Tuesday, October 11

This Day In History

• 1776   The first naval battle of Lake Champlain was fought during the American Revolution.
  
• 1779   Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski was killed while fighting for American independence during the Revolutionary War battle of Savannah, Ga.
  
• 1811   The first steam-powered ferryboat, the Juliana, was put into operation between New York City and Hoboken, N.J.
  
• 1881   Roll film for cameras was patented. Was it George Eastman or Mr. Fuji who patented the stuff? No. That honor belongs to D.H. Houston of Cambria, Wisconsin.
  
• 1890   The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, D.C.
  
• 1942   The World War II Battle of Cape Esperance began in the Solomon Islands, resulting in an American victory over the Japanese.
  
• 1958   The lunar probe Pioneer 1 was launched; it failed to go as far as planned, fell back to Earth, and burned up in the atmosphere.
  
• 1962   Pope John XXIII convened the first session of the Roman Catholic Church's 21st Ecumenical Council, also known as Vatican II.
  
• 1975   ''Saturday Night Live'' made its debut on NBC.
  
• 1984   Space shuttle Challenger astronaut Kathy Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space.
  
• 1986   President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened two days of talks concerning arms control and human rights in Reykjavik, Iceland.
  
• 1991   Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, law professor Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her; Thomas reappeared before the panel to denounce the proceedings as a ''high-tech lynching.''
  
• 1998   Pope John Paul II canonized the first Jewish-born saint of the modern era: Edith Stein, a Catholic nun killed at Auschwitz.
  
• 2002   The Senate joined the House in approving 77-23 the use of America's military might against Iraq.
  
• 2002   A man filling up his car at a gas station near Fredericksburg, Va., was shot to death in the eighth slaying linked by authorities to the Washington-area sniper.
  

Happy Birthday To

• 1844   H.J. (Henry John) Heinz (catsup & pickle mogul: Heinz 57 Varieties; died May 14, 1919)
  
• 1872   Harlan (Fiske) Stone (Justice of U.S. Supreme Court [1925-1941], Chief Justice [1941-1946]; died Apr 22, 1946)
  
• 1884   Eleanor Roosevelt (First Lady: wife of 32nd U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; U.S. Delegate to the United Nations; died Nov 7, 1962)
  
• 1906   Charles Revson (cosmetic mogul: founder of the Revlon Co.; died Aug 24, 1975)
  
• 1955   Lindy (Linda) Boone (singer: group: The Boone Family; singer Pat Boone’s daughter)
  
• 1965   Luke Perry (actor: Beverly Hills 90210, Terminal Bliss, 8 Seconds, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Sweet Trash)