October 1

A quick look at Today in History, check out some Celebrity Birthdays, and find out what Days of the Year to celebrate.

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1836 – Michigan’s first railroad began operation. It was the Erie and Kalamazoo Railroad. Horses pulled the cars at 10 mph between Adrian, MI and Toledo, OH.

1880 – Thomas Edison began the commercial production of electric lamps at Edison Lamp Works in Menlo Park, NJ.

1885 – Special delivery mail service began in the United States. The first routes were in West Virginia.

1890 – Yosemite National Park was established by Congress.

1896 – Rural Free Delivery was established by the U.S. Post Office.

1903 – The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Boston Pilgrims in the first World Series game.

1908 – The Model T automobile was introduced by Henry Ford. You could purchase one for $850.

1933 – Babe Ruth made his final pitching appearance — a complete game. He also hit a home run in the fifth inning.

1940 – The Pennsylvania Turnpike opened as the first toll superhighway in the U.S.

1946 – The first baseball play-off game for a league championship was played. It was a game between the St. Louis Cardinals and the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Cardinals beat the Dodgers 4-2.

1952 – The TV show “This is Your Life” began airing on NBC. The show was hosted by Ralph Edwards

1957 – The first appearance of “In God We Trust” on U.S. paper currency.

1958 – NASA was created to replace NACA.

1961 – Roger Maris, of the New York Yankees, hit his 61st home run of the season to break Babe Ruth’s longstanding Major League record.

1962 – Johnny Carson took over for Jack Paar as host of “The Tonight Show” on NBC. Carson hosted the show for 29 years.

1968 – “Night of the Living Dead” premiered in Pittsburgh, PA.

1971 – Walt Disney World opened in Orlando, FL. The tourist attraction draws 52 million visitors per year from around the world.

1971 – The first brain scan using x-ray computed tomography (CT or CAT scan) was performed at Atkinson Memorial Hospital in Wimbledon, London.

1974 – The movie “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” debuted in theaters. It has earned over $30.8 million in ticket sales.

1975 – The Thrilla in Manila: Muhammad Ali defeated Joe Frazier in a boxing match in Manila, Philipines.

1979 – Pope John Paul II began his first pastoral visit to the United States.

1980 – Robert Redford became the first male to appear alone on the cover of “Ladies’ Home Journal.” He was the only male to achieve this in 97 years.

1982 – Sony launched the first consumer compact disc player (model CDP-101).

1982 – Disney’s EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) Center opened in Orlando, FL. Walt Disney came up with the concept.

1992 – The Cartoon Network debuted.

1994 – The National Hockey League began a 103 day lockout of its players.

1995 – Jurors in the O.J. Simpson murder trial reached a verdict of “not guilty”. They deliberated for only four hours. The decision was made public the next day.

1995 – Nearly $1 million was raised at the Farm Aid concert in Louisville, KY. Musicians that performed were Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Hootie and the Blowfish, and The Dave Matthews Band.

1996 – Animal Planet debuted on cable systems.

1996 – A federal grand jury indicted Theodore Kaczynski in the 1994 “Unabomber” slaying of an ad executive.

1998 – John Fogerty received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

2001 – Mark McGwire retired from baseball on his 38th birthday.

2001 – The Supreme Court disbarred former President Bill Clinton from practicing law.

2004 – After being dormant for almost 20 years, Mt. St. Helens erupted in a small explosion of steam and ash. No deaths, injuries or damage were reported.

2009 – David Letterman admitted on TV’s “The Late Show” that he had extramarital affairs with women he worked with at CBS.

2010 – The movie about Facebook, “The Social Network”, premiered in theaters.

2013 – The Affordable Care Act website (Obamacare) went online. The website immediately had issues.

BIRTHDAYS:

Chen-Ning Yang – 103 years old (1922) – Chinese-American physicist, academic, and Nobel Prize laureate

Phyllis Chesler – 85 years old (1940) – Feminist psychologist

Marc Savoy – 85 years old (1940) – Accordion player, created the Cajun accordion

Herb Fame – 83 years old (1942) – R&B singer

Jerry Martini – 82 years old (1943) – Saxophonist

Rod Carew – 80 years old (1945) – Panamanian-American baseball player and coach

Tim O'Brien – 79 years old (1946) – Novelist and short story writer

Buzz Capra – 78 years old (1947) – Baseball player and coach

Stephen Collins – 78 years old (1947) – Actor and director

Yvette Freeman – 75 years old (1950) – Actress

Mark Helias – 75 years old (1950) – Bassist and composer

Randy Quaid – 75 years old (1950) – Actor

Earl Slick – 73 years old (1952) – Rock guitarist and songwriter

Pete Falcone – 72 years old (1953) – Baseball player

Miguel Lopez – 72 years old (1953) – Salvadorian-American soccer player

Howard Hewett – 70 years old (1955) – Singer-songwriter

Jeff Reardon – 70 years old (1955) – Baseball player

Brian P. Cleary – 66 years old (1959) – Author and poet

Joshua Wurman – 65 years old (1960) – Scientist, Doppler on Wheels inventor, and storm chaser

Rico Constantino – 64 years old (1961) – Wrestler and manager

Esai Morales – 63 years old (1962) – Actor

Mark McGwire – 62 years old (1963) – Baseball player and coach

Cindy Margolis – 60 years old (1965) – Actress and model

Mike Pringle – 58 years old (1967) – American-Canadian football player

Scott Young – 58 years old (1967) – Ice hockey player and coach

Kevin Griffin – 57 years old (1968) – Singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

Jon Guenther – 57 years old (1968) – Author and engineer

Jay Underwood – 57 years old (1968) – Actor and pastor

Zach Galifianakis – 56 years old (1969) – Actor, comedian, producer, and screenwriter

Joseph Patrick Moore – 56 years old (1969) – Musician, composer, and producer

Ori Kaplan – 56 years old (1969) – Israeli-American saxophonist and producer

Christian Borle – 52 years old (1973) – Actor and singer

John Mackey – 52 years old (1973) – Composer

John Thomson – 52 years old (1973) – Baseball player and coach

Sherri Saum – 51 years old (1974) – Actress

Antonio Roybal – 49 years old (1976) – Painter and sculptor

Katie Aselton – 47 years old (1978) – Actress

Nicole Atkins – 47 years old (1978) – Singer-songwriter

Leticia Cline – 47 years old (1978) – Model and journalist

Curtis Axel – 46 years old (1979) – Wrestler

Ryan Pontbriand – 46 years old (1979) – Football player

Sarah Drew – 45 years old (1980) – Actress

David Yelldell – 44 years old (1981) – German-American soccer player

Beck Bennett – 41 years old (1984) – Actor and comedian

Matt Cain – 41 years old (1984) – Baseball player

Jurnee Smollett – 39 years old (1986) – Actress

Matthew Daddario – 38 years old (1987) – Actor

Brie Larson – 36 years old (1989) – Actress

Robbie Ray – 34 years old (1991) – Baseball player

Daniel Gafford – 27 years old (1998) – Basketball player

Luna Blaise – 24 years old (2001) – Actress and singer

Livvy Dunne – 23 years old (2002) – Gymnast and social media personality

Priah Ferguson – 19 years old (2006) – Actress

TODAY IS:

For additional information check out websites like: www.on-this-day.com, www.born-today.com, www.famousbirthdays.com, www.daysoftheyear.com, and www.nationaldaycalendar.com.