This day in history

[October 14, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Thursday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2010. There are 78 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 14, 1960, the idea of a Peace Corps was suggested by Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy to an audience of students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

On this date:

In 1066, Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.

In 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, was born in Denison, Texas.

In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for the presidency, was shot in the chest in Milwaukee. Despite the wound, he went ahead with a scheduled speech.

In 1930, Ethel Merman made her Broadway debut in the musical comedy "Girl Crazy" with songs by George and Ira Gershwin.

In 1939, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship anchored at Scapa Flow in Scotland's Orkney Islands; 833 of the more than 1,200 men aboard were killed.

In 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

In 1947, Air Force test pilot Charles E. ("Chuck") Yeager (YAY'-gur) broke the sound barrier as he flew the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake in California.

In 1968, the first successful live telecast from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.

In 1987, a 58-hour drama began in Midland, Texas, as 18-month-old Jessica McClure slid 22 feet down an abandoned well at a private day care center; she was rescued on Oct. 16.

In 1990, composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein (BURN'-styn) died in New York at age 72.

Ten years ago: Two hijackers seized a London-bound Saudi Arabian Airlines jetliner carrying more than 100 people, taking it first to Syria and then to Baghdad, Iraq, where they surrendered peacefully. A mudslide caused by heavy rains swept through the Swiss Alpine village of Gondo, destroying buildings and killing 13 people.

Five years ago: The Treasury Department reported that the federal deficit hit $319 billion for the budget year just ended, down from the previous year, but still the third highest. Blond, blue-eyed British actor Daniel Craig was named the star of the next James Bond film, "Casino Royale."

One year ago: The Unification Church held the largest mass wedding in a decade, with some 40,000 people participating in dozens of cities around the world. NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. headlined the five inductees into the first Hall of Fame class. (Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, Bill France Jr. and Junior Johnson were the other inductees.) Actress Collin Wilcox-Paxton, who played Mayella Ewell in the movie classic "To Kill a Mockingbird," died in Highlands, N.C. at age 74. Pro wrestler Lou Albano, 76, died in Westchester County, N.Y.

Today's birthdays: Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is 94. Actor Roger Moore is 83. Classical pianist Gary Graffman is 82. Movie director Carroll Ballard is 73. Former White House counsel John W. Dean III is 72. Country singer Melba Montgomery is 72. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is 71. Singer Sir Cliff Richard is 70. Actor Udo Kier is 66. Singer-musician Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) is 64. Actor Harry Anderson is 58. Actor Greg Evigan is 57. TV personality Arleen Sorkin is 55. Golf Hall of Famer Beth Daniel is 54. Singer-musician Thomas Dolby is 52. Actress Lori Petty is 47. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is 46. Actor Steve Coogan is 45. Singer Karyn White is 45. Actor Jon Seda is 40. Country musician Doug Virden is 40. Country singer Natalie Maines (The Dixie Chicks) is 36. Actress-singer Shaznay Lewis (All Saints) is 35. Singer Usher is 32. TV personality Stacy Keibler is 31. Actor Ben Whishaw is 30. Actor Jordan Brower is 29.

Thought for today: "It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are." -- E.E. Cummings, American poet (1894-1962)

[Associated Press]

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