This day in history

[October 14, 2011]  (AP)  Today is Friday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2011. There are 78 days left in the year.

Today's highlight in history:

On Oct. 14, 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy suggested the idea of a Peace Corps while addressing 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 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial in England, accused of committing treason against Queen Elizabeth I. (Mary was beheaded in February 1587.)

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 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 1961, the Frank Loesser (LEH'-sur) musical "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying," starring Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch, opened on Broadway.

In 1977, singer Bing Crosby died outside Madrid, Spain, at age 74.

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.

Ten years ago: As U.S. jets opened a second week of raids in Afghanistan, President George W. Bush sternly rejected a Taliban offer to discuss handing over Osama bin Laden to a third country, saying, "They must have not heard. There's no negotiations."

Five years ago: The U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to impose punishing sanctions on North Korea for carrying out a nuclear test. Michael and Sandra Bentler were shot to death along with their three daughters at their southeast Iowa home (Shawn Bentler, the couple's son, was convicted of killing his family and is serving a life sentence). The Detroit Tigers swept the American League championship with a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics. A sideline-clearing brawl interrupted the third quarter of Miami's 35-0 victory over Florida International. Gerry Studds, the first openly gay member of Congress, died in Boston at age 69; singer Freddy Fender died in Corpus Christi, Texas, at age 69.

One year ago: Chile's 33 rescued miners posed with President Sebastian Pinera and were examined by doctors a day after they were freed from their underground prison. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (ah-muh-DEE'-neh-zhahd) taunted archenemy Israel from just across the tense border in Lebanon, rallying tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters.

Today's birthdays: Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is 95. Actor Roger Moore is 84. Classical pianist Gary Graffman is 83. Movie director Carroll Ballard is 74. Former White House counsel John W. Dean III is 73. Country singer Melba Montgomery is 73. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is 72. Singer Sir Cliff Richard is 71. Actor Udo Kier is 67. Singer-musician Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) is 65. Actor Harry Anderson is 59. Actor Greg Evigan is 58. TV personality Arleen Sorkin is 56. Golf Hall of Famer Beth Daniel is 55. Singer-musician Thomas Dolby is 53. Actress Lori Petty is 48. MLB manager Joe Girardi is 47. Actor Steve Coogan is 46. Singer Karyn White is 46. Actor Jon Seda is 41. Country musician Doug Virden is 41. Country singer Natalie Maines (The Dixie Chicks) is 37. Actress-singer Shaznay Lewis (All Saints) is 36. Singer Usher is 33. TV personality Stacy Keibler is 32. Actor Ben Whishaw is 31. Actor Jordan Brower is 30. Actress Skyler Shaye is 25.

Thought for today: "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." -- Anais Nin, French-born author (1903-1977)

[Associated Press]

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