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Saturday, October 11th 2008
Today is the 285th day of 2008. There are 80 days left in this year.
What Happened On This Day In History?
| 1776 |
The first naval battle of Lake Champlain was fought during the American Revolution. |
| 1811 |
The first steam-powered ferryboat, the Juliana, was put into operation between New York City and Hoboken, N.J. |
| 1890 |
The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, D.C. |
| 1942 |
The World War II Battle of Cape Esperance began in the Solomon Islands, resulting in an American victory over the Japanese. |
| 1958 |
The lunar probe Pioneer 1 was launched; it failed to go as far as planned, fell back to Earth, and burned up in the atmosphere. |
| 1962 |
Pope John XXIII convened the first session of the Roman Catholic Church's 21st Ecumenical Council, also known as Vatican II. |
| 1968 |
Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally Schirra, Donn Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham aboard. |
| 1975 |
''Saturday Night Live'' made its debut on NBC. |
| 1984 |
Space shuttle Challenger astronaut Kathy Sullivan became the first American woman to walk in space. |
| 1986 |
President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev opened two days of talks concerning arms control and human rights in Reykjavik, Iceland. |
| 1991 |
Testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee, law professor Anita Hill accused Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of sexually harassing her; Thomas reappeared before the panel to denounce the proceedings as a "high-tech lynching." |
| 1998 |
Pope John Paul II canonized the first Jewish-born saint of the modern era: Edith Stein, a Catholic nun killed at Auschwitz. |
Died on this day
| 1779 |
Polish nobleman Casimir Pulaski was killed while fighting for American independence during the Revolutionary War Battle of Savannah, Ga. |
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