This Day in History – October 9, 2011

680 Husain ibn ‘Ali, Shi’i religious leader, enters martyrdom 1000 Leif Ericson discovers “Vinland” (possibly New England) 1604 Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way. 1635 Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land. 1701 The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut. 1861 American Civil War: Battle of Santa Rosa Island Union troops repel a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens. 1864 American Civil War: Battle of Tom’s Brook Union cavalrymen in the Shenandoah Valley defeat Confederate forces at Tom’s Brook, Virginia. 1873 A meeting at the U.S. Naval Academy establishes the U.S. Naval Institute. 1874 General Postal Union is created as a result of the Treaty of Berne. 1876 1st 2-way telephone conversation, 1st over outdoor wires 1877 American Humane Association organized in Cleveland 1888 The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public. 1907 Las Cruces, New Mexico is incorporated. 1911 An accidental bomb explosion in Hankou, Wuhan, China leads to the ultimate fall of the Qing Empire 1915 Woodrow Wilson becomes 1st pres to attend a world series game (World Series #12) 1919 Black Sox scandal: The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series. 1936 Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begin to generate electricity from the Colorado River and transmit it 266 miles to Los Angeles, California. 1942 The last day of the October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps forces withdraw back across the Matanikau River after destroying most of the Imperial Japanese Army’s 4th Infantry Regiment. 1945 Parade in NYC for Fleet Admiral Nimitz and 13 USN/USMC Medal of Honor recipients 1960 Cowboy QB Eddie LeBaron throws shortest touchdown pass (2″) 1967 A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia. 1969 In Chicago, the United States National Guard is called in for crowd control as demonstrations continue in connection with the trial of the “Chicago Eight” that began on September 24. 1973 Elvis & Priscilla Presley divorce after 6 years 1980 1st consumer use of home banking by computer (Knoxville Tn) 1984 Kathy Sullivan becomes 1st US woman to walk in space 1986 The musical The Phantom of the Opera has its first performance at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London. 1989 1st NFL game coached by a black man (Art Shell), his LA Raiders beat NY Jets 14-7 on Monday Night Football 1989 An official news agency in the Soviet Union reports the landing of a UFO in Voronezh. 1990 Radio stations around the world play “Imagine” honoring John Lennon 1992 A 13 kilogram (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family’s 1980 Chevrolet Malibu 2001 Second mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attack. 2003 Mission: SPACE opens to the public in the Epcot park at Walt Disney World. The opening ceremony included several astronauts from all eras of space exploration. 2006 North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device. 2009 First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA’s Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.]]]]> ]]>