YouTube download / AP video / Highlights of this day in history: First victim dies in post-Sept. 11th anthrax scare; VP candidates spar over JFK; The Beatles release 'Love Me Do'; 'Monty Python' premieres; Baseball's Barry Bonds tops single-season runs record. (Oct. 5)
Oct. 5 is the 278th day of the year (279th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 87 days remaining until the end of the year. Source for History, Biths & Deaths: Oct. 5, Wikipedia.
On this date in History:
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1789 – French Revolution: Women of Paris march to Versailles in the March on Versailles to confront Louis XVI of France about his refusal to promulgate the decrees on the abolition of feudalism, demand bread, and have the King and his court moved to Paris.
- 1864 – The Indian city of Calcutta is almost totally destroyed by a cyclone; 60,000 die.
- 1877 – Chief Joseph surrenders his Nez Perce band to General Nelson A. Miles.
- 1905 – Wilbur Wright pilots Wright Flyer III in a flight of 24 miles in 39 minutes, a world record that stood until 1908.
- 1910 – In a revolution in Portugal the monarchy is overthrown and a republic is declared.
- 1914 – World War I: First aerial combat resulting in an intentional fatality.
- 1915 – Bulgaria enters World War I as one of the Central Powers.
- 1921 – The World Series is the first to be broadcast on radio.
- 1938 – In Nazi Germany, Jews' passports are invalidated; those who needed a passport for emigration purposes are given one marked with the letter "J" (for "Jude", or Jew).
- 1943 – Ninety-eight American POWs are executed by Japanese forces on Wake Island.
- 1945 – Hollywood Black Friday: A six-month strike by Hollywood set decorators turns into a bloody riot at the gates of Warner Brothers' studios.
- 1947 – The first televised White House address is given by U.S. President Harry S. Truman.
- 1948 – The Ashgabat earthquake kills between 10,000 and 110,000 people.
- 1955 – Disneyland Hotel opens to the public in Anaheim, Calif.
- 1962 – Dr. No, the first in the James Bond film series, is released.
- 1962 – The Beatles' first single, "Love Me Do" backed with "P.S. I Love You", is released in the United Kingdom.
- 1966 – Near Detroit, Michigan, there is a partial core meltdown at the Enrico Fermi demonstration nuclear breeder reactor.
- 1968 – Police baton civil rights demonstrators in Derry, Northern Ireland – considered to mark the beginning of The Troubles.
- 1970 – The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is founded.
- 1974 – Guildford pub bombings: Bombs planted by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) kill four British soldiers and one civilian.
- 1982 – Chicago Tylenol murders: Johnson & Johnson initiates a nationwide product recall in the United States for all products in its Tylenol brand after several bottles in Chicago are found to have been laced with cyanide, resulting in seven deaths.
- 1984 – Marc Garneau becomes the first Canadian in space, aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger.
- 1991 – An Indonesian military transport crashes after takeoff from Jakarta killing 137.
- 2000 – Mass demonstrations in Belgrade lead to resignation of Serbian strongman Slobodan Milošević. These demonstrations are often called the Bulldozer Revolution.
- 2001 – Barry Bonds surpasses Mark McGwire's single-season home run total with his milestone 71st and 72nd home runs.
- 2011 – In the Mekong River massacre, two Chinese cargo boats are hijacked and 13 crew members murdered in the lawless Golden Triangle region of Southeast Asia.
Famous Births:
- 1917 – Allen Ludden, American television personality and game show host (d. 1981)
- 1936 – Václav Havel, Czech poet, playwright, and politician, 1st President of the Czech Republic (d. 2011)
- 1937 – Barry Switzer, American football player and coach
- 1943 – Steve Miller, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1951 – Bob Geldof, Irish singer-songwriter and actor
- 1952 – Harold Faltermeyer, German keyboard player, composer, and producer
- 1957 – Mark Geragos, American lawyer
- 1957 – Bernie Mac, American actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
- 1965 – Mario Lemieux, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Patrick Roy, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1966 – Terri Runnels, American wrestler and manager
- 1972 – Grant Hill, American basketball player and actor
- 1975 – Kate Winslet, English actress
Famous Deaths:
- 2011 – Steve Jobs, American businessman, co-founder of Apple Inc. and Pixar (b. 1955)
- 2016 – Brock Yates, American journalist and author (b. 1933)
-- Henry Frederick, Headline Surfer