On This Day: O.J. Simpson acquitted of murder charges

Oct. 3 (UPI) -- On this date in history:

In 1919, Cincinnati Reds pitcher Dolf Luque becomes the first Latino player to appear in a World Series. Luque was born in Havana, Cuba on Aug. 4, 1890.

In 1922, Rebecca Felton, a Georgia Democrat, was chosen to become the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate following the premature death of Sen. Thomas E. Watson.

In 1932, following 17 years of British rule, Iraq gained its independence from the United Kingdom and was admitted to the League of Nations.

In 1935, Italy invaded Ethiopia, starting the Second Italo-Ethiopian War. Italy's invasion of Ethiopia, a fellow member of the League of Nations, exposed the ineffectiveness of the League, and its inability to exert control over member nations when violating its own statutes.

In 1952, Britain successfully tested its first atomic bomb, becoming the world's third nuclear power.

In 1955, the children's TV show Captain Kangaroo with Bob Keeshan in the title role was broadcast for the first time.

In 1967, folksinger and songwriter Woody Guthrie died at the age of 55.

In 1972, U.S. President Richard Nixon and Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko signed strategic arms limitation agreements, putting the first restrictions on the two countries' nuclear weapons.

File Photo by Frank Cancellare/UPI

In 1990, formerly communist East Germany merged with West Germany, ending 45 years of post-war division.

In 1992, Bill Gates, the college-dropout founder of Microsoft Corp., became the youngest person to top the Forbes magazine list of the 400 richest Americans, with a net worth of $6.3 billion.

In 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of charges that he killed his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman. The trial, which had intense media coverage, lasted more than eight months.

In 2007, U.S. President George W. Bush vetoed a bill that would have increased funding of the State Children's Health Insurance Program to provide health coverage to more than 10 million children. Bush said the proposal was a move toward universal healthcare, which he opposed.

In 2011, American Amanda Knox was acquitted on appeal of murder in Perugia, Italy, two years after being convicted of killing her British roommate.

File Photo by Jim Bryant/UPI

In 2012, U.S. President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney engaged in the first of three debates. The consensus among political analysts, focus group participants and snap polls was that Romney gave the better performance in the debate in Denver.

In 2013, a woman who led police on a car chase from the White House to the U.S. Capitol was shot to death by officers. Authorities said a young child in the back seat of the car was unharmed.