On This Day in History - October 6th - Almanac

Today is Saturday, Oct. 6, the 279th day of 2018 with 86 to follow.

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

Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include opera singer Jenny Lind in 1820; inventor and manufacturer George Westinghouse in 1846; Swiss architect Le Corbusier in 1887; French aviator Roland Garros in 1888; tennis champion Helen Wills Moody in 1905; actor Carole Lombard in 1908; former 60 Minutes journalist Shana Alexander in 1925; former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 1930; actor Britt Ekland in 1942 (age 76); Northern Ireland politician Gerry Adams in 1948 (age 70); television executive Leslie Moonves in 1949 (age 69); football coach Tony Dungy in 1955 (age 63); writer David Brin in 1950 (age 68); actor Elisabeth Shue in 1963 (age 55); actor Amy Jo Johnson in 1970 (age 48); actor Ioan Gruffudd in 1973 (age 45); actor Olivia Thirlby in 1986 (age 32); rapper/actor Roshon Fegan in 1991 (age 27); actor Rio Mangini in 2002 (age 16).

On this date in history:

In 1853, Antioch College opened in Yellow Springs, Ohio, as the first non-sectarian school to offer equal opportunity for both men and women.

In 1889, Thomas Edison debuts his first motion picture.

In 1908, Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia-Herzegovina, dual provinces in Europe's Balkan region which were formerly under the control of the Ottoman Empire, sparking a crisis.

In 1927, The Jazz Singer starring Al Jolson, Hollywood's legendary "first talkie," premiered in New York, ushering in the era of sound and a subsequent end of the silents.

In 1945, the Curse of the Billy Goat was placed on the Chicago Cubs when Billy Sianis and his pet billy goat were ejected from Wrigley Field during Game 4 of the World Series because his pet goat's strong odor. The curse ended in 2016, when the Cubs won the World Series.

In 1973, Egypt and Syria, attempting to win back territory lost during the third Arab-Israeli war, launched a coordinated attack against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. This conflict, which would last 19 days, would become known as the Yom Kippur War.

In 1979, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pontiff to visit the White House.

In 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated as he reviewed a military parade in Cairo.

In 1989, Oscar-winning Hollywood legend Bette Davis died of cancer in a suburb of Paris. She was 81.

In 1991, Elizabeth Taylor walked down the aisle for the eighth time when she married Larry Fortensky. Though she had eight weddings, the actor had seven grooms; she married Richard Burton twice.

In 2001, Cal Ripken Jr. retired after a baseball career with the Baltimore Orioles that included playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games.

In 2004, a U.S. weapons inspector said Iraq began destroying its illicit weapons in 1991 and had none by 1996, seven years before the United States invaded. A report determined that 12 years of international sanctions had succeeded in disarming the country of weapons of mass destruction.

In 2007, Pervez Musharraf breezed to re-election to a third term as president of Pakistan. He resigned under impeachment pressure in 2008.

In 2012, the cost of a gallon of regular gasoline in California reached a record high of $4.61. Industry analysts said the increase was mainly due to refinery and pipeline problems.

In 2017, the tropical storm that would later increase in intensity to Hurricane Nate entered the Gulf of Honduras. The storm made landfall in two days later in Louisiana and resulted in nearly 50 deaths in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and the United States.

A thought for the day: Hubert Humphrey said in 1964, "Freedom is the most contagious virus known to man."