Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2014 There are 85 days left in the year Today’s Highlight in History: On Oct. 7, 1954, Marian Anderson became the first black singer hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York (Anderson made her Met debut in January 1955 playing the role of Ulrica in Verdi’s “Un Ballo in Maschera ”) On this date: In 1849, author Edgar Allan Poe died in Baltimore at age 40 In 1949, the Republic of East Germany was formed In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F Kennedy and Republican opponent Richard Nixon held their second televised debate, this one in Washington

In 1982, the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical “Cats” opened on Broadway (The show closed Sept 10, 2000, after a record 7,485 performances )

In 1985, Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean

In 1991, University of Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill publicly accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of making sexually inappropriate comments when she worked for him; Thomas denied Hill’s allegations

In 2001, the current war in Afghanistan started as the United States and Britain launched air attacks against military targets and Osama bin Laden’s training camps in the wake of the September 11 attacks

Today’s Birthdays: Retired South African Archbishop and Nobel Peace laureate Desmond Tutu is 83 Actress Jill Larson is 67 Singer John Mellencamp is 63 Rock musician Ricky Phillips is 63 Actress Mary Badham is 62 Rock musician Tico Torres is 61 Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 59 Recording executive and TV personality Simon Cowell is 55 Rock singer-musician Thom Yorke is 46 Rock musician-dancer Leeroy Thornhill is 45 Actress Nicole Ari Parker is 44 Actress Allison Munn is 40 Singer Taylor Hicks is 38 MLB player Evan Longoria is 29 Actress Holland Roden is 28 Actress Amber Stevens is 28