Feast Day of St. Luke the Evangelist patron saint of doctors and artists.

Alaska Day Celebrating the formal transfer of Alaska from Russia to the U.S. (October 18, 1867).

1992 The Canadian flag is flown upside down by U.S. Marines during the opening of game two of the World Series. Then, the Canadian national anthem was improperly sung.

1977 Reggie Jackson ties Babe Ruth's record by hitting three home runs in a World Series game.

1969 Cyclamates banned The artificial sweetener is banned by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

1968 The Beatles John Lennon and Yoko Ono are arrested at Ringo's London flat for drug possession. They vowed that the drugs had been planted by the police.

1963 First Cat in Space Félix is sent into space in a capsule on top of a French Véronique AG1 rocket. Félix traveled 120 miles into space and then descended back to Earth by parachute and was recovered.

1959 First pictures of the far side of the Moon The Soviet Lunik 3 transmits its pictures, taken on the 7th, back to Earth.

1956 Oldest Woman to Give Natural Birth Ruth Kistler gives birth to a daughter at age 57 years old. Source: Guinness Book of World Records

1955 Antiproton The atomic subparticle is discovered by scientists at the University of California.

1945 Nuremberg trials 24 former Nazi leaders are indicted in Berlin for crimes against humanity. Trials were held the following month in Nuremberg, in which 12 were sentenced to death.

1943 Perry Mason Erle Stanley Gardner's characters debut on CBS radio, starring John Larkin as the famous detective.

1926 First Reigning Queen to Visit the US Queen Marie of Rumania arrives in New York City for a one month visit.

1898 Spanish-American War The U.S. takes possession of the Puerto Rico from Spain as a result of the war.

1873 Football Representatives from Columbia, Rutgers, Princeton, and Yale universities meet in New York City to form the first set of rules for American football.

1867 Alaska The U.S. takes possession of the territory after purchasing it from the Russians in March for about 2¢ an acre.

1842 First telegraph cable Samuel F.B. Morse lays a test cable in New York Harbor. It was destroyed the following day by a ship's anchor.

1648 First American labor organization The Shoomakers of Boston are granted permission to organize.

1961 Wynton Marsalis American Grammy-winning jazz musician. Music: Think Of One (1983, Grammy).

1961 Erin Moran American actress. TV: Happy Days (as Joanie Cunningham).

1958 Thomas Hearns American boxer. He has held the title in five different weight classes.

1956 Martina Navratilova Czech-born American tennis star. She won a record nine Wimbledon titles. She also won four U.S. Opens, three Australian Opens, and two French Opens.

1951 Pam Dawber American actress. TV: Mork & Mindy (Mindy).

1939 Mike Ditka American football player. He was NFL Rookie of the Year (1961), coach of the Chicago Bears (1982-), NFL Coach of the Year (1985), and was inducted into the Hall of Fame (1988).

1939 Lee Harvey Oswald d. 1963 American assassin, shot and killed Pres. Kennedy from the Texas School Book depository where he worked. Oswald was shot and killed by night-club operator Jack Ruby.

1938 Dawn Wells American actress, Miss Nevada (1959). TV: Gilligan's Island (1964-67, Mary Ann Summers).  Her character, Mary Ann, is said to be based on Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. Both lived on a farm in Kansas with their aunt and uncle and had pigtails. She was the only cast member to receive long-term residuals for work on Gilligan's Island.

1935 Peter Boyle d. 2006 (Peter Lawrence Boyle, Jr.), American Emmy-winning actor, ex-monk with the Christian Brothers order. Film: Young Frankenstein (1974, the monster) and Taxi Driver (1976, Wizard the philosophical taxi driver). TV: Everybody Loves Raymond (1996-2005, Frank Barone).

1927 George C. Scott d. 1999 American Oscar-Emmy-winning actor. Film: Dr. Stangelove (1964) and Patton (1970, Oscar, which he refused making him the first actor to do so).

1926 Chuck Berry (Charles Edward Anderson Berry), American rock 'n' roller. Music: Roll Over Beethoven (1956), Sweet Little Sixteen (1958), Johnny B Goode (1958), and My Ding-A-Ling (1972, #1). He served two years in prison (1962-64) for transporting a 14-year-old across state lines to work as a hat-check girl in his St. Louis nightclub.

1923 Melina Mercouri d. 1994 Greek actress. Film: Never on Sunday (1960, Cannes Best Actress). In 1977 she gained a seat on the Greek parliament, becoming the Minister of Culture.

1921 Jesse Helms U.S. Senator (Rep., N.C.).

1919 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Prime Minister of Canada (1968-79, 1980-84).

1915 Victor Sen Yung d. 1980 American actor. TV: Bonanza (Hop Sing, the Chinese Cook). Film: The Charlie Chan movies (1930s - 40s, Jimmy the No. 2 son). Writings:     Great Wok Cookbook (1974).

1906 Sidney Kingsley American Pulitzer-winning playwright. Writings: Men in White (1933, Pulitzer) and Night Life (1962).

1904 A.J. Liebling d. 1963 American author, famous for his quote "Freedom of the press belongs to those who own one."

1859 Henri Louis Bergson d. 1941 French philosopher, Nobel-winning author. His Creative Evolution redefined evolution.

1848 Candy Cummings d. 1924 (William Arthur Cummings), American baseball Hall of Famer, inventor of the curveball.

1839 Thomas Brackett Reed d. 1902 American politician, Speaker of the House from Maine. His ability to spend taxpayer's money earned his Congress (1889-91) the name "The Billion Dollar Congress."

1831 Frederick III d. 1888 Emperor of Germany and King of Prussia (March - June 1888). He died of cancer shortly after ascending to the throne.

1787 Robert Livingston Stevens d. 1856 American inventor, steamboat and railroad engineer. He was the first to build railroad tracks using logs turned crosswise, with spikes to hold the rails on.

1715 Peter II d. 1730 Czar of Russia (1727-30), grandson of Peter the Great. He died on of small pox on his intended wedding day.

1595 Edward Winslow d. 1655 American colonist, Mayflower pilgrim. He was the first person married in New England (May, 1621), brought the first cattle to New England (1624), and was governor the Plymouth Colony (1633-34, 36-37, 44-45).

1405 Pius II d. 1464 Italian poet, religious leader, 210th Pope (1458-64). Wrote The Tale of the Two Lovers (c1442), for which he later apologized.

1984 Jon-Erik Hexum b. 1957 American actor. He accidentally killed playing Russian Roulette with a blank gun on the set of TV series Cover Up. He wasn't aware that the wadding fired from blanks is deadly at point blank range. TV: Voyagers! (1982-83, time traveler Phineas Bogg) and Cover Up (1984, Mac Harper).

1982 Bess Truman b. 1885 American first lady, wife of Pres. Harry S. Truman.

1973 Walt Kelly b. 1913 American cartoonist, created Pogo (1948) with its famous quote "We have met the enemy, and it is us."

1966 Sebastian Spering Kresge b. 1867 American businessman, founder of Kmart (1962).

1931 Thomas Alva Edison b. 1847 American inventor of the microphone (1876), the first practical phonograph (1877), the incandescent light (1879) and motion pictures (1891).

1918 Charles Crozat Converse b. 1832 American lawyer, composer. He composed tune and words to God For Us and the tune to What a Friend We Have in Jesus. Source: An Almanac of the Christian Church

1911 Alfred Binet b. 1857 French psychologist. He developed and pioneered the use of I.Q. tests (1904).

1893 Lucy Stone b. 1818 American woman's rights activist, abolitionist. She and her husband founded Woman's Journal (1870). She allowed her New Jersey property to be sold for non-payment of taxes, asserting that she was being taxed without representation.

1871 Charles Babbage b. 1792 English mathematician. He designed a mechanical digital computer, although it was never built.

1526 Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón b. circa 1475 Spanish explorer. He established the first European settlement in what is the present day U.S. (San Miguel de Guadalupe on the coast of South Carolina).

1503 Pius III b. 1439 Italian religious leader, 215th Pope (Sept. - Oct. 1503). He died 26 days after being elected.

1417 Gregory XII b. circa 1327 Italian religious leader, 205th Pope (1406-15). He resigned the papacy to allow his successor, Martin V, to be elected.

707 John VII b. ???? Greek-born religious leader, 86th Pope (705-707).

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