TODAY’S HISTORY LESSON: OCT 2
1187 Sultan Saladin captures Jerusalem from Crusaders
1263 At Largs, King Alexander III of Scotland repels an amphibious invasion by King Haakon IV of Norway.
1535 Having landed in Quebec a month ago, Jacques Cartier reaches a town, which he names Montreal.
1608 Hans Lippershey offers Dutch gov’t a new invention, the telescope
1780 British army major John Andre was hanged as a spy. He was carrying information about the actions of Benedict Arnold.
1789 George Washington transmits the proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification
1835 The first military engagement of the Texas War of Independence, the Battle of Gonzales, occurred on this day between Texas rebels and Mexican troops. This battle marked the beginning of Texas’ War of Independence, which resulted in the establishment of the Republic of Texas.
1836 Charles Darwin returned to England after 5 years of acquiring knowledge around the world about fauna, flora, wildlife and geology. He used the information to develop his “theory of evolution” which he unveiled in his 1859 book entitled The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.
1853 Austrian law forbids Jews from owning land
1870 The papal states vote in favor of union with Italy. The capital is moved from Florence to Rome.
1871 Morman leader Brigham Young, 70, is arrested for polygamy. He was later convicted, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the conviction.
1919 President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke, which left him partially paralyzed.
1928 “Prelature of the Holy Cross and the Work of God”, known as Opus Dei, founded by Saint Josemaría Escrivá
1941 The German army launches Operation Typhoon, the drive towards Moscow.
1942 “Queen Mary” slices cruiser “Curacao” in half, killing 338
1944 Polish resistance fighters capitulate in the Warsaw Uprising, with some 250,000 people killed
1950 The comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schultz, makes its first appearance in newspapers.
1964 Scientists announce findings that smoking can cause cancer.
1967 Thurgood Marshall, the first African-American Supreme Court justice, is sworn in. Marshall had previously been the solicitor general, the head of the legal staff of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and a leading American civil rights lawyer.
1970 A plane carrying the Wichita State University football team, staff, and supporters crashes in Colorado; 31 of the 40 people aboard die.
1980 Congressional Representative Mike Myers is expelled from the US House for taking a bribe in the Abscam scandal, the first member to be expelled since 1861.
1986 Sikhs attempt to assassinate Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi
1990 US Senate votes 90-9 to confirm David Souter to the Supreme Court
1990 Flight 8301 of China’s Xiamen Airlines is hijacked and crashed into Baiyun International Airport, hitting two other aircraft and killing 128 people.
1992 A prison riot in Carandiru Penitentiary, Brazil, led to the killing of over 100 inmates by the police.
2001 NATO backs US military strikes in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
2002 A series of coordinated sniper attacks occurred in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. The attacks lasted 3 weeks and resulted in the killing of 10 people.
2007 President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea walks across the Military Demarcation Line into North Korea on his way to the second Inter-Korean Summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il
REFERENCE: HISTORY.NET, ONTHISDAY.COM, TIMEANDDATE.COM, INFOPLEASE.COM, FACTMONSTER.COM, SCOPESYS.COM, ON-THIS-DAY.COM, THEPEOPLEHISTORY.COM
