Today in History

Today is Monday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2017. There are 83 days left in the year. This is Columbus Day in the United States, as well as Thanksgiving Day in Canada.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 9, 1967, Marxist revolutionary guerrilla leader Che Guevara, 39, was summarily executed by the Bolivian army a day after his capture.

On this date:

In 1514, Mary Tudor, the 18-year-old sister of Henry VIII, became Queen consort of France upon her marriage to 52-year-old King Louis XII, who died less than three months later.

In 1776, a group of Spanish missionaries settled in present-day San Francisco.

In 1888, the public was first admitted to the Washington Monument.

In 1914, the Belgian city of Antwerp fell to German forces during World War I.

In 1936, the first generator at Boulder (later Hoover) Dam began transmitting electricity to Los Angeles.

In 1946, the Eugene O'Neill drama "The Iceman Cometh" opened at the Martin Beck Theater in New York.

In 1958, Pope Pius XII died at age 82, ending a 19-year papacy. (He was succeeded by Pope John XXIII.)

In 1975, Soviet scientist Andrei Sakharov was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1985, the hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise liner surrendered two days after seizing the vessel in the Mediterranean. (Passenger Leon Klinghoffer was killed by the hijackers during the standoff.)

In 1987, author, politician and diplomat Clare Boothe Luce died in Washington at age 84.

In 1995, a sabotaged section of track caused an Amtrak train, the Sunset Limited, to derail in Arizona; one person was killed and about 80 were injured (the case remains unsolved).

In 2009, President Barack Obama was named the recipient of the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

Ten years ago: Nine Republican presidential hopefuls debated in Dearborn, Michigan; Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani clashed over tax and spending cuts, each claiming greater commitment than the other. Two Armenian Christian women were shot dead while riding in a car in Baghdad by security contractors working for Australian-owned Unity Resources Group. France's Albert Fert and German Peter Gruenberg won the 2007 Nobel Prize in physics for a discovery that let computers, iPods and other digital devices store reams of data on ever-shrinking hard disks. Actress Carol Bruce died in Woodland Hills, California, at age 87.

Five years ago: Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to 30 to 60 years in prison following his June 2012 conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse of boys. Future Nobel peace laureate Malala Yousufzai, a 14-year-old Pakistani girl who had dared to advocate education for girls and criticize the Taliban, was shot and seriously wounded by a militant gunman in the town of Mingora in the volatile Swat Valley.

One year ago: During a bitter debate in St. Louis, Hillary Clinton declared that Donald Trump's vulgar comments about women revealed "exactly who he is" and proved his unsuitability to be president; firing back, Trump accused Clinton of attacking women involved in Bill Clinton's extramarital affairs and promised she would "be in jail" if he were president. Tom Brady, looking relatively rust-free after serving his four-game "Deflategate" suspension, passed for 406 yards and three touchdowns to Martellus Bennett as the New England Patriots thumped the Cleveland Browns 33-13.

Today's Birthdays: Retired MLB All-Star Joe Pepitone is 77. Former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., is 76. C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb is 76. Rhythm-and-blues singer Nona Hendryx is 73. Singer Jackson Browne is 69. Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is 67. Actor Gary Frank is 67. Actor Richard Chaves is 66. Actor Robert Wuhl is 66. Actress-TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 65. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 64. Actor Scott Bakula is 63. Musician James Fearnley (The Pogues) is 63. Actor John O'Hurley is 63. Writer-producer-director-actor Linwood Boomer is 62. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary is 59. Actor Michael Pare is 59. Jazz musician Kenny Garrett is 57. Rock singer-musician Kurt Neumann (The BoDeans) is 56. Country singer Gary Bennett is 53. Movie director Guillermo del Toro is 53. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron is 51. Singer P.J. Harvey is 48. Movie director Steve McQueen (Film: "12 Years a Slave") is 48. World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam is 47. Actress Cocoa Brown is 45. Country singer Tommy Shane Steiner is 44. Actor Steve Burns is 44. Rock singer Sean Lennon is 42. Actor Randy Spelling is 39. Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae is 38. Actor Brandon Routh is 38. Actor Zachery Ty Bryan is 36. Actress Spencer Grammer is 34. Comedian Melissa Villasenor (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 30. Actor Tyler James Williams is 25. Country singer Scotty McCreery (TV: "American Idol") is 24.

Thought for Today: "The world is divided into people who think they are right." -- Author unknown.