This day in history

[October 03, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Monday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2011. There are 89 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 3, 1951, the New York Giants captured the National League pennant by a score of 5-4 as Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ralph Branca in the "shot heard 'round the world."

On this date:

In 1789, President George Washington declared Nov. 26, 1789, a day of Thanksgiving to express gratitude for the creation of the United States of America.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day.

In 1929, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes formally changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

In 1941, Adolf Hitler declared in a speech in Berlin that Russia had been "broken" and would "never rise again." "The Maltese Falcon" - the version starring Humphrey Bogart and directed by John Huston - opened in New York.

In 1961, "The Dick Van Dyke Show," also starring Mary Tyler Moore, made its debut on CBS.

In 1962, astronaut Wally Schirra blasted off from Cape Canaveral aboard the Sigma 7 on a 9-hour flight.

In 1981, Irish nationalists at the Maze Prison near Belfast, Northern Ireland, ended seven months of hunger strikes that had claimed ten lives.

In 1991, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination.

In 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial found the former football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman (however, Simpson was later found liable in a civil trial).

In 2008, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room. (Simpson was later sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison.)

Ten years ago: A man aboard a Greyhound bus in Tennessee slashed the driver's throat, causing a crash that killed seven passengers, including the attacker. The Senate approved an agreement normalizing trade between the United States and Vietnam.

Five years ago: North Korea triggered global alarm by saying it would conduct a nuclear test, but the North also said it was committed to nuclear disarmament, suggesting a willingness to negotiate. A Turkish man hijacked a jetliner traveling from Albania to Istanbul, forcing it to land in southern Italy, where he surrendered and released all the passengers unharmed. Americans John C. Mather and George F. Smoot won the Nobel Prize in physics.

One year ago: Ruling-party candidate Dilma Rousseff, trying to become Brazil's first female leader, fell short of getting a majority of votes in presidential elections. (Rousseff prevailed in a runoff against her centrist rival, Jose Serra.) Angel McCoughtry had 18 points as the U.S. won gold at the women's basketball world championship with an 89-69 victory over the host Czech Republic.

Today's birthdays: Author Gore Vidal is 86. Basketball player Marques Haynes is 85. Composer Steve Reich is 75. Singer Alan O'Day is 71. Rock and roll star Chubby Checker is 70. Actor Alan Rachins is 69. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is 68. Magician Roy Horn is 67. Singer Lindsey Buckingham is 62. Jazz musician Ronnie Laws is 61. Blues singer Keb' Mo' is 60. Former astronaut Kathryn Sullivan is 60. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is 60. Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley is 57. Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton is 57. Actor Hart Bochner is 55. Actor Peter Frechette is 55. Golfer Fred Couples is 52. Actor Jack Wagner is 52. Rock musician Tommy Lee is 49. Actor Clive Owen is 47. Actress Janel Moloney is 42. Singer Gwen Stefani (steh-FAH'-nee) (No Doubt) is 42. Pop singer Kevin Richardson is 40. Rock singer G. Love is 39. Actress Keiko Agena (KAY'-koh ah-GAYN'-ah) is 38. Actress Neve Campbell is 38. Singer India.Arie (ah-REE') is 36. Rapper Talib Kweli (tuh-LIB' kwah-LEE') is 36. Actress Alanna Ubach is 36. Actor Seann (cq) William Scott is 35. Actress Shannyn Sossamon is 33. Actor Seth Gabel is 30. Rock musician Mark King (Hinder) is 29. Actor Erik Von Detten is 29. Actress-singer Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is 27.

Thought for today: "Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it." -- Woody Guthrie, American folk singer-songwriter (1912-1967)

[Associated Press]

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