Updated October 6, 2012, 2:28 pm
On Oct. 7, 1985 Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean with more than 400 people aboard.
On Oct. 7, 1897, Elijah Muhammad, the American leader of the Black Muslim movement from the 1930s to the 1970s, was born. Following his death on Feb. 25, 1975, his obituary appeared in The Times.
Go to obituary » | Other birthdays »
On This Date
By The Associated Press
1765 The Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England. 1849 Author Edgar Allan Poe died at age 40. 1868 Cornell University was inaugurated in Ithaca, N.Y. 1879 Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein in Yanovka, Ukraine. 1949 The Republic of East Germany was formed. 1954 Marian Anderson became the first black singer hired by New York’s Metropolitan Opera. 1963 President John F. Kennedy signed the documents of ratification for a nuclear test ban treaty with Britain and the Soviet Union. 1968 The Motion Picture Association of America adopted a film-rating system. 1981 Egypt’s parliament named Vice President Hosni Mubarak to succeed the assassinated Anwar Sadat. 1982 The musical “Cats” opened on Broadway, beginning its record run of 7,485 performances. 1985 Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean with more than 400 people aboard. 1996 Fox News Channel made its debut. 1998 Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten, robbed and left tied to a wooden fence post outside Laramie, Wyo.; he died five days later. 2001 Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants wrapped up his record-breaking season with his 73rd home run. 2003 California voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis and elected actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him. 2006 Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who had chronicled Russian military abuses against civilians in Chechnya, was found shot to death in Moscow. 2008 The Federal Reserve annouced a radical plan to buy massive amounts of short-term debt, known as commercial paper, to get credit markets moving again. Current Birthdays
By The Associated Press
TV personality Simon Cowell (“American Idol”) turns 53 years old today.
AP Photo/Joel Ryan
Comedian, TV host Joy Behar (“The View”) turns 70 years old today.
AP Photo/Peter Kramer
1931 Desmond Tutu, Archbishop, Nobel Peace Prize winner, turns 81 1943 Oliver North, Former National Security Council aide, turns 69 1951 John Mellencamp, Rock singer, musician, turns 61 1955 Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist, turns 57 1958 Dylan Baker, Actor, turns 54 1967 Toni Braxton, R&B singer, turns 45 1976 Taylor Hicks, Singer (“American Idol”), turns 36 1976 Charles Woodson, Football player, turns 36 1985 Evan Longoria, Baseball player, turns 27
Historic Birthdays
Elijah Muhammad 10/7/1897 – 2/25/1975 American leader of the Nation of Islam (1934-75).Go to obituary »
71 William Laud 10/7/1573 – 1/10/1645
English Archbishop of Canterbury (1633-45)66 James Whitcomb Riley 10/7/1849 – 7/22/1916
American poet50 George Cram Cook 10/7/1873 – 1/14/1924
American writer77 Niels Henrik David Bohr 10/7/1885 – 11/18/1962
American scientist77 Henry Agard Wallace 10/7/1888 – 11/18/1965
American vice president (1941-5); Progressive Party candidate for president (1948)44 Heinrich Himmler 10/7/1900 – 5/23/1945
German National Socialist politician, administrator and military commander73 Jo Jones 10/7/1911 – 9/3/1985
American musician77 Alfred Drake 10/7/1914 – 7/25/1992
American singer
