more events on October 1
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2009
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom takes over judicial functions of the House of Lords.
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1991
Siege of Dubrovnik begins in the Croatian War of Independence.
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1989
Denmark introduces the world’s first “civil union” law granting same-sex couples certain legal rights and responsibilities but stopping short of recognizing same-sex marriages.
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1982
First compact disc player, released by Sony.
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1979
US returns sovereignty of the Panama Canal to Panama.
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1975
Legendary boxing match: Muhammad Ali defeats Joe Frazier in the “Thrilla in Manila.”
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1974
Five Nixon aides–Kenneth Parkinson, Robert Mardian, Nixon’s Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and U.S. Attorney General John Mitchell–go on trial for conspiring to hinder the Watergate investigation.
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1971
First CT or CAT brain scan performed, at Atkinson Morley Hospital in Wimbledon, London.
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Walt Disney World opens near Orlando, Florida, the second of Disney’s “Magic Kingdoms.”
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1964
Max Matsuura (Masato Matsuura), record producer, president of Avex Group, one of Japan’s largest music labels.
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Japanese “bullet trains” (Shinkansen) begin high-speed rail transit between Tokyo and Osaka.
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The first Free Speech Movement protest erupts spontaneously on the University of California, Berkeley campus; students demanded an end to the ban of on-campus political activities.
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1963
Mark McGwire, “Big Mac,” pro baseball player who broke Roger Maris’ single-season home run record; admitted in 2010 to using performance-enhancing drugs throughout his career.
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1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson debuts; Carson will remain The Tonight Show host until 1992.
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1961
The Federal Republic of Cameroon is formed by the merger of East and West Cameroon.
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1960
Nigeria becomes independent from the UK.
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1958
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) replaces the 43-year-old National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in the US.
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1957
“”In God We Trust” appears on US paper currency as an act to distinguish the US from the officially atheist USSR; the motto had appeared on coins at various times since 1864.
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1955
Jeff Reardon, pro baseball pitcher known as “The Terminator” for his intimidating pitching mound presence and 98 mph fastball.
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1950
Randy Quaid, actor (The Last Detail; won Golden Globe for his portrayal of Pres. Lyndon Johnson in LBJ: The Early Years).
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1949
Mao Zedong establishes the People’s Republic of China.
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1947
Dave Arneson, game designer; co-created Dungeons & Dragons roleplaying game with Gary Gygax, establishing the roleplaying game genre.
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First flight of F-86 Sabre jet fighter, which would win fame in the Korean War.
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1946
Tim O’Brien, novelist (The Things They Carried, In the Lake of the Woods).
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Eleven Nazi war criminals are sentenced to be hanged at Nuremberg trials—Hermann Goring, Alfred Jodl, Hans Frank, Wilhelm Frick, Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Wilhelm Keitel, Joachin von Ribbentrop, Fritz Saukel, Arthur Seyss-Inquart, Julius Streicher, and Alfred Rosenberg.
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1944
The U.S. First Army begins the siege Aachen, Germany.
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1943
British troops in Italy enter Naples and occupy Foggia airfield.
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1942
The German Army grinds to a complete halt within the city of Stalingrad.
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1935
Julie Andrews (Julia Elizabeth Wells), actress and singer whose films include Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music.
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1932
Albert Collins, guitarist.
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1924
Jimmy Carter, 39th president of the U.S. (1977-1981)
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1908
The Ford Model T, the first car for millions of Americans, hits the market. Over 15 million Model Ts are eventually sold, all of them black.
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1904
Vladimir Horowitz, Russian-born American virtuoso pianist.
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1890
Yosemite National Park is dedicated in California.
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1878
General Lew Wallace is sworn in as governor of New Mexico Territory. He went on to deal with the Lincoln County War, Billy the Kid and write Ben-Hur. His Civil War heroics earned him the moniker Savior of Cincinnati.
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1864
The Condor, a British blockade-runner, is grounded near Fort Fisher, North Carolina.
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1856
The first installment of Gustav Flaubert’s novel Madame Bovary appears in the Revue de Paris after the publisher refuses to print a passage in which the character Emma has a tryst in the back seat of a carriage.
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1847
Maria Mitchell, American astronomer, discovers a comet and is elected the same day to the American Academy of Arts—the first woman to be so honored. The King of Denmark awarded her a gold medal for her discovery.
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1839
The British government decides to send a punitive naval expedition to China.
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1837
Robert Gould Shaw, commander of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment during America’s Civil War.
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1791
In Paris, the National Legislative Assembly holds its first meeting.
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1588
The feeble Sultan Mohammed Shah of Persia, hands over power to his 17-year old son Abbas.
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1273
Rudolf of Hapsburg is elected emperor in Germany.
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331
Alexander the Great decisively shatters King Darius III’s Persian army at Gaugamela (Arbela), in a tactical masterstroke that leaves him master of the Persian Empire.