Today in History

Today is Saturday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2023. There are 85 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 7, 1991, University of Oklahoma law professor Anita Hill publicly accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of making sexually inappropriate comments when she worked for him; Thomas denied Hill's allegations and would go on to win Senate confirmation.

On this date:

In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England.

In 1916, in the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222-0 in Atlanta.

In 1949, the Republic of East Germany was formed.

In 1982, the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical "Cats" opened on Broadway, the first of what would become a record 7,485 performances in an 18-year run.

In 1985, Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean Sea. (The hijackers shot and killed Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American tourist in a wheelchair, and pushed him overboard, before surrendering on Oct. 9.)

In 1989, Hungary's Communist Party renounced Marxism in favor of democratic socialism during a party congress in Budapest.

In 1992, trade representatives of the United States, Canada and Mexico initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement during a ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, in the presence of President George H.W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.

In 1996, Fox News Channel made its debut.

In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left tied to a wooden fencepost outside of Laramie, Wyoming; he died five days later. (Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney are serving life sentences for Shepard's murder.)

In 2001, the war in Afghanistan started as the United States and Britain launched air attacks against military targets and Osama bin Laden's training camps in the wake of the September 11 attacks.

In 2003, California voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger their new governor.

In 2012, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez won re-election for the third time. (Chavez died five months later.)

In 2017, country music star Jason Aldean, who had been on stage at an outdoor concert in Las Vegas less than a week earlier when a gunman opened fire on the crowd, paid tribute to the victims and to the recently deceased Tom Petty by opening "Saturday Night Live" with Petty's song, "I Won't Back Down."

In 2020, President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office for the first time since he was diagnosed with COVID-19; he credited an experimental drug treatment with helping his recovery.

Today's Birthdays: Author Thomas Keneally is 88. Comedian and talk-show host Joy Behar is 81. Former National Security Council aide Lt. Col. Oliver North (ret.) is 80. Rock musician Kevin Godley (10cc) is 78. Actor Jill Larson is 76. Country singer Kieran Kane is 74. Singer John Mellencamp is 72. Rock musician Ricky Phillips is 72. Russian President Vladimir Putin is 71. Actor Mary Badham (Film: "To Kill a Mockingbird") is 71. Rock musician Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) is 70. Actor Christopher Norris is 68. Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 68. Gospel singer Michael W. Smith is 66. Olympic gold medal ice dancer Jayne Torvill is 66. Actor Dylan Baker is 65. Actor Judy Landers is 65. Recording executive and TV personality Simon Cowell is 64. Actor Paula Newsome is 62. Country singer Dale Watson is 61. Pop singer Ann Curless (Expose) is 60. R&B singer Toni Braxton is 56. Rock singer-musician Thom Yorke (Radiohead) is 55. Rock musician-dancer Leeroy Thornhill is 54. Actor Nicole Ari Parker is 53. Actor Allison Munn is 49. Rock singer-musician Damian Kulash (KOO'-lahsh) is 48. Singer Taylor Hicks is 47. Actor Omar Miller is 45. Neo-soul singer Nathaniel Rateliff (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats) is 45. Actor Shawn Ashmore is 44. Actor Jake McLaughlin is 41. Electronic musician Flying Lotus (AKA Steve Ellison) is 40. MLB player Evan Longoria is 38. Actor Holland Roden is 37. Actor Amber Stevens is 37. MLB outfielder Mookie Betts is 31. Actor Lulu Wilson is 18.