Today is Monday, October seventh, the 281st day of 2024. There are 85 days left within the yr.
Today in history:
On October 7, 2003, California voters recalled Governor Gray Davis and elected Arnold Schwarzenegger as their recent governor.
Also on this date:
In 1765, the Stamp Act Congress met in New York to draft colonial grievances against England.
In 1916, probably the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University in Atlanta 222-0.
In 1985, armed Palestinians hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro (ah-KEE'-leh LOW'-roh) within the Mediterranean. The hijackers shot Leon Klinghoffer, a Jewish-American tourist in a wheelchair, and pushed him overboard before surrendering on October 9.
In 1992, trade representatives from the United States, Canada, and Mexico initialed the North American Free Trade Agreement during a ceremony in San Antonio, Texas, attended by President George H. W. Bush, Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, and Mexican President Carlos Salinas de Gortari.
In 1998, Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left tied to a picket fence post outside Laramie, Wyoming; he died five days later. Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney are serving life sentences for Shepard's murder.
In 2001, the war in Afghanistan began when the United States and Britain launched airstrikes on military targets and Osama bin Laden's training camps following the September 11 attacks.
In 2023, Hamas launched air and ground attacks on Israel, killing nearly 1,200 people and taking greater than 250 hostage. The attacks, followed hours later by Israeli counterattacks, marked the start of the present Israel-Hamas war.
Today's birthdays:
- Author Thomas Keneally is 89.
- Comedian and talk show host Joy Behar is 82.
- Singer John Mellencamp is 73.
- Rock musician Tico Torres (Bon Jovi) is 71.
- Cellist Yo-Yo Ma is 69.
- The production manager and TV personality Simon Cowell is 65.
- Singer and actor Toni Braxton is 57.
- The rock singer and musician Thom Yorke (Radiohead) is 56.
- Actress Nicole Ari Parker is 54.
- Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson is 48.
- Singer Taylor Hicks is 48.
- Actor Omar Miller is 46.
- MLB outfielder Mookie Betts is 32.
image credit : www.mercurynews.com