Today in History

Today is Monday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2023. There are 83 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On Oct. 9, 2009, President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called "his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples."

On this date:

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

In 1910, a coal dust explosion at the Starkville Mine in Colorado left 56 miners dead.

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 1962, Uganda won autonomy from British rule.

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

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 and killing passenger Leon Klinghoffer.

In 2001, in the first daylight raids since the start of U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan, jets bombed the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar.

In 2004, a tour bus from the Chicago area flipped in Arkansas, killing 15 people headed to a Mississippi casino.

In 2006, Google Inc. announced it was snapping up YouTube Inc. for $1.65 billion in a stock deal.

In 2010, Chile's 33 trapped miners cheered and embraced each other as a drill punched into their underground chamber where they had been stuck for an agonizing 66 days.

In 2012, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was sentenced in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, to 30 to 60 years in prison following his conviction on 45 counts of sexual abuse of boys.

In 2018, Taylor Swift captured four honors at the American Music Awards to become the most decorated woman in the show's history.

In 2022, Nikki Finke, a veteran reporter who became one of Hollywood's top journalists as founder of the entertainment trade website Deadline.com, died at age 68.

Today's Birthdays: Former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., is 82. C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb is 82. R&B singer Nona Hendryx is 79. Singer Jackson Browne is 75. Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is 73. Actor Gary Frank is 73. Actor Richard Chaves is 72. Actor Robert Wuhl is 72. Actor-TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 71. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 70. Actor Scott Bakula is 69. Musician James Fearnley (The Pogues) is 69. Actor John O'Hurley is 69. Writer-producer-director-actor Linwood Boomer is 68. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary is 65. Actor Michael Pare is 65. Jazz musician Kenny Garrett is 63. Rock singer-musician Kurt Neumann (The BoDeans) is 62. Movie director Guillermo del Toro is 59. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron is 57. Singer P.J. Harvey is 54. Movie director Steve McQueen (Film: "12 Years a Slave") is 54. World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam is 53. Actor Cocoa Brown is 51. Country singer Tommy Shane Steiner is 50. Actor Steve Burns is 50. Rock singer Sean Lennon is 48. Actor Randy Spelling is 45. Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae is 44. Actor Brandon Routh is 44. Actor Zachery Ty Bryan is 42. Actor Spencer Grammer is 40. Comedian Melissa Villasenor is 36. Actor Tyler James Williams is 31. Country singer Scotty McCreery (TV: "American Idol") is 30. Actor Jharrel Jerome is 26.