. Singer NeeNa Lee is 42. Actress Emily Deschanel is 41. Actor Matt Bomer is 40. Actor Trevor Donovan is 39. Actress Michelle Trachtenberg is 32. Actress Lucy Griffiths is 31. Golfer Michelle Wie is 28.
Thought for Today: “Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.”—Eleanor Roosevelt, American first lady (born this date in 1884, died 1962).