THURSDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Thursday, Oct. 12, the 285th day of 2017. There are 80 days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On Oct. 12, 1492 (according to the Old Style calendar), Christopher Columbus’ expedition arrived in the present-day Bahamas.

On this date:

In 1792, the first recorded U.S. celebration of Columbus Day was held to mark the tricentennial of Christopher Columbus’ landing.

In 1810, the German festival Oktoberfest was first held in Munich to celebrate the wedding ofBavarianCrownPrince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen.

In 1915, former President Theodore Roosevelt, speaking to the Knights of Columbus in New York, criticized native-bornAmericans who identified themselves by dual nationalities, saying that “a hyphenated American is not an American at all.”

In 1942, during World War II, American naval forces defeated the Japanese in the Battle of Cape Esperance.

In 1964, the Soviet Union launched a Voskhod space capsule with a three-man crew on the first mission involving more than one crew member.

In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing five people.

In 2002, bombs blamed on al-Qaida-linked militants destroyed a nightclub on the Indonesian island ofBali, killing 202 people, including 88 Australians and seven Americans.

Ten years ago: Former Vice PresidentAlGoreandtheU.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on ClimateChangewontheNobel Peace Prize for sounding the alarmover global warming.

Five years ago: The European Union won the Nobel Peace Prize for fostering peace on a continent long ravaged by war.

One year ago: Wells Fargo announced that its embattled CEO, John Stumpf, was stepping down as the nation’s second-largest bank found itself roiled by a scandal over its sales practices.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Antonia Rey is 90. Broadcast journalist ChrisWallace is 70. Actress-singer Susan Anton is 67. Actor Hiroyuki Sanada is 57. Rock singer Bob Schneider is 52. Actor Hugh Jackman is 49. Actor Kirk Cameron is 47. Olympic gold medal skier BodeMiller is 40.

Thought for Today: “Christopher Columbus, as everyone knows, is honoured by posterity because he was the last to discover America.” — James Joyce, Irish author and poet (1882-1941).