(Following Advance for Use Monday, October first)


Today in History

Today is Monday, October first, the 274th day of 2007. There are 91 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History: On October first, 1908, Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile to the market.

On this date: In 1507, Italian architect Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola was born.

In 1800, Spain ceded Louisiana to France in a secret treaty.

In 1907, New York's Plaza Hotel opened to the public.

In 1936, General Francisco Franco was proclaimed the head of an insurgent Spanish state.

In 1949, Mao Zedong proclaimed the People's Republic of China during a ceremony in Beijing.

In 1957, the motto "In God We Trust" began appearing on U.S.

paper currency.

In 1961, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees hit his 61st home run during a 162-game season, compared to Babe Ruth's 60 home runs during a 154-game season.

In 1964, the Free Speech Movement was launched at the University of California at Berkeley.

In 1971, Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, Florida.

In 1987, eight people were killed when an earthquake measuring magnitude 5.9 struck the Los Angeles area.

Ten years ago: In Pearl, Mississippi, 16-year-old Luke Woodham stabbed his mother to death, then went to school with a rifle and opened fire, killing his former girlfriend and another student and wounding seven others. (Woodham is serving three life sentences plus 140 years in prison.) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu freed Hamas spiritual leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin. (Yassin was freed to secure the release of two Mossad agents arrested in Jordan following a botched assassination attempt against Hamas political leader Khalid Mashaal.) Five years ago: Iraq agreed to a plan for the return of U.N.

weapons inspectors for the first time in nearly four years, but ignored U.S. demands for access to Saddam Hussein's palaces and other contested sites. New Jersey Democrats chose former Senator Frank Lautenberg to be on the November ballot in place of of scandal-tainted Senator Robert Torricelli (tohr-ih-SEL'-ee).

Publisher, philanthropist and diplomat Walter H. Annenberg died in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, at age 94.

One year ago: The Israeli Army completed its withdrawal from Lebanon, clearing the way for a U.N. peacekeeping force. Brazil's leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (loo-EEZ' ee-NAH'-see-oh LOO'-luh duh SEEL'-vuh) fell short of the votes he needed to win a second term outright and was forced into a runoff, which he won by a landslide. Tiger Woods won the American Express Championship in Chandler's Cross, England. (It was his eighth victory of the year, making him the first player in PGA Tour history to win at least eight times in three seasons.)


Today's Birthdays: Actor James Whitmore is 86. Former President Jimmy Carter is 83. Pianist Roger Williams is 83. Actor Tom Bosley is 80. Actress-singer Julie Andrews is 72. Actress Stella Stevens is 71. Rock musician Jerry Martini (Sly and the Family Stone) is 64. Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rod Carew is 62. Jazz musician Dave Holland is 61. Actor Stephen Collins is 60. Actor Randy Quaid is 57. Actress Yvette Freeman is 50. Singer Howard Hewett is 50.

Singer Youssou N'Dour is 48. Actor Esai Morales is 45. Actor Christopher Titus is 43. Actress-model Cindy Margolis is 42. Rock singer-musician Kevin Griffin (Better Than Ezra) is 39. Singer Keith Duffy is 33. Actress Jurnee Smollett is 21. Actress Brie Larson is 18.

Thought for Today: "Everybody favors free speech in the slack moments when no axes are being ground." Heywood C. Broun, American journalist (1888-1939).

(Above Advance for Use Monday, October first)


Copyright 2007, The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 09-23-07 0833CDT | save this article / add to your favorites list