Today In History - October 7

336 St. Mark ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1571 The Turkish fleet defeated by Spanish and Italians in the Battle of Lepanto
1737 40 foot waves sink 20,000 small craft and kill 300,000 people in Bengal, India
1765 The Stamp Act Congress convenes in New York
1777 Americans beat the Brits in the second Battle of Saratoga and the Battle of Bemis Heights
1780 The British are defeated by American militia near Kings Mountain, SC
1816 The first double decked steamboat, the Washington, arrived in New Orleans
1849 Edgar Allen Poe dies at age 40
1868 Cornell University opens
1871 A 16-hour fire injures 30 of Chicago's 185 firefighters
1886 Spain abolishes slavery in Cuba
1900 The term "orienteering" is first used for an event
1908 Crete revolts against Turkey and aligns with Greece
1919 The first London-Amsterdam airline service begins
1931 The first infra-red photograph is taken in Rochester, New York
1938 Germany demands all Jewish passports be stamped with the letter "J"
1950 The US forces invade Korea by crossing the 38th parallel
1957 The TV series "American Bandstand" premieres
1958 Potter Stewart is appointed to the US Supreme Court
1960 The TV series "Route 66" premieres
1963 Bobby Baker resigns as Senate Democratic secretary
1963 Hurricane Flora hits Haiti and the Dominican Republic and kills 7,190 people
1965 A 50 mph wind gust carries 165 lb Robert Mitera's tee shot 447 yards to score the world's longest straight hole-in-one at Miracle Hills, Omaha, Nebraska
1968 The Motion Picture Association of America adopts a film rating system
1984 Walter Payton passes Jim Brown as NFL's career rushing leader
1985 Lynette Woodward is chosen as first woman on the Harlem Globetrotters
1985 PLO terrorists seize the Italian cruise liner Achille Lauro
1988 Dallas Green replaces Lou Pinella as the New York Yankee manager
1988 The Latvian flag is raised in Riga for first time since annexation by USSR
1988 Robin Givens files for divorce after only 8-month marriage to boxer Mike Tyson
1989 Radio talk show host Larry King weds Julie Alexander
1990 Israel begins handing out gas masks to its citizens
1991 Child star Adam Rich is arrested for stealing hypodermic needles
1991 Leo Durocher dies at age 86

Today In History - October 7

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Famous Persons Born on This Date in History