Today in History: Oct. 4

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NIKE COLEMAN (FILES) Picture dated 04 October 1957 shows the world's first artificial satellite Sputnik I, launched by the Soviet Union from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Wavery and high-pitched, the beep-beep signal picked up on Earth signalled the dawn of a new era. 04 October 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1, a propaganda coup that Russia's present leaders can only envy. AFP PHOTO / HO (Photo credit should read OFF/AFP/Getty Images)
In 1957, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into orbit. A picture dated 04 October 1957 shows the world’s first artificial satellite Sputnik I, launched by the Soviet Union from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. AFP PHOTO / HO (AFP/Getty Images/AFP)
American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin (1943 - 1970) with her 1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet, circa 1969. The car features a psychedelic paint job by Joplin's roadie, Dave Richards. (Photo by RB/Redferns)
In 1970, rock singer Janis Joplin, 27, was found dead in her Hollywood hotel room. (Redferns/RB)
American John Walker Lindh is seen in this undated photo obtained Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002, from a religious school where he studied for five months in Bannu, 304 kilometers (190 miles) southwest of Islamabad, Pakistan. Lindh, who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan, began his journey home from the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday to face charges he conspired with Islamic radicals to kill fellow countrymen. (AP Photo)
In 2002, “American Taliban” John Walker Lindh received a 20-year sentence after a sobbing plea for forgiveness before a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia. American John Walker Lindh is seen in this undated photo obtained Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002, from a religious school where he studied for five months in Bannu, 304 kilometers (190 miles) southwest of Islamabad, Pakistan. Lindh, who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan, began his journey home from the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday to face charges he conspired with Islamic radicals to kill fellow countrymen. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)
In 1989, Triple Crown-winning racehorse Secretariat, suffering a hoof ailment, was humanely destroyed at age 19. FILE – In this June 9, 1973, file photo, jockey Ron Turcotte, left, aboard Secretariat, turns for a look at the field behind, as they make the final turn on their way to winning the 1973 Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes horse race at Belmont Park in Elmont, N.Y. Secretariat returned to racing 21 days after his record-setting Belmont, winning the $125,000 Arlington Invitational Stakes at Arlington Park. On Sunday, Aug. 2, 2015, American Pharoah will attempt to do what many Triple Crown champions have done throughout history, win their first race after victories in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes.
In 1990, for the first time in nearly six decades, German lawmakers met in the Reichstag for the first meeting of reunified Germany’s parliament. FILE – The Sept. 22, 2017 file photo shows a general view of the German parliament Bundestag inside the plenary hall at the Reichstag building ahead of the German general election, in Berlin.
The turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor is lifted out of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Hatteras, N.C., Monday, Aug 5, 2002.  The silt-packed turret was raised Monday from the Atlantic floor, nearly 140 years after the historic warship sank during a New Year's storm. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
In 1861, during the Civil War, the United States Navy authorized construction of the first ironclad ship, the USS Monitor. The turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor is lifted out of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Hatteras, N.C., Monday, Aug 5, 2002. The silt-packed turret was raised Monday from the Atlantic floor, nearly 140 years after the historic warship sank during a New Year’s storm. (ASSOCIATED PRESS/STEVE HELBER)
In 2018, former rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight was sentenced in Los Angeles to 28 years in prison for running down and killing a Compton businessman with a pickup truck. FILE – In this July 7, 2015, file photo, Marion Hugh “Suge” Knight sits for a hearing in his murder case in Superior Court in Los Angeles. Former rap mogul Knight is expected to be sentenced to nearly three decades in prison in a Los Angeles court. The hearing Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018, for the 53-year-old Death Row Records co-founder comes almost four years after Knight killed one man and injured another with his truck outside a Compton burger stand.
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TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY NIKE COLEMAN (FILES) Picture dated 04 October 1957 shows the world's first artificial satellite Sputnik I, launched by the Soviet Union from the Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Wavery and high-pitched, the beep-beep signal picked up on Earth signalled the dawn of a new era. 04 October 2007 marks the 50th anniversary of the Soviet Union's launch of Sputnik 1, a propaganda coup that Russia's present leaders can only envy. AFP PHOTO / HO (Photo credit should read OFF/AFP/Getty Images)
American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin (1943 - 1970) with her 1965 Porsche 356C Cabriolet, circa 1969. The car features a psychedelic paint job by Joplin's roadie, Dave Richards. (Photo by RB/Redferns)
American John Walker Lindh is seen in this undated photo obtained Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002, from a religious school where he studied for five months in Bannu, 304 kilometers (190 miles) southwest of Islamabad, Pakistan. Lindh, who fought with the Taliban in Afghanistan, began his journey home from the war in Afghanistan on Tuesday to face charges he conspired with Islamic radicals to kill fellow countrymen. (AP Photo)
The turret of the Civil War ironclad USS Monitor is lifted out of the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Hatteras, N.C., Monday, Aug 5, 2002.  The silt-packed turret was raised Monday from the Atlantic floor, nearly 140 years after the historic warship sank during a New Year's storm. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

Today is Friday, Oct. 4, the 277th day of 2019.

Today’s Highlights in History:

On Oct. 4, 2002, “American Taliban“ John Walker Lindh received a 20-year sentence after a sobbing plea for forgiveness before a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia. In a federal court in Boston, a laughing Richard Reid pleaded guilty to trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives in his shoes (the British citizen was later sentenced to life in prison).

On this date:

In 1777, Gen. George Washington’s troops launched an assault on the British at Germantown, Pennsylvania, resulting in heavy American casualties.

In 1861, during the Civil War, the United States Navy authorized construction of the first ironclad ship, the USS Monitor.

In 1940, Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini conferred at Brenner Pass in the Alps.

In 1951, the MGM movie musical “An American in Paris,“ starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron, had its U.S. premiere in New York.

In 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, into orbit.

In 1970, rock singer Janis Joplin, 27, was found dead in her Hollywood hotel room.

In 1989, Triple Crown-winning racehorse Secretariat, suffering a hoof ailment, was humanely destroyed at age 19.

In 1990, for the first time in nearly six decades, German lawmakers met in the Reichstag for the first meeting of reunified Germany’s parliament.

In 1991, 26 nations, including the United States, signed the Madrid Protocol, which imposed a 50-year ban on oil exploration and mining in Antarctica.

In 2003, a Palestinian woman blew herself up inside a restaurant in Haifa, Israel, killing 21 bystanders.

In 2004, the SpaceShipOne rocket plane broke through Earth’s atmosphere to the edge of space for the second time in five days, capturing the $10 million Ansari X prize aimed at opening the final frontier to tourists. Pioneering astronaut Gordon Cooper died in Ventura, California, at age 77.

In 2017, President Donald Trump visited hospital bedsides and a police base in Las Vegas in the aftermath of the shooting rampage three nights earlier that left 58 people dead.

Ten years ago: Greek Socialists trounced the governing conservatives in a landslide election. Argentine folk singer Mercedes Sosa, 74, died in Buenos Aires.

Five years ago: North Korea’s presumptive No. 2 leader, Hwang Pyong So, and other members of Pyongyang’s inner circle met with South Korean officials in the rivals’ highest level face-to-face talks in five years. Former Haitian “president for life“ Jean-Claude Duvalier, 63, died in Port-au-Prince. Paul Revere, 76, the organist and leader of the Raiders rock band, died in Garden Vallley, Idaho.

One year ago: The Senate Judiciary Committee said it had received an FBI report on sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh; leading GOP lawmakers said there was nothing new in the report, while Democrats complained that the investigation omitted interviews with some potential witnesses and accused the White House of limiting the scope of the probe. President Donald Trump told a Minnesota rally that Republican voters would be motivated by what he called the “rage-fueled resistance” by Democrats to the Kavanaugh nomination. Former rap mogul Marion “Suge” Knight was sentenced in Los Angeles to 28 years in prison for running down and killing a Compton businessman with a pickup truck.

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