Today in History

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2018. There are 89 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 3, 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).

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 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 1955, "Captain Kangaroo" and "The Mickey Mouse Club" premiered on C-B-S and A-B-C, respectively.

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 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.

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

In 1991, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 2001, the Senate approved an agreement normalizing trade between the United States and Vietnam.

In 2003, a tiger attacked magician Roy Horn of duo "Siegfried & Roy" during a performance in Las Vegas, leaving the superstar illusionist in critical condition on his 59th birthday.

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 and released from prison in October of that year.)

Ten years ago: Amid dire warnings of economic disaster, a reluctant Congress abruptly reversed course and approved a historic $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry; President George W. Bush swiftly signed it. Thirteen years to the day after O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murdering his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ronald Goldman, the former football star 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.)

Five years 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.

One year ago: President Donald Trump, visiting Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, congratulated the U.S. island territory for escaping the higher death toll of what he called "a real catastrophe like Katrina;" at a church used to distribute supplies, Trump handed out flashlights and tossed rolls of paper towels into the friendly crowd. The United States expelled 15 of Cuba's diplomats to protest Cuba's failure to protect Americans from unexplained attacks in Havana. Yahoo announced that the largest data breach in history had affected all 3 billion accounts on its service, not the 1 billion it had revealed earlier.

Today's Birthdays: Composer Steve Reich is 82. Rock and roll star Chubby Checker is 77. Actor Alan Rachins is 76. Former Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is 75. Magician Roy Horn is 74. Singer Lindsey Buckingham is 69. Jazz musician Ronnie Laws is 68. Blues singer Keb' Mo' is 67. Former astronaut Kathryn Sullivan is 67. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is 67. Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley is 64. Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton is 64. Actor Hart Bochner is 62. Actor Peter Frechette is 62. World Golf Hall of Famer Fred Couples is 59. Actor-comedian Greg Proops is 59. Actor Jack Wagner is 59. Actor/musician Marcus Giamatti is 57. Rock musician Tommy Lee is 56. Actor Clive Owen is 54. Actress Janel Moloney is 49. Singer Gwen Stefani (No Doubt) is 49. Pop singer Kevin Richardson is 47. Rock singer G. Love is 46. Actress Keiko Agena is 45. Actress Neve Campbell is 45. Actress Lena Headey is 45. Singer India.Arie is 43. Rapper Talib Kweli is 43. Actress Alanna Ubach is 43. Actor Seann William Scott is 42. Actress Shannyn Sossamon is 40. Rock musician Josh Klinghoffer (Red Hot Chili Peppers) is 39. Actor Seth Gabel is 37. Rock musician Mark King (Hinder) is 36. Actor Erik Von Detten is 36. Singer-musician Cherrill Green (Edens Edge) is 35. Actress Tessa Thompson is 35. Actress Meagan Holder is 34. Actress-singer Ashlee Simpson is 34. Rapper A$AP Rocky is 30. Actress Alicia Vikander is 30. Actor Noah Schnapp (TV: "Stranger Things") is 14.

Thought for Today: "The worst disease in the world is the plague of vengeance." -- Dr. Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist (1893-1990).