Today in History

Today is Saturday, October 10, the 283rd day of 2015. There are 82 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On October 10, 1935, the George Gershwin opera "Porgy and Bess," featuring an all-black cast, opened on Broadway, where it ran for 124 performances.

On this date:

In A.D. 19, Roman general Germanicus Julius Caesar, 33, died in Antioch under mysterious circumstances, possibly from poisoning.

In 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy was established in Annapolis, Maryland.

In 1913, the Panama Canal was effectively completed as President Woodrow Wilson sent a signal from the White House by telegraph, setting off explosives that destroyed a section of the Gamboa dike.

In 1938, Nazi Germany completed its annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland.

In 1943, Chiang Kai-shek took the oath of office as president of China.

In 1955, the film version of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical "Oklahoma!" premiered before an invitation-only audience at the Rivoli Theatre in New York.

In 1964, the first Summer Olympics to be held in Asia were opened in Tokyo by Japanese Emperor Hirohito. Entertainer Eddie Cantor, 72, died in Beverly Hills, California.

In 1967, the Outer Space Treaty, prohibiting the placing of weapons of mass destruction on the moon or elsewhere in space, entered into force.

In 1968, the sexy science-fiction spoof "Barbarella," starring Jane Fonda, was released by Paramount Pictures.

In 1973, Vice President Spiro T. Agnew, accused of accepting bribes, pleaded no contest to one count of federal income tax evasion, and resigned his office.

In 1985, U.S. fighter jets forced an Egyptian plane carrying the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro to land in Italy, where the gunmen were taken into custody. Actor-director Orson Welles died in Los Angeles at age 70; actor Yul Brynner died in New York at age 65.

In 1997, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and its coordinator, Jody Williams, were named winners of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Ten years ago: Angela Merkel struck a power-sharing deal that made her the first woman and politician from the ex-communist east to serve as Germany's chancellor. President George W. Bush dined in the French Quarter and stayed in a luxury hotel to showcase progress in hurricane-battered New Orleans. Israeli-American Robert J. Aumann and Thomas C. Schelling of the U.S. won the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences for their research on game theory. Milton Obote, the first prime minister of an independent Uganda, died in Johannesburg, South Africa, at age 79.

Five years ago: President Barack Obama delivered one of his most stinging criticisms yet of the GOP record to several thousand people in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood as he urged voters not to sit out the midterm elections. Kim Jong Il's heir apparent, Kim Jong Un, joined his father at a massive military parade in his most public appearance since being unveiled as North Korea's next leader. Opera singer Dame Joan Sutherland, 83, died at her home in Switzerland.

One year ago: Malala Yousafzai, a 17-year-old Pakistani girl, and Kailash Satyarthi, a 60-year-old Indian man, were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for risking their lives for the right of children to receive an education and to live free from abuse. The Kansas City Royals defeated the Baltimore Orioles 8-6 at Camden Yards in the opener of the AL Championship Series.

Today's Birthdays: Former Illinois Sen. Adlai Stevenson III is 85. Actor Peter Coyote is 74. Entertainer Ben Vereen is 69. Singer John Prine is 69. Actor Charles Dance is 69. Rock singer-musician Cyril Neville (The Neville Brothers) is 67. Actress Jessica Harper is 66. Author Nora Roberts (aka "J.D. Robb") is 65. Singer-musician Midge Ure is 62. Rock singer David Lee Roth is 61. Actor J. Eddie Peck is 57. Country singer Tanya Tucker is 57. Actress Julia Sweeney is 56. Actor Bradley Whitford is 56. Musician Martin Kemp is 54. Actress Jodi Benson (Film: "The Little Mermaid") is 54. Rock musician Jim Glennie (James) is 52. Actress Rebecca Pidgeon is 50. Rock musician Mike Malinin (Goo Goo Dolls) is 48. Retired NFL quarterback Brett Favre is 46. Actor Manu Bennett is 46. Actress Joelle Carter is 46. Actress Wendi McLendon-Covey is 46. Actor/TV host Mario Lopez is 42. Race driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. is 41. Actress Jodi Lyn O'Keefe is 37. Singer Mya is 36. Actor Dan Stevens is 33. Singer Cherie is 31. Actress Rose McIver is 27. Actress Aimee Teegarden is 26.

Thought for Today: "We're born alone, we live alone, we die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we're not alone." -- Orson Welles (1915-1985).

Copyright 2015, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.