http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
Oct 4, 1957: Sputnik launched
The Soviet Union inaugurates the "Space Age" with its launch of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite. The spacecraft, named Sputnik after the Russian word for "satellite," was launched at 10:29 p.m. Moscow time from the Tyuratam launch base in the Kazakh Republic. Sputnik had a diameter of 22 inches and weighed 184 pounds and circled Earth once every hour and 36 minutes. Traveling at 18,000 miles an hour, its elliptical orbit had an apogee (farthest point from Earth) of 584 miles and a perigee (nearest point) of 143 miles. Visible with binoculars before sunrise or after sunset, Sputnik transmitted radio signals back to Earth strong enough to be picked up by amateur radio operators. Those in the United States with access to such equipment tuned in and listened in awe as the beeping Soviet spacecraft passed over America several times a day. In January 1958, Sputnik's orbit deteriorated, as expected, and the spacecraft burned up in the atmosphere.
Officially, Sputnik was launched to correspond with the International Geophysical Year, a solar period that the International Council of Scientific Unions declared would be ideal for the launching of artificial satellites to study Earth and the solar system. However, many Americans feared more sinister uses of the Soviets' new rocket and satellite technology, which was apparently strides ahead of the U.S. space effort. Sputnik was some 10 times the size of the first planned U.S. satellite, which was not scheduled to be launched until the next year. The U.S. government, military, and scientific community were caught off guard by the Soviet technological achievement, and their united efforts to catch up with the Soviets heralded the beginning of the "space race."
The first U.S. satellite, Explorer, was launched on January 31, 1958. By then, the Soviets had already achieved another ideological victory when they launched a dog into orbit aboard Sputnik 2. The Soviet space program went on to achieve a series of other space firsts in the late 1950s and early 1960s: first man in space, first woman, first three men, first space walk, first spacecraft to impact the moon, first to orbit the moon, first to impact Venus, and first craft to soft-land on the moon. However, the United States took a giant leap ahead in the space race in the late '60s with the Apollo lunar-landing program, which successfully landed two Apollo 11 astronauts on the surface of the moon in July 1969.
Oct 4, 1918: Germany telegraphs President Wilson seeking armistice
In the early hours of October 4, 1918, German Chancellor Max von Baden, appointed by Kaiser Wilhelm II just three days earlier, sends a telegraph message to the administration of President Woodrow Wilson in Washington, D.C., requesting an armistice between Germany and the Allied powers in World War I.
By the end of September 1918, the Allies had made a tremendous resurgence on the Western Front, reversing the gains of the previous spring’s massive German offensive and pushing the German army in eastern France and western Belgium back to its last line of defenses, the so-called Hindenburg Line. Stunned and despondent, German General Erich Ludendorff, chief architect of that final spring offensive, reversed his previous optimism about the German military situation and demanded at a crown council meeting on September 29, that Germany seek an immediate armistice based on the terms President Wilson had laid out in his famous Fourteen Points address in January 1918. Feeling that the army’s leadership had completely usurped the government, Chancellor Georg von Hertling immediately resigned; Kaiser Wilhelm subsequently appointed his second cousin, Prince Max von Baden, to the post.
As soon as von Baden arrived in Berlin to take office on October 1, he made it clear that he had no intention of admitting defeat until Germany had regained at least some ground on the battlefield; in this way he hoped to retain some powers of negotiation with the Allies. On October 3, however, Paul von Hindenburg, the German army’s chief of staff and head of the Third Supreme Command—as Germany’s military leadership was known—reiterated Ludendorff’s advice, stating that "The German army still stands firm and is defending itself against all attacks. The situation, however, is growing more critical daily, and may force the High Command to momentous decisions. In these circumstances it is imperative to stop the fighting in order to spare the German people and their allies unnecessary sacrifices. Every day of delay costs thousands of brave soldiers their lives."
Von Baden disagreed with Hindenburg, telling him that too early an armistice could mean Germany would lose valuable territory in Alsace-Lorraine and East Prussia, which had been implicit under the terms of the Fourteen Points, despite Wilson’s expressed desire for a "peace without victory." Deciding to seek his own way apart from the Supreme Command, von Baden brought two Socialist members of the German Reichstag into his cabinet; they too, appraising the growing anti-war feeling on the home front and in the government, advised the chancellor to seek an armistice. On October 4, heeding their advice, von Baden telegraphed his request to Washington.
Wilson’s response, in notes of October 14 and 23, made it clear that the Allies would only deal with a democratic Germany, not an imperial state with an effective military dictatorship presided over by the Supreme Command. Neither Wilson nor his even less conciliatory counterparts in Britain and France trusted von Baden’s declaration of October 5 that he was taking steps to move Germany towards parliamentary democracy. After Wilson’s second note arrived, Ludendorff’s resolve returned and he announced that the note should be rejected and the war resumed in full force. After peace had come so tantalizingly close, however, it proved even more difficult for Germans—on the battlefield as well as on the home front—to carry on. Within a month, Ludendorff had resigned, as the German position had deteriorated still further and it was determined that the war could not be allowed to continue. On November 7, Hindenburg contacted the Allied Supreme Commander, Ferdinand Foch, to open armistice negotiations; four days later, World War I came to an end.
Oct 4, 1943: Heinrich Himmler encourages his SS group leaders
On this day in 1943, the Reichsfuhrer-SS, Heinrich Himmler, addresses the squad leaders of his Nazi secret police, attempting to fill them with pride for the work they've accomplished-the murder of more than 1 million Jews in German-occupied Russia during a one-and-a-half-year period. "Most of you know what it means to see a hundred corpses lying together, five hundred, or a thousand," claimed Himmler. "To have stuck it out and at the same time... to have remained decent fellows, that is what has made us hard. This is a page of glory in our history which has never been written and shall never be written."
It was Himmler who oversaw the establishment of the Auschwitz concentration camp cluster, as well as the Warsaw ghetto massacre. The organizing of some prisoners for slave labor and the inflicting of gruesome medical experimentation on others can also be attributed to him. Consequently, it is little wonder that he could so blithely say, "Whether or not 10,000 Russian women collapse from exhaustion while digging a tank ditch interests me only in so far as the tank ditch is completed for Germany."
Oct 4, 1777: Both sides battered at Germantown
On this day in 1777, 11,000 Patriots under General George Washington attempt an early morning attack on British General William Howe's 9,000 British troops at Germantown, Pennsylvania, five miles north of the British-occupied capital city of Philadelphia.
Washington's Continental forces were poorly trained, poorly fed and poorly clothed. Nonetheless, Washington thought them ready to fight and had planned to send four columns into battle with bits of white paper tucked into their hats to help them identify each other in the darkness of early morning. Washington's elaborate plan was thrown into disarray, however, when two columns got lost in heavy morning fog. By 10 a.m., the battle was over. Although the Americans were forced into a retreat, both sides suffered heavy losses—152 dead, 521 wounded and 400 captured for the Patriots and 71 dead, 450 wounded and 14 missing for the British--and the battle demonstrated Washington's strategic abilities.
After Germantown, General Washington led his forces to the nearby hills of what is now Whitemarsh Township, north of Philadelphia, where they engaged in further skirmishes against General Howe's troops on December 6-8, before continuing on to winter quarters at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on December 19.
Friedrich, Freiherr von Steuben, arrived at General Washington's encampment at Valley Forge on February 23, 1778. The Prussian military officer commenced training soldiers in close-order drill, instilling new confidence and discipline in the demoralized Continental Army. On the merit of his efforts at Valley Forge, Washington recommended that von Steuben be named inspector general of the Continental Army; Congress complied. In this new capacity, von Steuben propagated his methods throughout the Patriot forces by circulating his "Blue Book," entitled "Regulations for the Order and Discipline of the Troops of the United States.
Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:
1209 - Pope Innocent II crowns German king Otto of Wittelsbach
1227 - Assassination of Caliph al-Adil.
1363 - End of the Battle of Lake Poyang; the Chinese rebel forces of Zhu Yuanzhang defeat that of his rival, Chen Youliang, in one of the largest naval battles in history.
1537 - The first complete English-language Bible (the Matthew Bible) is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.
1571 - -13] Synod of Emden
1582 - Last Julian calender day in Spain/Portugal/pontifical states
1636 - Battle at Wittstock, Brandenburg: Sweden beat Ferdinand III
1636 - In Massachusetts the Plymouth Colony's 1st law drafted
1648 - Peter Stuyvesant establishes Americas 1st volunteer firemen
1675 - Christian Huygens patents pocket watch
1693 - Battle of Marsaglia: Piedmontese troops are defeated by the French.
1712 - Utrecht banishes poor Jews
1725 - Foundation of Rosario in Argentina.
1777 - Battle of Germantown: Gen George Washington's troops attack and are defeated by the British at Germantown, Pennsylvania
1779 - The Fort Wilson Riot takes place.
1824 - Mexico becomes a republic
1830 - Provisional government declares secession of Belgium from Netherlands
1834 - Franz Grillparzer's "Der Traum ein Leben," premieres in Vienna
1854 - Abraham Lincoln made his 1st political speech at Illinois State Fair
US President Abraham LincolnUS President Abraham Lincoln 1862 - Battle of Corinth ends
1864 - National black convention meets (Syracuse NY)
1864 - New Orleans Tribune, 1st black daily newspaper, forms
1873 - Toronto Argonaut Football Club forms
1880 - University of California founded in Los Angeles
1881 - Edward Leveaux patents automatic player piano
1883 - Orient Express' 1st run, linking Turkey to Europe by rail
1883 - First meeting of the Boys' Brigade in Glasgow, Scotland.
1895 - Horace Rawlins wins 1st US Open golf tournament (Newport RI)
1897 - George Bernard Shaw's "Devil's Disciple," premieres in NYC
1900 - Start of Sherlock Holmes adventure "Problem of Thor Bridge" (BG)
1901 - Columbia (US) beats Shamrock II (England) in 12th America's Cup
1904 - 1st day of NYC subway, 350,000 people ride 9.1 mile tracks
1906 - Chicago Cubs win their 116th game (116-36 .763) of year
1910 - Portugal becomes a republic, King Manuel II flees to England
Playwright George Bernard ShawPlaywright George Bernard Shaw 1910 - Adoption of the Flag of Bermuda.
1911 - 1st public elevator (London's Earl's Court Metro Station)
1913 - Bkln Dodger Jake Daubert earns a new Chalmers auto as NL MVP
1913 - Freddy Wilson of Regina Roughriders kicks 10 singles in a game
1914 - Dardanellen (French & English) fleet bombs Turkish forts
1915 - Dinosaur National Monument in Colorado & Utah is established
1916 - Market Street's "Path of Gold" lit for 1st time
1917 - British assault on Broodseinde, France
1918 - Musical "Sometime" with Mae West premieres in NYC
1921 - League of Nations refuses to assist starving Russians
1921 - Riccardo Zanella becomes first elected president of Free State of Fiume.
1922 - For 1st time, entire World Series broadcast over radio (WJZ & WGY)
1922 - Protocol of Genevia signed: Austria gains independence
1923 - Young Stribling held light-heavyweight boxing championship for shortest amount of time (3 hrs). Referee overturns decision
1924 - NY Giants become 1st team to appear in 4 consecutive World Series
Actress Mae WestActress Mae West 1925 - Harry Heilmann's 6 hits edges Ty Cobb .393 to .389 as batting champ
1926 - Dahlia is officially designated as SF city flower
1927 - Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mt. Rushmore.
1928 - 25th World Series begins, NY Yankees vs St Louis Cardinals
1928 - KPD begins petition against Germany building a battle fleet
1930 - A's Jack Quinn, 46, pitches 2 inn, is oldest to play in World Series
1931 - Dick Tracy comic strip by Chester Gould debuts
1931 - Juan Esteban Montero becomes president of Chile
1932 - Anti-semite Julius Gombos forms new government in Hungary
1932 - Clark Griffith announces Walter Johnson will be manager of Senators
1933 - Esquire magazine is 1st published
1936 - Italian lire devalued
1936 - Record 66,669 at Yankee Stadium for 4th game of World Series
1939 - Last Polish troops surrender
1940 - 12 German aircrafts shot down above England
Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1940 - Adolf Hitler & Benito Mussolini confer at Brenner Pass in Alps
1940 - French Vichy-regime proclaims end of "Statut of the Juifs"
1940 - Wrestling returns to Madison Sq Garden after 12 year lay off
1942 - German assault on Tractor factory in Stalingrad
1943 - Corsica freed by Free French
1943 - German occupiers forbid flying of kites (6 month jail sentence)
1944 - British troops land on Greek continent
1944 - 1st All St Louis World Series, all games played at Sportsman's Park
1944 - St Louis Browns win 1st World Series game in their only appearance
1947 - Negro League World Series, NY Cubans beat Cleveland Buckeyes, 6-5
1948 - Indians beat Red Sox, 8-0, in 1st AL playoff game
1948 - World Council of Churches forms under W Fisherman It Hooft)
1949 - American Contract Bridge League votes 58½% to keep blacks out
1949 - United Nations' permanent NYC headquarters is dedicated
1950 - French troops vacate Cla Afraid Vietnam
1951 - In opening World Series game, Giant Monte Irvin steals home in 1st inn
1952 - "Top Banana" closes at Winter Garden Theater NYC after 356 perfs
1953 - Jim Peters runs world record marathon (2:17:39.4)
1953 - Mickey Mantle hits a grand slam in World Series
1955 - Brooklyn Dodgers only World Series victory, beating Yankees in 7
1955 - Rev Sun Young Moon leaves prison in Seoul
1956 - Great Britain performs nuclear test at Maralinga Australia
1957 - "Leave It to Beaver," debuts on CBS
1957 - USSR launches Sputnik I, 1st artificial Earth satellite
1957 - Avro Arrow roll-out ceremony at Avro Canada plant in Malton, Ontario.
1958 - 12th NHL All-Star Game: Montreal beat All-Stars 6-3 at Montreal
1958 - 5th French republic forms
1958 - Transatlantic coml jet passenger service began (BOAC)
1958 - Fifth Republic of France is established.
1959 - 1st World Series game played west of St Louis (in LA)
1959 - Cleveland Browns' Jim Brown makes club record 37 rushing attempts
1959 - Dmitri Sjostakovitch 1st Cello concert premieres in Leningrad
1959 - LA Dodgers set World Series attendance record at 92,394
1959 - Netherlands beats Belgium 9-1
1959 - USSR Luna 3 sent back 1st photos of Moon's far side
1960 - Courier 1B Launched; 1st active repeater satellite in orbit
1961 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR
1961 - Whitey Ford's 3rd straight World Series shutout
1962 - USAF Maj Robert A Rushworth takes X-15 to 32,300m
1962 - Whitey Ford's World Series 33 2/3 scoreless inning streak ends
1963 - -8] Hurricane Flora, kills 6,000 in Cuba & Haiti
1963 - Gambia achieves full internal self-government
1964 - -7] Hurricane Hilda, kills 38 in La, Miss & Ga
1964 - 10th LPGA Championship won by Mary Mills
1964 - 3 cars of a commuter train derails in South Africa killing 81
1964 - Italian Autostrada del Sol opens at Milan-Naples
1964 - Patriots' Gino Cappelletti kicks 6-of-6 field goals against Broncos
1964 - Phils bomb Reds 10-0 as both teams finish one game behind St Louis
1965 - "Pickwick" opens at 46th St Theater NYC for 56 performances
1965 - Pope Paul VI becomes 1st Pope to visit Western Hemisphere (UN)
1965 - USSR launches Luna 7; crash lands on Moon
1966 - Dutch Cardinal Alfrink presents New Catechism
1966 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island
1966 - Lesotho (Basutoland) gains independence from Britain (National Day)
1967 - 1st World Series since 1948 not to feature Yanks, Giants or Dodgers
1967 - Omar Ali Saifuddin III of Brunei abdicates in favour of his son, His Majesty Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah.
1969 - Last wooden passenger subway cars retired at Bkln Myrtle Beach el
1969 - UN starts issuing postage stamps at Geneva headquarters
1969 - Baseball's 1st divisional playoff games, Mets beat Braves 9-5 & Orioles beat Twins 4-3 in 12 innings
1970 - KC Chiefs Jan Stenerud kicks 55-yard field goal
1970 - Umps return after 1-day walkout in quest of higher wages
1970 - WFYI TV channel 20 in Indianapolis, IN (PBS) begins broadcasting
1970 - Herbert Schmidtz makes highest parachute jump from a tower by leaping from a 1,984 ft TV mast in Tulsa, Oklahoma
1971 - Borden's opens a turn-of-century ice cream parlor at Disney World
1971 - KMPH TV channel 26 in Visalia-Fresno, CA (IND) begins broadcasting
1971 - USSR performs underground nuclear test
Baseball Player Ted WilliamsBaseball Player Ted Williams 1972 - Ted Williams manages his final game as Rangers lose to Royals, 4-0
1973 - Hans of Manens ballet "Adagio Hammerklavier" premieres in Amsterdam
1974 - John Lennon releases "Walls & Bridges" album
1975 - A Cessna 310Q airplane crashes over Wilmington, North Carolina, killing the pilot and severely injuring several pro wrestlers affiliated with the NWA's Mid-Atlantic promotion. One of the survivors is the legendary Ric Flair.
1976 - Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz resigns due to telling a racial joke
1976 - Supreme Court lifts 1972 ban on death penalty for convicted murderers
1976 - Official launch of the Intercity 125 High Speed Train (HST).
1977 - Pier 39 opens in SF
1978 - Funeral services held for Pope John Paul I
1979 - Hugh Leonards "Life," premieres in Dublin
1979 - USSR performs nuclear test
1980 - Mike Schmidt's 2-run HR clinches NL East title for Phillies
1981 - Donna Caponi Young/Kathy Whitworth wins Portland Ping Team Golf Champ
1981 - Meadowlands Arena opens in NJ
1981 - Pasakevi Kouna of Greece (9) is youngest intl gymnastics participant
Musician and Beatle John LennonMusician and Beatle John Lennon 1982 - Helmut Kohl elected chancellor of German FR
1983 - Richard Noble reaches record 1019 kph in jet-powered car
1984 - US government closes down due to budget problems
1984 - Detroit Tigers clinch AL East
1985 - Henry G Perry completes 157 day, 14,021 mile bicycle tour of Australia
1985 - Shite Moslems claim to have killed hostage William Buckley
1985 - Free Software Foundation is founded in Massachusetts, USA.
1986 - NY Yank Dave Righetti saves doubleheader for then record 46 saves
1986 - Queen Beatrice installs dam at Oosterschelde
1986 - Rachel Oliver (Mass), 20, crowned 19th Miss Black America
1987 - 1st "Scrub Sunday" of NFL football with replacement players
1987 - Blues Jays lose final 7 games allowing Tigers to win AL pennant
1987 - James Jefferson of Winnipeg scores 2 TDs on interception returns without making an interception. (He scored on laterals)
1988 - Pillsbury stock soars $18.37 to $57.37 on takeover bid
1989 - Giants Will Clark hits 1st NLCS grand slam since 1977
1989 - USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1990 - "Stand Up Tragedy" opens at Criterion Theater NYC for 13 performances
1990 - Regional elections held, in what is East Germany
1991 - Delta Center in Salt Lake City Utah
1991 - NHL NY Rangers trade Bernie Nichols to Edmonton for Mark Messier
1991 - San Jose Sharks lose 4-3 to Vancouver Canucks in their 1st NHL game
1991 - Whiteland Janice, driven by Mike Lachance, wins Kentucky Futurity
1991 - The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty is opened for signature.
1992 - "Anna Karenina" closes at Circle in Sq Theater NYC after 46 perfs
1992 - "Real Inspector Hound" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 61 perfs
1992 - 1st time AL East & West champs have same record (96-66)-Tor & Oak
1992 - 2nd Solheim Cup: Europe beats US, 11½-6½ at Dalmahoy CC Scotland
1992 - El Al cargo plane crashes at Amsterdam Bijlmer, 43 die
1992 - Miami Dolphin Louis Oliver returns record tying interception 103 yards
1992 - The Rome General Peace Accords ends a 16 year civil war in Mozambique.
1993 - Troops of pres Yelsin occupy Russian White House (parliament)
1994 - 7.9 earthquake strikes Koerilen, flood kills 18+
1994 - Keith Moore is charged with stealing $5,000,000 from Sting
1994 - Soyuz TM-20 launches
1995 - 29th Country Music Association Award: Krauss Jackson win
1995 - Jim Leyritz homers with a man on in 15th inning to give Yankees 2-0 Division Series lead over Mariners
1996 - BPAA US Bowling Open by Dave Husted
1996 - BPAA US Women's Bowling Open won by Liz Johnson
1996 - Shahid Afridi scores century in 37 balls for Pakistan v Sri Lanka
1997 - Farm Aid 10 concert cancelled due to weak ticket sales
1997 - The second largest cash robbery in U.S. history occurs at the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Loomis, Fargo and Company. An FBI investigation eventually results in 24 convictions and the recovery of approximately 95% of the $17.3 million in cash which had been taken.
2001 - Siberia Airlines Flight 1812: a Sibir Airlines Tupolev TU-154 crashes into the Black Sea after being struck by an errant Ukrainian S-200 missile. 78 people are killed.
2003 - Maxim restaurant suicide bombing in Haifa, Israel: 21 Israelis, Jews and Arabs, are killed, and 51 others wounded.
2004 - SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight.
2009 - George Papandreou's Panhellenic Socialist Movement defeats Greece's governing New Democracy party in an electoral landslide.
2012 - Turkey’s parliament approves cross-border military operations in Syria
2012 - 19 people are killed after being buried by a landslide in Yunnan, China
2012 - Jordan’s King Abdullah dissolves parliament in preparation for new elections
Formula 1 Racing Driver Michael SchumacherFormula 1 Racing Driver Michael Schumacher 2012 - Formula One legend, Michael Schumacher, retires
1535 - The first complete English translation of the Bible was printed in Zurich, Switzerland. 1648 - The first volunteer fire department was established in New York by Peter Stuyvesant. 1777 - At Germantown, PA, Patriot forces and British forces both suffer heavy losses in battle. The battle was seen as British victory, which actually served as a moral boost to the Americans. 1876 - The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas formally dedicated by Texas Gov. Richard Coke. It was the state's first venture into public higher education. The college opened for classed two days earlier. 1881 - Edward Leveaux received a patent for the player piano. 1887 - The Paris Herald Tribune was published for the first time. It was later known as the International Herald Tribune. 1893 - The first professional football contract was signed by Grant Dibert for the Pittsburgh AC. 1895 - The first U.S. Open golf tournament took place in Newport, RI. Horace Rawlins, 19 years old, won the tournament. 1909 - The first airship race in the U.S. took place in St. Louis, MO. 1915 - The Dinosaur National Monument was established. The area covered part of Utah and Colorado. 1927 - The first actual work of carving began on Mount Rushmore. 1931 - The comic strip "Dick Tracy" made its debut in the Detroit Daily Mirror. The strip was created by Chester Gould. 1933 - "Esquire" magazine was published for the first time. 1940 - Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini met in the Alps at Brenner Pass. Hitler was seeking help from Italy to fight the British. 1948 - The Railroad Hour" debuted on ABC radio. 1953 - "I Led Three Lives" was first seen in syndication. The TV show was never on network. 1954 - "December Bride" debuted on CBS-TV. 1956 - "Playhouse 90" debuted on CBS-TV. 1957 - "Leave it to Beaver" debuted on CBS-TV. 1957 - The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I into orbit around the Earth. Sputnik was the first manmade satellite to enter space. Sputnik I fell out of orbit on January 4, 1958. 1958 - British Overseas Airways Corporation became the first jetliner to offer trans-Atlantic service to passengers with flights between London, England and New York. 1959 - The first World Series to be played west of St. Louis began in Los Angeles, CA. 1965 - Pope Paul VI addressed the U.N. General Assembly and became the first reigning pontiff to visit the Western Hemisphere. 1976 - Barbara Walters joined Harry Reasoner at the anchor desk of the "ABC Evening News" for the first time. 1981 - Bruce Jenner and Harry Belafonte debuted in their first dramatic roles in NBC-TV's "Grambling's White Tiger". 1987 - NFL owners used replacement personnel to play games despite the player's strike. 1990 - The German parliament had its first meeting since reunification. 1992 - The 16-year civil war in Mozambique ended. 1993 - Russian Vice-President Alexander Rutskoi and Chairman Ruslan Khasbulatov surrendered to Boris Yeltsin after a ten-hour tank assault on the Russian White House. The two men had barricaded themselves in after Yeltsin called for general elections and dissolved the legislative body. 1993 - Dozens of Somalis dragged an American soldier through the streets of Mogadishu. A videotape showed Michael Durant being taken prisoner by Somali militants. 1994 - South African President Nelson Mandela was welcomed to the White House by U.S. President Clinton. 1997 - Hundreds of thousands of men attended a Promise Keepers rally on the Mall in Washington, DC. 1998 - The Vincent Van Gogh exhibit opened in Washington, DC. The exhibit featured 70 paintings. 1998 - Davis Gaines performed as the Phantom in the show "Phantom of the Opera" for the 2,000th time. 2001 - NATO granted the United States open access to their airfields and seaports and agreed to deploy ships and early-warning radar planes in the war on terrorism. 2001 - Barry Bonds (San Francisco Giants) hit his 70th home run of the season to tie Mark McGwire's major league record. Bonds also moved past Reggie Jackson on the all-time list with his 564th career home run. 2001 - Rickey Henderson (San Diego Padres) scored his 2,246th career run to break Ty Cobb's major league record. 2001 - In Washington, DC, Reagan National Airport re-opened. The airport had been closed since the terrorist attacks on the United States on September 11, 2001. 2004 - SpaceShipOne reached an altitude of 368,000 feet. It was the first privately built, manned rocket ship to fly in space twice within a two week window. The ship won the Ansari X Prize of $10 million dollars for their success.
1887 The International Herald Tribune was published for the first time. 1895 The first U.S. Open Golf tournament was held in Newport, Rhode Island. 1957 The Soviet Union launched the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, into orbit around the earth, ushering in the Space Age and Space Race. 1965 Pope Paul VI made the first visit to the Western Hemisphere by a reigning pope. He came to New York to address the UN General Assembly. 1970 Rock singer Janis Joplin was found dead of a drug overdose at age 27. 1990 The German parliament met for the first time since the reunification of Germany. 2001 Authorities confirmed a tabloid editor in Florida had contracted anthrax. He died the next day. 2002 John Walker Lindh, the "American Taliban," received a 20-year sentence.
The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:
http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php
http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/oct04.htm
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history
http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory
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