October 8
1869 - Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, died in Concord, New Hampshire at age 64.
1871 - The Great Chicago Fire started, destroying four square miles of the city while killing at least 250 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless; the same day, the worst forest fire in U.S. history also began in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.
1918 - During World War I, Army Sgt. Alvin York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest in France.
1934 - Bruno Hauptmann was indicted for the murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby.
1945 - President Harry S. Truman announced the U.S. would share the secret of the atomic bomb only with Great Britain and Canada.
1959 - Margaret Thatcher was first elected to the British Parliament as a Conservative representing the north London suburb of Finchley.
1981 - At the White House, President Ronald Reagan greeted former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, who were preparing to travel to Egypt for the funeral of Anwar Sadat.
1982 - All labor organizations, including Solidarity, were banned in Poland.
1985 - The hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and dumped his body and wheelchair overboard.
1997 - Scientists reported the Mars Pathfinder had yielded what could be the strongest evidence yet that Mars might once have been hospitable to life.
1998 - The House of Representatives triggered an open-ended impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton in a momentous 258-176 vote; 31 Democrats joined majority Republicans in opening the way for nationally-televised impeachment hearings.
2001 - Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn in as director of the new Office of Homeland Security.
2002 - A federal judge approved President George W. Bush’s request to reopen West Coast ports, ending a 10-day labor lockout that was costing the U.S. economy an estimated $1 to $2 billion a day.
2004 - Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart reported to prison to begin serving a sentence for lying about a stock sale.
2005 - A 7.6 magnitude earthquake centered in the Pakistani-controlled part of the Kashmir region killed more than 80,000 and injured 65,000.
2014 - Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who was the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas 10 days after being admitted.
2015 - Volkswagen’s top U.S. executive, Michael Horn, offered deep apologies yet sought to distance himself from the emissions scandal enveloping the world’s largest automaker, asserting before a congressional subcommittee that top corporate officials had no knowledge of the cheating software installed in 11 million diesel cars.
2017 - Harvey Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company amid allegations that he was responsible for decades of sexual harassment.
2019 - White House Counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to House leaders declaring that President Donald Trump would not cooperate with what the letter called an “illegitimate” impeachment investigation; Democrats responded that the letter was a clear reason to write an article of impeachment charging Trump with obstruction.
2019 - Democrat Joe Biden unveiled an education plan that would make community and technical college free, and federal college loan programs more generous.
Birthdays
23 - Bella Thorne (actress/singer)
24 - Kylee Russell (actress)
25 - Grayson Allen (basketball player)
27 - Molly Quinn (actress)
27 - Angus T. Jones (actor)
27 - Barbara Palvin (model)
35 - Bruno Mars (singer)
35 - Max Crumm (actor)
40 - J.R. Ramirez (actor)
40 - Nick Cannon (actor)
40 - Mike "The Miz" Mizanin (professional wrestler)
41 - Kristanna Loken (actress)
46 - Martin Henderson (actor)
50 - Robert Kelly (actor/comedian)
50 - Anne-Marie Duff (actress)
50 - Matt Damon (actor)
51 - Dylan Neal (actor)
52 - Emily Procter (actress)
54 - Karyn Parsons (actress)
56 - Ian Hart (actor)
59 - Kim Wayans (actress)
64 - Stephanie Zimbalist (actress)
65 - Darrell Hammond (actor/comedian)
66 - Michael Dudikoff (actor)
67 - Ricky Lee Phelps (country singer)
71 - Sigourney Weaver (actress)
72 - Sarah Purcell (actress)
76 - Dale Dye (actor)
77 - R.L. Stine (author)
77 - Chevy Chase (actor/comedian)
79 - Jesse Jackson (civil rights activist)
81 - Paul Hogan (actor)
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Today in Sports History - October 8
1897 - Nebraska opens the season with a 10-0 loss to Cockeye State.
1898 - Nebraska defeats Cockeye State 23-10.
1904 - Colorado defeats Nebraska 6-0.
1910 - Nebraska defeats South Dakota 12-9.
1922 - The New York Giants defeated the New York Yankees in five games to win the World Series.
1927 - The New York Yankees sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the World Series.
1927 - Missouri defeats Nebraska 7-6.
1930 - The Philadelphia Athletics defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in six games to win the World Series.
1932 - Nebraska defeats Cockeye State 12-6.
1938 - Cockeye State defeated Nebraska 8-7.
1939 - The New York Yankees sweep the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series.
1940 - The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Detroit Tigers in seven games to win the World Series.
1949 - Nebraska defeated Kansas State 13-6.
1951 - Ford C. Frick replaces Happy Chandler to become the third commissioner of Major League Baseball.
1955 - Texas A&M defeats Nebraska 27-0.
1956 - Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitched the first, and to date the only, perfect game in World Series history as the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 in Game 5.
1957 - The Brooklyn Dodgers announced their intentions to move to Los Angeles the following season.
1959 - The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago White Sox in six games to win the World Series.
1960 - Nebraska defeats Kansas State 17-7.
1966 - #7 Nebraska defeats Wisconsin 31-3.
1975 - The San Antonio Spurs, then a member of the ABA, defeat the NBA's Atlanta Hawks 109-107 in the first ever basketball game played in the Louisiana Superdome.
1977 - #9 Nebraska defeats Kansas State 26-9.
1983 - #1 Nebraska defeats Oklahoma State 14-10.
1988 - #9 Nebraska defeats Kansas 63-10.
1994 - #2 Nebraska defeats Oklahoma State 32-3.
1995 - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins breaks Fran Tarkenton's career NFL completions record.
2005 - #15 Texas Tech defeats Nebraska 34-31.
2009 - #21 Nebraska defeats #24 Missouri 27-12.
2009 - The United Football League began its first season with four teams: Florida Tuskers, Hartford Colonials, Las Vegas Locomotives, and the Sacramento Mountain Lions. (The league would fold in 2012.)
2011 - Al Davis, the Hall of Fame owner of the Oakland Raiders, died at age 82.
2011 - #14 Nebraska defeats Ohio State 34-27.
2017 - Vice President Mike Pence left the 49ers-Colts game in Indianapolis after about a dozen San Francisco players took a knee during the national anthem.
2018 - New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees became the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards in a 43-19 win over the Washington Redskins, breaking Peyton Manning's record of 71,940 yards.
2018 - Red Sox utility Brock Holt becomes first MLB player to hit for the cycle in a postseason game during Boston's 16-1 Game 3 rout of the NY Yankees in the AL Division Series at Yankee Stadium.
1869 - Franklin Pierce, the 14th president of the United States, died in Concord, New Hampshire at age 64.
1871 - The Great Chicago Fire started, destroying four square miles of the city while killing at least 250 people and leaving more than 90,000 homeless; the same day, the worst forest fire in U.S. history also began in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.
1918 - During World War I, Army Sgt. Alvin York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest in France.
1934 - Bruno Hauptmann was indicted for the murder of Charles Lindbergh's baby.
1945 - President Harry S. Truman announced the U.S. would share the secret of the atomic bomb only with Great Britain and Canada.
1959 - Margaret Thatcher was first elected to the British Parliament as a Conservative representing the north London suburb of Finchley.
1981 - At the White House, President Ronald Reagan greeted former Presidents Jimmy Carter, Gerald Ford and Richard Nixon, who were preparing to travel to Egypt for the funeral of Anwar Sadat.
1982 - All labor organizations, including Solidarity, were banned in Poland.
1985 - The hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer and dumped his body and wheelchair overboard.
1997 - Scientists reported the Mars Pathfinder had yielded what could be the strongest evidence yet that Mars might once have been hospitable to life.
1998 - The House of Representatives triggered an open-ended impeachment inquiry against President Bill Clinton in a momentous 258-176 vote; 31 Democrats joined majority Republicans in opening the way for nationally-televised impeachment hearings.
2001 - Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn in as director of the new Office of Homeland Security.
2002 - A federal judge approved President George W. Bush’s request to reopen West Coast ports, ending a 10-day labor lockout that was costing the U.S. economy an estimated $1 to $2 billion a day.
2004 - Lifestyle guru Martha Stewart reported to prison to begin serving a sentence for lying about a stock sale.
2005 - A 7.6 magnitude earthquake centered in the Pakistani-controlled part of the Kashmir region killed more than 80,000 and injured 65,000.
2014 - Thomas Eric Duncan, a Liberian man who was the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, died at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas 10 days after being admitted.
2015 - Volkswagen’s top U.S. executive, Michael Horn, offered deep apologies yet sought to distance himself from the emissions scandal enveloping the world’s largest automaker, asserting before a congressional subcommittee that top corporate officials had no knowledge of the cheating software installed in 11 million diesel cars.
2017 - Harvey Weinstein was fired from The Weinstein Company amid allegations that he was responsible for decades of sexual harassment.
2019 - White House Counsel Pat Cipollone sent a letter to House leaders declaring that President Donald Trump would not cooperate with what the letter called an “illegitimate” impeachment investigation; Democrats responded that the letter was a clear reason to write an article of impeachment charging Trump with obstruction.
2019 - Democrat Joe Biden unveiled an education plan that would make community and technical college free, and federal college loan programs more generous.
Birthdays
23 - Bella Thorne (actress/singer)
24 - Kylee Russell (actress)
25 - Grayson Allen (basketball player)
27 - Molly Quinn (actress)
27 - Angus T. Jones (actor)
27 - Barbara Palvin (model)
35 - Bruno Mars (singer)
35 - Max Crumm (actor)
40 - J.R. Ramirez (actor)
40 - Nick Cannon (actor)
40 - Mike "The Miz" Mizanin (professional wrestler)
41 - Kristanna Loken (actress)
46 - Martin Henderson (actor)
50 - Robert Kelly (actor/comedian)
50 - Anne-Marie Duff (actress)
50 - Matt Damon (actor)
51 - Dylan Neal (actor)
52 - Emily Procter (actress)
54 - Karyn Parsons (actress)
56 - Ian Hart (actor)
59 - Kim Wayans (actress)
64 - Stephanie Zimbalist (actress)
65 - Darrell Hammond (actor/comedian)
66 - Michael Dudikoff (actor)
67 - Ricky Lee Phelps (country singer)
71 - Sigourney Weaver (actress)
72 - Sarah Purcell (actress)
76 - Dale Dye (actor)
77 - R.L. Stine (author)
77 - Chevy Chase (actor/comedian)
79 - Jesse Jackson (civil rights activist)
81 - Paul Hogan (actor)
==============================================
Today in Sports History - October 8
1897 - Nebraska opens the season with a 10-0 loss to Cockeye State.
1898 - Nebraska defeats Cockeye State 23-10.
1904 - Colorado defeats Nebraska 6-0.
1910 - Nebraska defeats South Dakota 12-9.
1922 - The New York Giants defeated the New York Yankees in five games to win the World Series.
1927 - The New York Yankees sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the World Series.
1927 - Missouri defeats Nebraska 7-6.
1930 - The Philadelphia Athletics defeat the St. Louis Cardinals in six games to win the World Series.
1932 - Nebraska defeats Cockeye State 12-6.
1938 - Cockeye State defeated Nebraska 8-7.
1939 - The New York Yankees sweep the Cincinnati Reds to win the World Series.
1940 - The Cincinnati Reds defeat the Detroit Tigers in seven games to win the World Series.
1949 - Nebraska defeated Kansas State 13-6.
1951 - Ford C. Frick replaces Happy Chandler to become the third commissioner of Major League Baseball.
1955 - Texas A&M defeats Nebraska 27-0.
1956 - Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitched the first, and to date the only, perfect game in World Series history as the Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0 in Game 5.
1957 - The Brooklyn Dodgers announced their intentions to move to Los Angeles the following season.
1959 - The Los Angeles Dodgers defeat the Chicago White Sox in six games to win the World Series.
1960 - Nebraska defeats Kansas State 17-7.
1966 - #7 Nebraska defeats Wisconsin 31-3.
1975 - The San Antonio Spurs, then a member of the ABA, defeat the NBA's Atlanta Hawks 109-107 in the first ever basketball game played in the Louisiana Superdome.
1977 - #9 Nebraska defeats Kansas State 26-9.
1983 - #1 Nebraska defeats Oklahoma State 14-10.
1988 - #9 Nebraska defeats Kansas 63-10.
1994 - #2 Nebraska defeats Oklahoma State 32-3.
1995 - Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins breaks Fran Tarkenton's career NFL completions record.
2005 - #15 Texas Tech defeats Nebraska 34-31.
2009 - #21 Nebraska defeats #24 Missouri 27-12.
2009 - The United Football League began its first season with four teams: Florida Tuskers, Hartford Colonials, Las Vegas Locomotives, and the Sacramento Mountain Lions. (The league would fold in 2012.)
2011 - Al Davis, the Hall of Fame owner of the Oakland Raiders, died at age 82.
2011 - #14 Nebraska defeats Ohio State 34-27.
2017 - Vice President Mike Pence left the 49ers-Colts game in Indianapolis after about a dozen San Francisco players took a knee during the national anthem.
2018 - New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees became the NFL's all-time leader in passing yards in a 43-19 win over the Washington Redskins, breaking Peyton Manning's record of 71,940 yards.
2018 - Red Sox utility Brock Holt becomes first MLB player to hit for the cycle in a postseason game during Boston's 16-1 Game 3 rout of the NY Yankees in the AL Division Series at Yankee Stadium.