October 4 is a very big day in baseball, as many World Series – and the record breaking plays that accompany them happened on this day. There was also the first “Scab Saturday” during the NFL strike of 1987, along with record breaking NHL wins on this day across many years.
Today’s date also held the first game in San Jose Sharks franchise history (1991). Additional sports happenings include:
1924: NY Giants became first team to play in four consecutive World Series
1959: First Baseball World Series Game Played West of St Louis
1969: MLB Holds First League Championship Games
1996: Mike Donnelly First Player on all 3 NY teams (Sabres, Rangers & Islanders)
2001: Boston Bruins Retire Ray Bourque's #77 Jersey
On the media and entertainment front, the first black daily newspaper was published in 1864, the same year the National Black Convention met in Syracuse, New York. On the same day 122 years later (1986), Rachel Oliver of Massachusetts was crowned 19th Miss Black America. Other milestones in media and entertainment on October 4 include:
1931: Dick Tracy Comic Strip by Chester Gould Debuts
1933: Esquire Magazine First Published
1957: TV sitcom "Leave It to Beaver" debuts on CBS
1990: US premiere of Fox TV's "Beverly Hills, 90210"
1535: First Complete English Translation Bible Published
The Coverdale Bible, the first complete Bible to be published in English, was printed in Antwerp in 1535. From Cedarville University:
“There was a time when there was no printed Bible in English. There was a time in England when under the Roman Catholic Church, it was illegal to translate the Scriptures into the common language from Latin. There was a time when it was illegal to read those illegal translations in public–or to own one. There were times when people were martyred for doing both. In England, William Tyndale, who became known as the Father of the English printed Bible, was forced to leave England in 1525 because of the wide-spread rumors about his project to prepare an English New Testament. He ended up in Germany near Martin Luther and in 1525, the first English Language New Testament was printed and copies smuggled back into England. Tyndale was finally captured in Belgium and his last words before he was burned at the stake in 1536 for printing common language Bibles were: “Oh Lord, open the King of England’s eyes.” This prayer would be answered just three years later when King Henry VIII finally allowed, and even funded, the printing of an English Bible. But before that, Myles Coverdale and John Rogers (who used the name Thomas Matthew) continued the work of Tyndale and moved the English Bible project forward. Coverdale finished the translation of the Old Testament and in 1535 he printed the first complete English language Bible.”
1636: Plymouth Colony’s First Law
“The General Court of the Plymouth Colony instituted a legal code, the first composed in North America, on October 4, 1636. It guaranteed citizens a trial by jury and stipulated that all laws were to be made with the consent of the freemen of the colony.”
One of the first published versions of this code, The Book of the General Laws of the Inhabitants of the Jurisdiction of New-Plymouth is in the Library of Congress.
1949: UN Permanent Headquarters is Dedicated in New York
In the United Nations' permanent NYC headquarters was dedicated. From the UN Fact Sheet: “Nineteen months later, on August 21, 1950, the Secretariat workers moved into their new offices.
The first Secretary-General, Trygve Lie of Norway, laid the cornerstone at a dedication ceremony on 24 October 1949 (UN Day), in the presence of President Harry S. Truman of the United States.”
From AskUN.org:
“‘United Nations’ is etched on the stone in the five official languages, as well as the year in Roman numerals (MCMXLIX). A box containing copies of the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as a copy of the program for the dedication ceremony was encased by the cornerstone.
Speaking of the UN, on this date in 1965, Pope Paul VI became the first Catholic Pope to leave Italy since 1809, and he addressed the UN during his visit.
2006: Julian Assange Launches WikiLeaks
Julian Paul Assange is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. He came to wide international attention in 2010 when WikiLeaks published a series of leaks from US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning.
Other Notables
1675: Christiaan Huygens Patents the Pocket Watch
1777: Gen George Washington's Troops Defeated in the Battle of Germantown
1854: Abraham Lincoln Denounces Federal Legislation Extending Slavery
1976: Supreme Court Lifts 1972 Death Penalty Ban for Convicted Murderers
2008: Mark Zuckerberg Appoints Sheryl Sandberg as Facebook COO
Today, in Death and Destruction
Natural Disasters:
1963: Hurricane Flora, kills 6,000 in Cuba & Haiti
1964: Hurricane Hilda, kills 38 in LA, MS & GA
1979: Typhoon Tip forms in Micronesia, largest cyclone recorded at the time
Transit Disasters:
1964: Three cars of a commuter train derail in South Africa killing 81
1975: Cessna 310Q crashes over Wilmington, North Carolina, killing the pilot and injuring several pro wrestlers
1992: Itzhak Fuks & Ohad Arnon, El Al captains, crashes in Bijlmer Netherlands
2001: Siberia Airlines Flight 1812 Crashes after being hit by Ukrainian missile, Killing 78
Terrorism:
2003: Maxim Restaurant Suicide Bombing in Haifa, 21 killed & 51 wounded.
Births
1822: Rutherford B Hayes (19th President)
1923: Charlton Heston (Actor)
1941: Ann Rice (Author)
1946: Susan Sarandon (Actress)
1961: Jon Secada (Musician)
Obituary
1669: Rembrandt van Rijn (Dutch Painter)
1890: Catherine Booth (“Army Mother”)
1970: Janice Joplin (Musician)
1977: Del Porter (Musician)
1989: Secretariat (Triple Crown Winning Thoroughbred)
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