Today is Wednesday, Oct. 11, the 284th day of 2017. There are 81 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 11, 1942, the World War II Battle of Cape Esperance began in the Solomon Islands, resulting in an American victory over the Japanese.
On this date:
In 1634, the Burchardi flood (the second Grote Mandrenke) killed around 15,000 men in North Friesland, Denmark and Germany.
In 1649, after a ten-day siege, English New Model Army troops (under Oliver Cromwell) stormed the town of Wexford, killing over 2,000 Irish Confederate troops and 1,500 civilians.
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In 1779, Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski, fighting for American independence, died two days after being wounded during the Revolutionary War Battle of Savannah, Georgia.
In 1899, the Second Boer War begins: In South Africa, a war between the United Kingdom and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State erupts.
In 1954 in the First Indochina War, the Viet Minh take control of North Vietnam.
In 1958, the lunar probe Pioneer 1 was launched; it failed to go as far out as planned, fell back to Earth, and burned up in the atmosphere.
In 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard. The government of Panama was overthrown in a military coup.
In 1986, U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Reykjavík, Iceland, in an effort to continue discussions about scaling back their intermediate missile arsenals in Europe.
In 2002, former President Jimmy Carter was named the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Today’s Birthdays:
Former England footballer Bobby Charlton is 80. Actor Amitabh Bachchan is 75. Singer Daryl Hall (Hall and Oates) is 71. Actress-writer-comedian Dawn French is 60. NFL Football Hall of Famer Steve Young is 56. Actor Luke Perry is 51. Rapper MC Lyte is 46. Golfer Michelle Wie is 28.
Thought for Today:
“Life was meant to be lived, and curiosity must be kept alive. One must never, for whatever reason, turn his back on life.” — Eleanor Roosevelt, American first lady (born this date in 1884, died 1962).
