Today in History

Today is Friday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2014. There are 89 days left in the year. The Jewish Day of Atonement, Yom Kippur, begins at sunset.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 3, 1944, during World War II, U.S. Army troops cracked the Siegfried Line north of Aachen, Germany.

On this date:

In 1789, President George Washington declared Nov. 26, 1789, a day of Thanksgiving to express gratitude for the creation of the United States of America.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day.

In 1922, Rebecca L. Felton, D-Ga., became the first woman to be appointed to the U.S. Senate (however, she ended up serving only a day).

In 1932, Iraq became independent of British administration.

In 1951, the New York Giants captured the National League pennant by a score of 5-4 as Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ralph Branca in the "shot heard 'round the world."

In 1954, the family comedy "Father Knows Best," formerly an NBC radio show, premiered on CBS-TV with Robert Young reprising his role of Jim Anderson.

In 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra became the fifth American to fly in space as he blasted off from Cape Canaveral aboard the Sigma 7 on a 9-hour flight.

In 1974, Frank Robinson was named major league baseball's first black manager as he was placed in charge of the Cleveland Indians.

In 1981, Irish nationalists at the Maze Prison near Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended seven months of hunger strikes that had claimed 10 lives.

In 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a reunified country.

In 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial found the former football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman (however, Simpson was later found liable in a civil trial).

In 2008, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room. (Simpson was later sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison.)

Ten years ago: National security adviser Condoleezza Rice, interviewed on ABC's "This Week" program, defended her characterization of Saddam Hussein's nuclear capabilities in the months before the Iraq invasion. Actress Janet Leigh died at age 77. The comedy-drama series "Desperate Housewives" premiered on ABC.

Five years ago: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hit back at President Barack Obama's accusation that his country had sought to hide its construction of a new nuclear site, arguing that Tehran reported the facility to the U.N. even earlier than required. Eight U.S. soldiers were killed, 22 wounded, when their outpost in Afghanistan's Nuristan province was attacked by hundreds of militants.

One year ago: A Connecticut woman driving a black Infiniti with her 1-year-old daughter inside tried to ram a White House barricade, then led police on a chase toward the U.S. Capitol, where police shot and killed her. (The unarmed woman, 34-year-old Miriam Carey, had been diagnosed with postpartum depression and psychosis; her child was unharmed.) President Barack Obama canceled a trip to Asia to stay in Washington and push for an elusive funding agreement that would end a partial government shutdown. A smugglers' ship packed with African migrants sank off the coast of a southern Italian island, killing more than 365 people.

Today's Birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Marques O. Haynes is 88. Composer Steve Reich is 78. Rock and roll star Chubby Checker is 73. Actor Alan Rachins is 72. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is 71. Magician Roy Horn is 70. Singer Lindsey Buckingham is 65. Jazz musician Ronnie Laws is 64. Blues singer Keb' Mo' is 63. Former astronaut Kathryn Sullivan is 63. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is 63. Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley is 60. Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton is 60. Actor Hart Bochner is 58. Actor Peter Frechette is 58. World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples is 55. Actor-comedian Greg Proops is 55. Actor Jack Wagner is 55. Rock musician Tommy Lee is 52. Actor Clive Owen is 50. Actress Janel Moloney is 45. Singer Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) is 45. Pop singer Kevin Richardson is 43. Rock singer G. Love is 42. Actress Keiko Agena is 41. Actress Neve Campbell is 41. Singer India.Arie is 39. Rapper Talib Kweli is 39. Actress Alanna Ubach is 39. Actor Seann William Scott is 38. Actress Shannyn Sossamon is 36. Rock musician Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 35. Actor Seth Gabel is 33. Rock musician Mark King (Hinder) is 32. Actor Erik Von Detten is 32. Singer-musician Cherrill Green (Edens Edge) is 31. Actress Tessa Thompson is 31. Actress-singer Ashlee Simpson is 30.

Thought for Today: "No one can build his security upon the nobleness of another person." -- Willa Cather, American author (1873-1947).

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