Today is Wednesday, Oct. 6, the 279th day of 2021 with 86 to follow.
The moon is new. Morning stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn and Uranus. Evening stars are Jupiter, Neptune, Saturn, Uranus and Venus.
Those born on this date are under the sign of Libra. They include opera singer Jenny Lind in 1820; inventor/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; journalist Shana Alexander in 1925; former Syrian President Hafez al-Assad in 1930; actor Britt Ekland in 1942 (age 79); Northern Ireland politician Gerry Adams in 1948 (age 73); television executive Leslie Moonves in 1949 (age 72); football coach Tony Dungy in 1955 (age 66); writer David Brin in 1950 (age 71); actor Elisabeth Shue in 1963 (age 58); actor Amy Jo Johnson in 1970 (age 51); actor Ioan Gruffudd in 1973 (age 48); actor Olivia Thirlby in 1986 (age 35); actor Scarlett Byrne in 1990 (age 31); rapper/actor Roshon Fegan in 1991 (age 30); actor Rio Mangini in 2002 (age 19).
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 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 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.
In 2018, Brett Kavanaugh took the oath of office to become a justice on the Supreme Court after a contentious confirmation process in which he was accused of sexual misconduct.
In 2020, a trio of scientists from the United States, Britain and Germany jointly won the Nobel Prize in Physics for discoveries about black holes.
A thought for the day: “I’ve lived by a man’s code designed to fit a man’s world, yet at the same time, I never forget that a woman’s first job is to choose the right shade of lipstick.” — American actor Carole Lombard