12 History Lessons + 7 Births & 7 Deaths for October 3, 2025
Today’s History:
- 1789 – George Washington issues the first national Thanksgiving Proclamation.
- 1863 – Abraham Lincoln proclaims a national Day of Thanksgiving during the Civil War.
- 1906 – International “SOS” distress signal is adopted at the Berlin Radiotelegraph Conference.
- 1917 – U.S. Congress passes the War Revenue Act to help finance WWI.
- 1951 – Bobby Thomson hits the “Shot Heard ’Round the World,” winning the NL pennant for the New York Giants.
- 1952 – The U.K. becomes the third nuclear power with its first atomic test (Operation Hurricane).
- 1955 – Captain Kangaroo (CBS) and The Mickey Mouse Club (ABC) both premiere on U.S. television.
- 1962 – NASA’s Mercury-Atlas 8 “Sigma 7” mission: Wally Schirra orbits Earth six times.
- 1990 – German reunification is formalized; October 3 becomes German Unity Day.
- 1993 – Battle of Mogadishu (“Black Hawk Down”) begins in Somalia.
- 1995 – O.J. Simpson is acquitted of murder in Los Angeles.
- 2008 – Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (TARP) is enacted amid the global financial crisis.
Today’s Birthdays:
- 1941 – Chubby Checker, singer (“The Twist”) (84).
- 1969 – Gwen Stefani, singer/songwriter (56).
- 1973 – Neve Campbell, actress (Scream) (52).
- 1983 – Tessa Thompson, actress (Creed, Thor) (42).
- 1981 – Zlatan Ibrahimović, football (soccer) legend (44).
- 1988 – A$AP Rocky, rapper/producer (37).
- 2004 – Noah Schnapp, actor (Stranger Things) (21).
Today’s Deaths:
- 1226 – St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscans (≈44).
- 1936 – John Heisman, pioneering football coach; namesake of the Heisman Trophy (66).
- 1967 – Woody Guthrie, folk music icon (55).
- 2000 – Benjamin Orr, co-founder and singer/bassist of The Cars (53).
- 2003 – William Steig, cartoonist/children’s author (Shrek!) (95).
- 2004 – Janet Leigh, actress (Psycho) (77).
- 2005 – Ronnie Barker, British comedian/actor (The Two Ronnies) (76).
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