This Day in History – October 2, 2011

1187 Siege of Jerusalem: Saladin captures Jerusalem after 88 years of Crusader rule. 1780 John André, British Army officer of the American Revolutionary War, is hanged as a spy by American forces. 1789 George Washington sends the proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification. 1835 The Texas Revolution begins with the Battle of Gonzales: Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, but encounter stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia. 1864 American Civil War: Battle of Saltville Union forces attack Saltville, Virginia, but are defeated by Confederate troops. 1889 In Colorado, Nicholas Creede strikes it rich in silver during the last great silver boom of the American Old West. 1919 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson suffers a massive stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed. 1924 The Geneva Protocol is adopted as a means to strengthen the League of Nations. 1925 John Logie Baird performs the first test of a working television system. 1928 The “Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God”, commonly known as Opus Dei, is founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá. 1941 World War II: In Operation Typhoon, Germany begins an all-out offensive against Moscow. 1944 World War II: Nazi troops end the Warsaw Uprising. 1950 Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz is first published 1959 The anthology series The Twilight Zone premieres on CBS television. 1967 Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first African-American justice of United States Supreme Court. 1968 A peaceful student demonstration in Mexico City culminates in the Tlatelolco massacre. 1970 A plane carrying the Wichita State University football team, administrators, and supporters crashes in Colorado killing 31 people. 1990 Xiamen Airlines Flight 8301 is hijacked; after landing at Guangzhou, it crashes into two airliners on the ground, killing 132 people. 1996 The Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments are signed by U.S. President Bill Clinton. 1996 Aeroperú Flight 603, a Boeing 757, crashes into the Pacific Ocean shortly after takeoff from Lima, Peru, killing 70. 2001 NATO backs U.S. military strikes following 9/11. 2002 The Beltway sniper attacks begin, extending over three weeks. 2005 Ethan Allen Boating Accident: The Ethan Allen tour boat capsizes on Lake George in Upstate New York, killing twenty people. 2006 Five school girls are murdered by Charles Carl Roberts in a shooting at an Amish school in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania before Roberts commits suicide. 2007 President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea walks across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea on his way to the second Inter-Korean Summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.]]]]> ]]>