This day in history

[October 11, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Oct. 11, the 284th day of 2010. There are 81 days left in the year. This is the Columbus Day observance in the United States, as well as Thanksgiving Day in Canada.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 11, 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first former U.S. president to fly in an airplane during a visit to St. Louis, Mo. (The pilot of the Wright Flyer that Roosevelt flew aboard, Arch Hoxsey, was killed in a crash more than a month and a half later.)

On this date:

In 1779, Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski, fighting for American independence, died two days after being mortally wounded during the Revolutionary War Battle of Savannah, Ga.

In 1809, just over three years after the famous Lewis and Clark expedition ended, Meriwether Lewis was found dead in a Tennessee inn, an apparent suicide; he was 35.

In 1884, American first lady Eleanor Roosevelt was born in New York City.

In 1890, the Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, D.C.

In 1958, the lunar probe Pioneer 1 was launched; it failed to go as far out as planned, fell back to Earth, and burned up in the atmosphere.

In 1962, Pope John XXIII convened the first session of the Roman Catholic Church's Second Ecumenical Council, also known as "Vatican 2."

In 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard. The government of Panama was overthrown in a military coup.

In 1975, "NBC Saturday Night" (later "Saturday Night Live") made its debut with guest host George Carlin.

In 1984, space shuttle Challenger astronaut Kathryn Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space.

In 1985, Arab-American activist Alex Odeh was killed by a bomb blast in Santa Ana, Calif. (No arrests have been made in the case.)

Ten years ago: The eastern Kentucky community of Inez was inundated with more than 300 million gallons of coal sludge that had leaked from an impoundment belonging to Martin County Coal. Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore met in their second debate, this one held at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Americans James J. Heckman and Daniel L. McFadden won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.

Five years ago: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said it had finished pumping out the New Orleans metropolitan area, which was flooded by Hurricane Katrina six weeks earlier and then was swamped again by Hurricane Rita. A Russian spacecraft carrying U.S. millionaire Gregory Olsen and a two-man crew landed in Kazakhstan after a seven-day space sojourn.

One year ago: Thousands of gay rights supporters marched from the White House to the U.S. Capitol. A 22-hour attack on Pakistan's army headquarters in Rawalpindi ended with nine militants and 14 others dead. A Russian Soyuz capsule carrying Cirque du Soleil founder Guy Laliberte (gee lah-lee-behr-TAY') and two other space travelers landed safely in Kazakhstan.

Today's birthdays: Author Elmore Leonard is 85. Actor Earle Hyman is 84. Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry is 83. Actor Ron Leibman is 73. Actor Amitabh Bachchan is 68. Country singer Gene Watson is 67. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is 60. Rhythm-and-blues musician Andrew Woolfolk is 60. Actress-director Catlin Adams is 60. Country singer Paulette Carlson is 59. Actor David Morse is 57. Actor Stephen Spinella is 54. Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young is 49. Actress Joan Cusack is 48. Rock musician Scott Johnson (Gin Blossoms) is 48. Comedy writer and TV host Michael J. Nelson is 46. Actor Sean Patrick Flanery is 45. College Football Hall of Famer Chris Spielman is 45. Actor Luke Perry is 44. Country singer-songwriter Todd Snider is 44. Actor-comedian Artie Lange is 43. Actress Jane Krakowski is 42. Rapper U-God (Wu-Tang Clan) is 40. Rapper MC Lyte is 39. Figure skater Kyoko Ina is 38. Singer NeeNa Lee is 35. Actress Emily Deschanel is 34. Actor Matt Bomer is 33. Actor Trevor Donovan is 32. Actress Michelle Trachtenberg is 25. Golfer Michelle Wie is 21.

Thought for today: "Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." -- Immanuel Kant, German philosopher (1724-1804)

[Associated Press]

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