Today in History

Today is Saturday, Oct. 9, the 282nd day of 2021. There are 83 days left in the year.

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 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 1940, rock-and-roll legend John Lennon was born in Liverpool, England. (On this date in 1975, his son, Sean, was born in New York.)

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 2001, in the first daylight raids since the start of U.S.-led attacks on Afghanistan, jets bombed the Taliban stronghold of Kandahar. Letters postmarked in Trenton, New Jersey, were sent to Sens. Tom Daschle and Patrick Leahy; the letters later tested positive for anthrax.

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 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."

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

In 2014, six U.S. military planes arrived in the Ebola hot zone with more Marines as West African leaders pleaded for the world's help in dealing with what Sierra Leone President Ernest Bai Koroma described as "a tragedy unforeseen in modern times."

Ten years ago: At least 27 people were killed and more than 200 injured during massive clashes in downtown Cairo in the worst sectarian outburst since the February revolution. The NHL returned to Winnipeg after 15 years; Carey Price stopped 30 shots as the Montreal Canadiens put a damper on a massive civic celebration with a 5-1 victory over the Jets. Paul McCartney married Nancy Shevell at Old Marylebone Town Hall in London.

Five years 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. s in COVID-19 hot spots. President Donald Trump told Rush Limbaugh on his radio show that he could have become very ill and might not have recovered from COVID-19 without experimental drugs; i

One year ago: A federal judge refused to block New York's plan to temporarily limit the size of religious gatheringt was a far worse outlook than what his doctors were telling the American people. The United Nations' World Food Program won the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize for its efforts to combat hunger and food insecurity around the globe. Hurricane Delta came ashore in southwest Louisiana as a Category 2 storm, drenching the same area that was battered by deadly Hurricane Laura six weeks earlier, but quickly weakened and became a tropical storm as it moved inland.

Today's Birthdays: Retired MLB All-Star Joe Pepitone is 81. Former Sen. Trent Lott, R-Miss., is 80. C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb is 80. R&B singer Nona Hendryx is 77. Singer Jackson Browne is 73. Nobel Peace laureate Jody Williams is 71. Actor Gary Frank is 71. Actor Richard Chaves is 70. Actor Robert Wuhl is 70. Actor-TV personality Sharon Osbourne is 69. Actor Tony Shalhoub is 68. Actor Scott Bakula is 67. Musician James Fearnley (The Pogues) is 67. Actor John O'Hurley is 67. Writer-producer-director-actor Linwood Boomer is 66. Pro and College Football Hall of Famer Mike Singletary is 63. Actor Michael Pare is 63. Jazz musician Kenny Garrett is 61. Rock singer-musician Kurt Neumann (The BoDeans) is 60. Movie director Guillermo del Toro is 57. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron is 55. Singer P.J. Harvey is 52. Movie director Steve McQueen (Film: "12 Years a Slave") is 52. World Golf Hall of Famer Annika Sorenstam is 51. Actor Cocoa Brown is 49. Country singer Tommy Shane Steiner is 48. Actor Steve Burns is 48. Rock singer Sean Lennon is 46. Actor Randy Spelling is 43. Christian hip-hop artist Lecrae is 42. Actor Brandon Routh is 42. Actor Zachery Ty Bryan is 40. Actor Spencer Grammer is 38. Comedian Melissa Villasenor (TV: "Saturday Night Live") is 34. Actor Tyler James Williams is 29. Country singer Scotty McCreery (TV: "American Idol") is 28. Actor Jharrel Jerome is 24.