Today is Friday, Oct. 6, the 279th day of 2017. There are 86 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 6, 1927, the era of talking pictures arrived with the opening of “The Jazz Singer” starring Al Jolson, a feature containing both silent and sound-synchronized sequences.
On this date:
In 105 BC, the Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus at the Battle of Arausio.
In AD 23, Rebels kill and decapitate the Xin dynasty emperor Wang Mang two days after the capital Chang’an is sacked during a peasant rebellion.
In 1683, thirteen families from Krefeld, Germany, arrived in Philadelphia to begin Germantown, one of America’s oldest settlements.
In 1892, British poet laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson died in Surrey, England, at age 83.
In 1939, in a speech to the Reichstag, German Chancellor Adolf Hitler spoke of his plans to reorder the ethnic layout of Europe — a plan which would entail settling the “Jewish problem.”
In 1949, U.S.-born Iva Toguri D’Aquino, convicted of treason for being Japanese wartime broadcaster “Tokyo Rose,” was sentenced in San Francisco to 10 years in prison (she ended up serving more than six).
In 1958, the nuclear submarine USS Seawolf surfaced after spending 60 days submerged.
In 1960, the historical drama “Spartacus,” starring Kirk Douglas and directed by Stanley Kubrick, had its world premiere in New York.
In 1973, war erupted in the Middle East as Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Yom Kippur holiday. (Israel, initially caught off guard, managed to push back the Arab forces before a cease-fire finally took hold in the nearly three-week conflict.)
In 1976, students are massacred during a gathering at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, to protest the return of ex-dictator Thanom, by a coalition of right-wing paramilitary and government forces, triggering the return of the military to government.
In 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot to death by extremists while reviewing a military parade.
In 1989, actress Bette Davis died in Neuilly-sur-Seine (nu-yee-sur-sehn), France, at age 81.
Today’s Birthdays: Broadcaster and writer Melvyn Bragg is 78. Actress Britt Ekland is 75. Singer Millie Small is 71. The president of Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams, is 69. Rock singer Kevin Cronin (REO Speedwagon) is 66. English boxer and promoter – Ricky Hatton is 39. American R&B singer-songwriter and guitarist Thomas McClary is 68
Thought for Today: “Sometimes the heart sees what’s invisible to the eye.” — Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892).
