Today in History – October 1 in History
What happened on this day in history – October 1 in History around the world
331BC | Alexander the Great decisively shatters King Darius III’s Persian army at Gaugamela (Arbela), in a tactical masterstroke that leaves him master of the Persian Empire. | |
1273 | Rudolf of Hapsburg is elected emperor in Germany. | |
1588 | The feeble Sultan Mohammed Shah of Persia, hands over power to his 17-year old son Abbas. | |
1791 | In Paris, the National Legislative Assembly holds its first meeting. | |
1839 | The British government decides to send a punitive naval expedition to China. | |
1847 | Maria Mitchell, American astronomer, discovers a comet and is elected the same day to the American Academy of Arts—the first woman to be so honored. The King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal for her discovery. | |
1856 | The first installment of Gustav Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary appears in the Revue de Paris after the publisher refuses to print a passage in which the character Emma has a tryst in the back seat of a carriage. | |
1864 | The Condor, a British blockade-runner, is grounded near Fort Fisher, North Carolina. | |
1878 | General Lew Wallace is sworn in as governor of New Mexico Territory. He went on to deal with the Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid and write Ben-Hur. His Civil War heroics earned him the moniker Savior of Cincinnati. | |
1890 | Yosemite National Park is dedicated in California. | |
1908 | The Ford Model T, the first car for millions of Americans, hits the market. Over 15 million Model Ts are eventually sold, all of them black. | |
1942 | The German Army grinds to a complete halt within the city of Stalingrad. | |
1943 | British troops in Italy enter Naples and occupy Foggia airfield. | |
1944 | The U.S. First Army begins the siege Aachen, Germany. | |
1946 | Eleven Nazi war criminals are sentenced to be hanged at Nuremberg trials—Hermann Goring, Alfred Jodl, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachin von Ribbentrop, Fritz Saukel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Julius Streicher, and Alfred Rosenberg. | |
1947 | First flight of F-86 Sabre jet fighter, which would win fame in the Korean War. | |
1949 | Mao Zedong establishes the People’s Republic of China. | |
1957 | “In God We Trust” appears on US paper currency as an act to distinguish the US from the officially atheist USSR; the motto had appeared on coins at various times since 1864. | |
1958 | The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) replaces the 43-year-old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the US. | |
1960 | Nigeria becomes independent from the UK. | |
1961 | The Federal Republic of Cameroon is formed by the merger of East and West Cameroon. | |
1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson debuts; Carson will remain The Tonight Show host until 1992. | |
1964 | The first Free Speech Movement protest erupts spontaneously on the University of California, Berkeley campus; students demanded an end to the ban of on-campus political activities. | |
1964 | Japanese “bullet trains” (Shinkansen) begin high-speed rail transit between Tokyo and Osaka. | |
1971 | Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, the second of Disney’s “Magic Kingdoms.” | |
1971 | First CT or CAT brain scan performed, at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, London. | |
1974 | Five Nixon aides–Kenneth Parkinson, Robert Mardian, Nixon’s Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell–go on trial for conspiring to hinder the Watergate investigation. | |
1975 | Legendary boxing match: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manila.” | |
1979 | US returns sovereignty of the Panama Canal to Panama. | |
1982 | First compact disc player, released by Sony. | |
1989 | Denmark introduces the world’s first “civil union” law granting same-sex couples certain legal rights and responsibilities but stopping short of recognizing same-sex marriages. | |
1991 | Siege of Dubrovnik begins in the Croatian War of Independence. | |
2009 | The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over judicial functions of the House of Lords. | |
Born on October 1 | ||
1837 | Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment during America’s Civil War. | |
1904 | Vladimir Horowitz, Russian-born American virtuoso pianist. | |
1924 | Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the U.S. (1977-1981) | |
1932 | Albert Collins, guitarist. | |
1935 | Julie Andrews (Julia Elizabeth Wells), actress and singer whose films include Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music. | |
1946 | Tim O’Brien, novelist (The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods). | |
1947 | Dave Arneson, game designer; co-created Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game with Gary Gygax, establishing the roleplaying game genre. | |
1950 | Randy Quaid, actor (The Last Detail; won Golden Globe for his portrayal of Pres. Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years). | |
1955 | Jeff Reardon, pro baseball pitcher known as “The Terminator” for his intimidating pitching mound presence and 98 mph fastball. | |
1963 | Mark McGwire, “Big Mac,” pro baseball player who broke Roger Maris’ single-season home run record; admitted in 2010 to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career. | |
1964 | Max Matsuura (Masato Matsuura), record producer, president of Avex Group, one of Japan’s largest music labels. |