Today in History

Today in History

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2017. There are 89 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 3, 1967, folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie, the Dust Bowl Troubadour best known for "This Land Is Your Land," died in New York of complications from Huntington's disease; he was 55.

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 served only a day).

In 1932, Iraq became independent of British administration.

In 1941, Adolf Hitler declared in a speech in Berlin that Russia had been "broken" and would "never rise again." "The Maltese Falcon" -- the version starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Huston -- premiered in New York.

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 Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers in the "shot heard 'round the world."

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 1992, Barack Obama married Michelle Robinson at the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago.

In 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles 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 for damages 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; he was granted parole in July 2017.)

Ten years ago: North Korea agreed to provide a complete list of its nuclear programs and disable its facilities at its main reactor complex by Dec. 31, 2007 (however, North Korea later said it would move to restore its nuclear reactor, saying the United States had failed to follow through with promised incentives). President George W. Bush quietly vetoed expansion of a children's health insurance program.

Five years ago: An aggressive Mitt Romney sparred with President Barack Obama on the economy and domestic issues in their first campaign debate. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton promised a full and transparent probe of the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that killed the U.S. ambassador to Libya and three other Americans.

One year ago: The United States suspended diplomatic contacts with Russia over failed efforts to end the war in Syria while President Vladimir Putin put on hold a deal with the U.S. on disposing weapons-grade plutonium. Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan won the Nobel Prize in medicine for illuminating how cells dispose of and recycle their garbage -- research that might pay off in treatments for diseases like cancer, Parkinson's and Type 2 diabetes. President Barack Obama and actor Leonardo DiCaprio teamed up on the White House South Lawn for the "South by South Lawn" festival of technology and music to sound a call for urgent action to combat climate change.

Today's Birthdays: Composer Steve Reich is 81. Rock and roll star Chubby Checker is 76. Actor Alan Rachins is 75. Former Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is 74. Magician Roy Horn is 73. Singer Lindsey Buckingham is 68. Jazz musician Ronnie Laws is 67. Blues singer Keb' Mo' is 66. Former astronaut Kathryn Sullivan is 66. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is 66. Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley is 63. Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton is 63. Actor Hart Bochner is 61. Actor Peter Frechette is 61. World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples is 58. Actor-comedian Greg Proops is 58. Actor Jack Wagner is 58. Actor/musician Marcus Giamatti is 56. Rock musician Tommy Lee is 55. Actor Clive Owen is 53. Actress Janel Moloney is 48. Singer Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) is 48. Pop singer Kevin Richardson is 46. Rock singer G. Love is 45. Actress Keiko Agena is 44. Actress Neve Campbell is 44. Actress Lena Headey is 44. Singer India.Arie is 42. Rapper Talib Kweli is 42. Actress Alanna Ubach is 42. Actor Seann (cq) William Scott is 41. Actress Shannyn Sossamon is 39. Rock musician Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 38. Actor Seth Gabel is 36. Rock musician Mark King (Hinder) is 35. Actor Erik Von Detten is 35. Singer-musician Cherrill Green (Edens Edge) is 34. Actress Tessa Thompson is 34. Actress Meagan Holder is 33. Actress-singer Ashlee Simpson is 33. Rapper A$AP Rocky is 29. Actress Alicia Vikander is 29. Actor Noah Schnapp (TV: "Stranger Things") is 13.

Thought for Today: "I hate a song that makes you think that you are not any good. I hate a song that makes you think that you are just born to lose... Songs that run you down or poke fun at you on account of your bad luck or hard traveling. I am out to fight those songs to my very last breath of air and my last drop of blood." -- Woody Guthrie (1912-1967).