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UPI Almanac for Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2015

Partial Test Ban Treaty signed, Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222–0 ... on this date in history.

By United Press International
Model T's moving along the assembly line at Ford's Highland Park automobile factory circa 1913. File Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
1 of 7 | Model T's moving along the assembly line at Ford's Highland Park automobile factory circa 1913. File Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 7, the 280th day of 2015 with 85 to follow.

The moon is waxing. Morning stars are Jupiter, Uranus and Venus. Evening stars are Mars, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn.

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Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include British writer John Marston in 1576; signer of the Declaration of Independence Caesar Rodney in 1728; poet James Whitcomb Riley in 1849; Grand Ole Opry star Uncle Dave Macon in 1870; labor activist Joe Hill in 1879; Danish atomic physicist Niels Bohr in 1885; Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad in 1897; actor Andy Devine in 1905; singer/bandleader Vaughn Monroe in 1911; actor June Allyson in 1917; actor/singer Al Martino in 1927; South African archbishop and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu in 1931 (age 84); television personality Joy Behar in 1942 (age 73); Oliver North, the former White House aide who became the center of the Iran-Contra controversy, in 1943 (age 72); Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member John Mellencamp in 1951 (age 64); Russian President Vladimir Putin in 1952 (age 63); classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma in 1955 (age 60); recording executive and television personality Simon Cowell in 1959 (age 56); and singers Toni Braxton in 1968 (age 47) and Taylor Hicks in 1976 (age 39).

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On this date in history:

In 1913, for the first time, Henry Ford's entire Highland Park automobile factory was run on a continuously moving assembly line.

In 1916, Georgia Tech defeats Cumberland University 222–0 in the most lopsided college football game in American history.

In 1949, less than five months after Britain, the United States and France established the Federal Republic of Germany in West Germany, the Democratic Republic of Germany (East Germany) was proclaimed within the Soviet occupation zone.

In 1958 – The U.S. manned space-flight project, originally called Project Astronaut, is officially approved, and renamed Project Mercury.

In 1963 – President John F. Kennedy signs the Limited Test Ban Treaty. Signed by the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States, the treaty was developed to slow the nuclear arms race and reduce the amount of nuclear fallout in the earth's atmosphere.

In 1968, the U.S. movie industry adopted a film ratings system for the first time: G (for general audiences), M (for mature audiences), R (no one under 16 admitted without an adult) and X (no one under 16 admitted).

In 1985, a mudslide in Ponce, Puerto Rico, killed an estimated 500 people in the island's worst disaster of the 20th century.

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In 1991, Slovenia and Croatia formally declared secession from Yugoslavia.

In 1992, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and the leaders of Mexico and Canada signed the North American Free Trade Agreement, creating the world's largest trading bloc.

In 2000, Vojislav Kostunica was sworn in as Yugoslavia's president.

In 2003, Californians voted to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and elected actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, as their new governor.

In 2004, Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated the throne.

In 2005, the International Atomic Energy Agency and its director general, Mohamed ElBaradei, were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 2009, a statue of blind and deaf 7-year-old Helen Keller at the moment she got a sense of language was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol. She is shown at a pump with water running into one hand while alphabet motions on her other hand (by teacher Anne Sullivan) spell "w-a-t-e-r." (Keller went on to become a world-famous speaker and author of a dozen books.)

In 2010, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Liu Xiaobo, an opponent of the Chinese regime imprisoned for seeking democratic reforms.

In 2012, 14-year incumbent Hugo Chavez easily defeated challenger Henrique Capriles in Venezuela's presidential election. Officials said voter turnout was 81 percent. (Chavez died five months later.)

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In 2013, seven Egyptian soldiers were killed by insurgents a day after at least 53 other people died in clashes between security forces and supporters of ousted President Mohamed Morsi. Interim Prime Minister Hazem Beblawi said in a televised address it was a "critical time" for Egypt and appealed to the people to "stand together, be optimistic about the future."


A thought for the day: "I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than alone in the light." -- Helen Keller

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