On This Day in History - October 4th - Almanac

Today is Monday, Oct. 4, the 277th day of 2021 with 88 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include Rutherford B. Hayes, 19th president of the United States, in 1822; Frederic Remington, painter of the American West, in 1861; writer Alfred Runyan in 1880; pioneer movie comedian Buster Keaton in 1895; actor Charlton Heston in 1923; football Hall of Fame member Sam Huff in 1934 (age 87); author Jackie Collins in 1937; author Anne Rice in 1941 (age 80); author author Roy Blount Jr., both in 1941 (age 80); civil rights activist Jamil Abdullah al-Amin, formerly known as H. Rap Brown, in 1943 (age 78); baseball Hall of Fame member Tony La Russa in 1944 (age 77); actor Clifton Davis in 1945 (age 76); actor Susan Sarandon in 1946 (age 75); actor Armand Assante in 1949 (age 72); actor Christoph Waltz in 1956 (age 65); actor Bill Fagerbakke in 1957 (age 64); recording executive/businessman Russell Simmons in 1957 (age 64); singer Jon Secada in 1961 (age 60); actor Liev Schreiber in 1967 (age 54); actor Alicia Silverstone in 1976 (age 45); actor Rachael Leigh Cook in 1979 (age 42); actor Caitriona Balfe in 1979 (age 42); actor Melissa Benoist in 1988 (age 33); actor Dakota Johnson in 1989 (age 32); actor Ella Balinska in 1996 (age 25).

On this date in history:

In 1876, the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now Texas A&M, opened. It was the first public higher education institution in Texas.

In 1883, the Orient Express train made its first run, originating in Paris, at Gare de l'Est, and ending in Giurgiu, Romania, with stops in Munich and Vienna.

In 1895, the U.S. Open men's golf tournament was first contested. It was won by Horace Rawlins.

In 1927, artist Gutzon Borglum begins sculpting Mount Rushmore. It would take 14 years to complete, with work on the monument finishing in 1941. Despite the difficult nature of the project, there were no worker fatalities.

In 1957, the Soviet Union launched the first man-made space satellite, Sputnik 1. The Soviet's successful launch caught America by surprise and was the spark which ignited the Space Race.

In 1965, Pope Paul VI arrived at Kennedy International Airport in New York on the first visit by a pope to the United States.

In 1976, Earl Butz resigned as U.S. agriculture secretary, with an apology for what he called the "gross indiscretion" of uttering a racist remark.

In 1989, Art Shell was hired by the Oakland Raiders as the first black head coach in the modern National Football League.

In 1991, the United States and 23 other countries signed an agreement banning mineral and oil exploration in Antarctica for 50 years.

In 1992, up to 250 people were killed when an El Al 747 cargo plane crashed into an apartment building on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

In 1993, U.S. President Bill Clinton ordered several hundred more U.S. troops to Somalia on the second day the Battle of Mogadishu.

In 2001, a Siberian Airlines jetliner exploded and plunged into the Black Sea, killing all 64 passengers and 12 crew members. The United States said evidence indicated the plane had been hit by a missile fired during a Ukrainian military training exercise.

In 2004, SpaceShipOne, the first privately funded rocket to reach the edge of space, flew to an altitude above 62 miles over the California desert.

In 2006, WikiLeaks.org was created by Julian Assange as a depository for leaked documents and other classified materials.

In 2010, a sludge reservoir burst in Hungary, sending 200 million gallons of toxic mud onto the roads of three villages, killing seven people, injuring 150 others and driving hundreds from their homes.

In 2018, New England's Tom Brady became the third NFL quarterback to throw 500 touchdown passes in the Patriots' 38-24 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. He was preceded by Peyton Manning and Brett Favre.

A thought for the day: "You can become a winner only if you are willing to walk over the edge." -- American writer Damon Runyon