Today in History - Oct. 14

Today is Wednesday, Oct. 14, the 287th day of 2009. There are 78 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Oct. 14, 1939, during World War II, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship anchored at Scapa Flow in Scotland’s Orkney Islands; 833 of the more than 1,200 men aboard were killed.

On this date:

In 1066, Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.

In 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, was born in Denison, Texas.

In 1912, Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for the presidency, was shot in the chest in Milwaukee. Despite the wound, he went ahead with a scheduled speech.

In 1933, Nazi Germany announced it was withdrawing from the League of Nations.

In 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

In 1947, Air Force test pilot Charles E. (”Chuck”) Yeager broke the sound barrier as he flew the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake in California.

In 1959, actor Errol Flynn died in Vancouver, British Columbia, at age 50.

In 1960, the idea of a Peace Corps was first suggested by Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy to an audience of students at the University of Michigan.

In 1968, the first successful live telecast from a manned U.S. spacecraft was transmitted from Apollo 7.

In 1987, a 58-hour drama began in Midland, Texas, as 18-month-old Jessica McClure slid 22 feet down an abandoned well at a private day care center; she was rescued on Oct. 16.

Ten years ago: President Bill Clinton accused Senate Republicans of recklessness and irresponsibility for defeating the nuclear test ban treaty, and pledged the United States would refrain from testing despite the treaty’s rejection. Japan’s Sumitomo Bank and Sakura Bank announced they would merge. Julius Nyerere, Tanzania’s first president, died in a London hospital at age 77.

Five years ago: The Treasury Department announced that the federal deficit had surged to a record $413 billion in fiscal 2004. A suicide bomber killed four Americans in the U.S.-guarded “Green Zone” of Baghdad.

One year ago: Big banks started falling in line behind a revised bailout plan that was fast becoming more of a buy-in; the Bush administration announced it would fork over as much as $250 billion in exchange for partial ownership. A grand jury in Orlando, Fla. returned charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter against Casey Anthony in the death of her 3-year-old daughter, Caylee. Syria formally recognized Lebanon for the first time by establishing diplomatic relations with its neighbor. Canada’s Conservative Party won in national elections but fell short of a parliamentary majority.

Today’s Birthdays: Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is 93. Actor Roger Moore is 82. Classical pianist Gary Graffman is 81. Movie director Carroll Ballard is 72. Former White House counsel John W. Dean III is 71. Country singer Melba Montgomery is 71. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is 70. Singer Sir Cliff Richard is 69. Actor Udo Kier is 65. Singer-musician Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) is 63. Actor Harry Anderson is 57. Actor Greg Evigan is 56. TV personality Arleen Sorkin is 53. Golf Hall of Famer Beth Daniel is 53. Singer-musician Thomas Dolby is 51. New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi is 45. Singer Karyn White is 44. Actor Jon Seda is 39. Country musician Doug Virden is 39. Country singer Natalie Maines (The Dixie Chicks) is 35. Actress-singer Shaznay Lewis (All Saints) is 34. Singer Usher is 31. Actor Jordan Brower is 28.

Thought for Today: “To think is to speak low. To speak is to think aloud.” — F. Max Mueller, German philologist (1823-1900).