This day in history

[October 11, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Tuesday, Oct. 11, the 284th day of 2011. There are 81 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 11, 1811, the first steam-powered ferryboat, the Juliana (built by John Stevens), was put into operation between New York City and Hoboken, N.J.

On this date:

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

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

In 1910, Theodore Roosevelt became the first former U.S. president to fly in an airplane during a visit to St. Louis, Mo.

In 1932, the first American political telecast took place as the Democratic National Committee sponsored a program from a CBS television studio in New York.

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 1961, actor-comedian Leonard "Chico" (CHIH'-koh) Marx, 74, died in Hollywood, Calif.

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

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened two days of talks concerning arms control and human rights in Reykjavik, Iceland.

In 1991, testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her; Thomas re-appeared before the panel to denounce what he called a "high-tech lynching." Comedian Redd Foxx died in Los Angeles at age 68.

Ten years ago: In his first prime-time news conference since taking office, President George W. Bush said "it may take a year or two" to track down Osama bin Laden and his terrorist network in Afghanistan, but asserted that after a five-day aerial bombardment, "we've got them on the run." Trinidad-born writer V.S. Naipaul (NY'-pahl) won the Nobel Prize in literature.

Five years ago: A plane carrying New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle (LY'-dul) and flight instructor Tyler Stanger crashed into a high-rise apartment building in New York City, killing both men. The charge of treason was used for the first time in the U.S. war on terrorism, filed against Adam Yehiye Gadahn (ah-DAHM' YEH'-heh-yuh guh-DAHN'), who'd appeared in propaganda videos for al-Qaida. (Gadahn remains at large.)

One year ago: Rescuers in Chile finished reinforcing a hole drilled to bring 33 trapped miners to safety and sent a rescue capsule nearly all the way to where the men were trapped, proving the escape route worked. Peter Diamond, Dale Mortensen and Christopher Pissarides won the Nobel Prize in economics.

Today's birthdays: Author Elmore Leonard is 86. Actor Earle Hyman is 85. Former U.S. Defense Secretary William Perry is 84. Actor Ron Leibman is 74. Actor Amitabh Bachchan is 69. Country singer Gene Watson is 68. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is 61. Rhythm-and-blues musician Andrew Woolfolk is 61. Actress-director Catlin Adams is 61. Country singer Paulette Carlson is 60. Actor David Morse is 58. Actor Stephen Spinella is 55. Pro Football Hall of Famer Steve Young is 50. Actress Joan Cusack is 49. Rock musician Scott Johnson (Gin Blossoms) is 49. Comedy writer and TV host Michael J. Nelson is 47. Actor Sean Patrick Flanery is 46. College Football Hall of Famer Chris Spielman is 46. Actor Luke Perry is 45. Country singer-songwriter Todd Snider is 45. Actor-comedian Artie Lange is 44. Actress Jane Krakowski is 43. Rapper U-God (Wu-Tang Clan) is 41. Rapper MC Lyte is 40. Figure skater Kyoko Ina is 39. Singer NeeNa Lee is 36. Actress Emily Deschanel is 35. Actor Matt Bomer is 34. Actor Trevor Donovan is 33. Actress Michelle Trachtenberg is 26. Golfer Michelle Wie is 22.

Thought for today: "Modesty is the highest form of arrogance." -- German saying

[Associated Press]

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