This day in history

[October 02, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Saturday, Oct. 2, the 275th day of 2010. There are 90 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 2, 1985, actor Rock Hudson died at his home in Beverly Hills, Calif. at age 59 after battling AIDS.

On this date:

In 1780, British spy John Andre was hanged in Tappan, N.Y. during the Revolutionary War.

In 1835, the first battle of the Texas Revolution took place as American settlers fought Mexican soldiers near the Guadalupe River; the Mexicans ended up withdrawing.

In 1869, political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India.

In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a serious stroke at the White House that left him paralyzed on his left side.

In 1944, Nazi troops crushed the two-month-old Warsaw Uprising, during which a quarter of a million people were killed.

In 1950, the comic strip "Peanuts," created by Charles M. Schulz, was syndicated to seven newspapers.

In 1958, the former French colony of Guinea in West Africa proclaimed its independence.

In 1967, Thurgood Marshall was sworn as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court as the court opened its new term.

In 1970, one of two chartered twin-engine planes flying the Wichita State University football team to Utah crashed into a mountain near Silver Plume, Colo., killing 31 of the 40 people on board.

In 1990, the Senate voted 90-9 to confirm the nomination of Judge David H. Souter to the Supreme Court.

Ten years ago: In his first public address since a disputed election, Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic (sloh-BOH'-dahn mee-LOH'-shuh-vich) branded his opponents puppets of the West. (A wave of unrest aimed at driving Milosevic from power swept Yugoslavia, and the government responded by arresting dozens of strike leaders.)

Five years ago: A tour boat capsized on New York's Lake George, killing 20 elderly passengers. Playwright August Wilson died in Seattle at age 60. Actor-comedian Nipsey Russell died in New York at age 87.

One year ago: The International Olympic Committee, meeting in Copenhagen, chose Rio de Janeiro to be the site of the 2016 Summer Olympics; Chicago was eliminated in the first round, despite a last-minute in-person appeal by President Barack Obama. A man accused of stalking ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and secretly videotaping her inside her hotel room was arrested at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport. (Michael David Barrett later pleaded guilty to interstate stalking and was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison.) Marek Edelman, 90, the last surviving leader of the ill-fated 1943 Warsaw ghetto revolt against the Nazis (not to be confused with the above-mentioned 1944 uprising), died in Warsaw.

Today's birthdays: Country singer-musician Leon Rausch (Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys) is 83. Retired MLB All-Star Maury Wills is 78. Movie critic Rex Reed is 72. Singer-songwriter Don McLean is 65. Cajun/country singer Jo-el Sonnier (sahn-YAY') is 64. Actor Avery Brooks is 62. Fashion designer Donna Karan is 62. Photographer Annie Leibovitz is 61. Rock musician Mike Rutherford (Genesis, Mike & the Mechanics) is 60. Singer-actor Sting is 59. Actress Lorraine Bracco is 56. Country musician Greg Jennings (Restless Heart) is 56. Rock singer Phil Oakey (The Human League) is 55. Rhythm-and-blues singer Freddie Jackson is 52. Singer-producer Robbie Nevil is 52. Retro-soul singer James Hunter is 48. Rock musician Bud Gaugh (Sublime, Eyes Adrift) is 43. Folk-country singer Gillian Welch is 43. Country singer Kelly Willis is 42. Rhythm-and-blues singer Dion Allen (Az Yet) is 40. Actress-talk show host Kelly Ripa is 40. Singer Tiffany is 39. Rock singer Lene Nystrom is 37. Actor Efren Ramirez is 37. Rhythm-and-blues singer LaTocha Scott (Xscape) is 37. Gospel singer Mandisa (TV: "American Idol") is 34. Rock musician Mike Rodden (Hinder) is 28.

Thought for today: "There's one way to find out if a man is honest -- ask him. If he says 'yes,' you know he is crooked." -- Groucho Marx (born this date in 1890, died in 1977)

[Associated Press]

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