Today is Thursday, Oct. 13, the 286th day of 2005. There are 79 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Oct. 13, 1792, the cornerstone of the executive mansion, later known as the White House, was laid during a ceremony in the District of Columbia.
On this date:
In A.D. 54, Roman emperor Claudius I died, after being poisoned by his wife, Agrippina.
In 1775, the United States Navy had its origins as the Continental Congress ordered the construction of a naval fleet.
In 1843, the Jewish organization B’nai B’rith was founded in New York City.
In 1845, Texas ratified a state constitution.
In 1943, Italy declared war on Germany, its one-time Axis partner.
In 1944, American troops entered Aachen, Germany.
In 1960, Richard M. Nixon and John F. Kennedy participated in the third televised debate of their presidential campaign.
In 1962, “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” by Edward Albee opened on Broadway.
In 1974, longtime television host Ed Sullivan died in New York City at age 72.
In 1981, voters in Egypt participated in a referendum to elect Vice President Hosni Mubarak the new president, one week after the assassination of Anwar Sadat.
Ten years ago: British physicist Joseph Rotblat and the anti-nuclear group he founded, the Pugwash Conference, were named winners of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize.
Five years ago: South Korean President Kim Dae-jung was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Longtime American communist Gus Hall died in New York at age 90.
One year ago: President Bush and Democratic rival John Kerry held their third and final debate, trading blows on taxes, gun control, abortion and jobs, striving to cement impressions in voters’ minds in the run-up to Election Day.
Today’s Birthdays: Comedian Nipsey Russell is 81. Lady Thatcher, former British prime minister, is 80. Playwright Frank D. Gilroy is 80. Gospel singer Shirley Caesar is 67. Actress Melinda Dillon is 66. Singer-musician Paul Simon is 64. Actress Pamela Tiffin is 63. Musician Robert Lamm (Chicago) is 61. Actor Demond Wilson is 59. Country singer Lacy J. Dalton is 59. Singer-musician Sammy Hagar is 58. Actor John Lone is 53. Model Beverly Johnson is 53. Actor Reggie Theus is 48. Singer Marie Osmond is 46. Rock singer Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) is 45. Actress T’Keyah Crystal Keymah is 43. Actress Kelly Preston is 43. Country singer John Wiggins is 43. Actress Tisha Campbell-Martin is 37. Olympic silver-medal figure skater Nancy Kerrigan is 36. Country singer Rhett Akins is 36. Rock musician Jan Van Sichem Junior (K’s Choice) is 33. Rhythm-and-blues singers Brian and Brandon Casey (Jagged Edge) are 30. Singer Ashanti is 25.
Thought for Today: “Nobody holds a good opinion of a man who has a low opinion of himself.” — Anthony Trollope, English author (1815-1882).
