October 11
Yom Kippur begins today at sunset.
The United States honors General Casimir Pulaski, Polish American Revolutionary War hero, by Presidential Proclamation, each year on this date with
General Pulaski Memorial Day.
Today is
International Day of the Girl Child, supporting more opportunity for girls, and increasing awareness of gender inequality faced by girls worldwide.
Today is
International Newspaper Carrier Day honoring newspaper carriers worldwide.
Today marks
National Coming Out Day. So, get outta that closet!
Today also marks
the Muslim holy day of Ashura. [Note: That link goes to a page from
2014, dates will be incorrect for the current year.]
Events
1138 – A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo, Syria. Sometimes listed as the third (Wiki says fifth) deadliest earthquake in history with ~230,000 people killed.
1634 – The
Burchardi flood: "The second Grote Mandrenke" ["The Second Great Drowning of Men"] killed 8,000-15,000 men in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany.
1767 – Surveying for the
Mason–Dixon line separating Maryland from Pennsylvania is completed.
1809 – Along the
Natchez Trace in Tennessee, explorer
Meriwether Lewis dies under mysterious circumstances at an inn called Grinder's Stand.
1811 – Inventor
John Stevens' boat, the
Juliana, begins operation as the first steam-powered ferry, with service between New York City, New York, and Hoboken, New Jersey.
1852 – The
University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university, is inaugurated in Sydney.
1862 – American Civil War: In the aftermath of the
Battle of Antietam, Confederate General
J. E. B. Stuart and his men
loot Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, during a raid into the north.
1910 – Former President
Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane. He flew for four minutes with
Arch Hoxsey, in a plane built by the Wright brothers, at Kinloch Field (Lambert–St. Louis International Airport), St. Louis, Missouri.
1950 – Television: CBS's
mechanical color system is the first to be licensed for broadcast by the U.S. Federal Communications Commission.
1974 -
John Denver was at No.1 on the UK singles chart with '
Annie's Song.' The song was a tribute to his wife and was written in 10 minutes while he was on a ski lift in Aspen, Colorado.
1975 – The NBC sketch comedy/variety show
Saturday Night Live debuts.
1976 – George Washington's posthumous appointment to the grade of
General of the Armies by congressional joint resolution
Public Law 94-479 is approved by President Gerald R. Ford.
1987 – First public display of
AIDS Memorial Quilt, weighing in at
54 tons, on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., during the
Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights.
1990 - Drummer
Dave Grohl played his first gig with
Nirvana when they appeared at the North Shore Surf Club in Olympia, Washington.
1991 -
Apple Computers settled a lawsuit launched by The Beatles record company,
Apple Corporation, over name and logo rights. The computer company reportedly paid $29 million to settle the suit.
2000 – NASA launches
STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission, using
Space Shuttle Discovery.
2001 – The
Polaroid Corporation files for federal bankruptcy protection.
2003 -
Mojo magazine readers voted the studio session for Elvis Presley's debut single '
That's All Right' the most pivotal moment in rock history. Bob Dylan's switch from acoustic to electric guitars in 1965 came second, and '
White Riot', the debut single by The Clash released in 1977 was voted third.
2005 -
Freddie Mercury's
1974 Rolls Royce Silver Shadow was offered for auction on eBay by his sister, Kashmira Cooke, who had inherited the car from him. The luxury vehicle had not appeared in public since 2002, when it had been used to transport the Bulsara family to the premiere of the
Queen stage musical
We Will Rock You. It came with
a box of Kleenex Mansize tissues left in the car by Freddie.
Births
1739 – Grigory Potemkin (namesake of the Russian battleship
Potemkin); 1821 – George Williams (founded the YMCA); 1844 – Henry J. Heinz (yeah,
that Heinz); 1884 – Eleanor Roosevelt (39th FLOTUS); 1905 – Fred Christ Trump (The Donald'$ daddy); 1925 – Elmore Leonard; 1926 – Earle Hyman (Cosby's dad on
The Cosby Show); 1932 – Dottie West♪ ♫; 1935 – Dan Evins (founded Cracker Barrel

); 1937 – Ron Leibman; 1943 – Gene Watson♪ ♫; 1946 – Daryl Hall

(Hall & Oates); 1946 – Gary Mallaber

(Raven, Steve Miller Band, Greg Kihn Band); 1947 – Al Atkins♪ ♫(Judas Priest); 1952 – Paulette Carlson♪ ♫(Highway 101); 1962 – Joan Cusack; 1964 – Michael J. Nelson (
MST3K); 1965 – Sean Patrick Flanery; 1966 – Luke Perry; 1967 – Artie Lange; 1968 – Jane Krakowski; 1969 – Stephen Moyer (True Blood); 1973 – Mike Smith

(Limp Bizkit); 1976 – Emily Deschanel (
Bones); 1977 – Matt Bomer (White Collar); 1989 – Michelle Wie
Deaths
1779 – Casimir Pulaski; 1809 – Meriwether Lewis; 1889 – James Prescott Joule (namesake of the joule, a unit of energy); 1896 – Anton Bruckner

; 1961 – Chico Marx; 1965 – Dorothea Lange; 1971 –
Chesty Puller (THE most decorated Marine in American history); 1991 – Redd Foxx (
Sanford & Son); 2007 – Werner von Trapp (of
The Sound Of Music von Trapps);
2015 – Smokin' Joe Kubek