This day in history

[October 13, 2010]  (AP)  Today is Wednesday, Oct. 13, the 286th day of 2010. There are 79 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 13, 1960, the Pittsburgh Pirates won the World Series, defeating the New York Yankees in Game 7, 10-9, with a home run hit by Bill Mazeroski.

On this date:

In A.D. 54, Roman Emperor Claudius I died, poisoned apparently at the behest of his wife, Agrippina (ag-rih-PEE'-nuh).

In 1775, the United States Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.

In 1792, the cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.

In 1843, the Jewish organization B'nai B'rith (buh-NAY' brith) was founded in New York City.

In 1858, the sixth debate between senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place in Quicy, Ill.

In 1943, Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner.

In 1944, American troops entered Aachen, Germany, during World War II.

In 1960, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated in the third televised debate of their presidential campaign. (Nixon was in Los Angeles; Kennedy was in New York.)

In 1962, Edward Albee's play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" opened on Broadway.

In 1990, Le Duc Tho (lee duhk toh), co-founder of the Vietnamese Communist Party, died in Hanoi a day before his 79th birthday.

Ten years ago: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Longtime American communist Gus Hall died in New York at age 90.

Five years ago: British playwright Harold Pinter won the 2005 Nobel Prize in literature. Scores of Islamic militants launched simultaneous attacks on police and government buildings in Nalchik, a city in Russia's turbulent Caucasus region, leaving 139 people dead, including 94 militants.

One year ago: The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Haiti for a year. Singer Al Martino, who'd played crooner Johnny Fontane in "The Godfather" and "The Godfather: Part III," died in Springfield, Pa. at age 82. Movie producer Daniel Melnick ("Straw Dogs," "Network," "Midnight Express") died in Los Angeles at age 77.

Today's birthdays: Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is 85. Playwright Frank D. Gilroy is 85. Gospel singer Shirley Caesar is 72. Actress Melinda Dillon is 71. Singer-musician Paul Simon is 69. Actress Pamela Tiffin is 68. Musician Robert Lamm (Chicago) is 66. Country singer Lacy J. Dalton is 64. Actor Demond Wilson is 64. Singer-musician Sammy Hagar is 63. Actor John Lone is 58. Model Beverly Johnson is 58. Producer-writer Chris Carter is 54. Actor Reggie Theus (THEE'-us) is 53. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) is 52. Singer Marie Osmond is 51. Rock singer Joey Belladonna is 50. NBA coach Doc Rivers is 49. Actress T'Keyah Crystal Keymah (tuh-KEE'-ah KRYS'-tal kee-MAH') is 48. College and Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice is 48. Actress Kelly Preston is 48. Country singer John Wiggins is 48. Actor Christopher Judge is 46. Actress Kate Walsh is 43. Rhythm-and-blues musician Jeff Allen (Mint Condition) is 42. Actress Tisha Campbell-Martin is 42. Classical singer Carlos Marin (Il Divo) is 42. Olympic silver-medal figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is 41. Country singer Rhett Akins is 41. TV personality Billy Bush is 39. Actor Sacha Baron Cohen is 39. Rock musician Jan Van Sichem Junior (K's Choice) is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singers Brian and Brandon Casey (Jagged Edge) are 35. Actress Kiele Sanchez is 34. NBA All-Star Paul Pierce is 33. Singer Ashanti (ah-SHAHN'-tee) is 30. Christian rock singer Jon Micah Sumrall (Kutless) is 30. Olympic gold medal swimmer Ian Thorpe is 28.

Thought for today: "Education is not a product: mark, diploma, job, money in that order; it is a process, a never-ending one." -- Bel Kaufman, American author and educator

[Associated Press]

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