Sunday,
The 277th day of 2009.
There are 88 days left in the year.
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Today's Highlights in History
On Oct. 4, 1957, the Space Age began as the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first man-made satellite, into orbit. (Go to article.)
On Oct. 4, 1895, Buster Keaton, the American comic actor of silent films, was born. Following his death on Feb. 1, 1966, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On October 4, 1862, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about General George B. McClellan and the Battle of Antietam. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1822 Rutherford B. Hayes, the 19th president of the United States, was born in Delaware, Ohio.
1895 Silent film comedian Buster Keaton was born in Piqua, Kan.
1895 The first U.S. Open golf tournament was held, at the Newport Country Club in Rhode Island.
1923 Actor Charlton Heston was born John Charles Carter in Evanston, Ill.
1931 The comic strip "Dick Tracy" by Chester Gould made its debut.
1957 Jimmy Hoffa was elected president of the Teamsters Union.
1957 "Leave It to Beaver" premiered on CBS.
1958 The first trans-Atlantic passenger jetliner service was begun by British Overseas Airways Corp. with flights between London and New York.
1970 Rock singer Janis Joplin, 27, was found dead of an accidental heroin overdose.
1985 Islamic Jihad issued a statement saying it had killed American hostage William Buckley.
1990 German lawmakers held the first meeting of the reunified country's parliament in the Reichstag in Berlin.
1993 Dozens of cheering, dancing Somalis dragged the body of an American soldier through the streets of Mogadishu.
2001 Barry Bonds hit his 70th home run in a game against the Houston Astros to tie Mark McGwire's single-season record. (Bonds finished the season with 73 homers.)
2001 Authorities said a man in Boca Raton, Fla., had contracted the inhaled form of anthrax; he died the following day.
2002 John Walker Lindh, the so-called "American Taliban," was sentenced to 20 years in prison by a federal judge in Alexandria, Va.
2002 Richard Reid pleaded guilty in a federal court in Boston to trying to blow up a trans-Atlantic flight with explosives hidden in his shoes.
Current Birthdays
Susan Sarandon turns 63 years old today.
AP Photo/Matt Sayles Actress Susan Sarandon turns 63 years old today.
80 Leroy Van Dyke
Country singer
75 Sam Huff
Football Hall of Famer
74 Eddie Applegate
Actor ("The Patty Duke Show")
74 Felicia Farr
Actress
72 Joan Collins
Author
68 Roy Blount Jr.
Author
68 Anne Rice
Author
68 Lori Saunders
Actress
64 Clifton Davis
Actor
63 Chuck Hagel
Former U.S. senator, R-Neb.
61 Duke Robillard
Blues guitarist
60 Lee Blessing
Playwright
60 Armand Assante
Actor
59 Alan Rosenberg
Actor
52 Bill Fagerbakke
Actor
52 Russell Simmons
Music producer
50 Chris Lowe
Rock musician (The Pet Shop Boys)
49 Gregg "Hobie" Hubbard
Country musician (Sawyer Brown)
48 David W. Harper
Actor ("The Waltons")
48 Jon Secada
Singer
42 Liev Schreiber
Actor
40 Abraham Benrubi
Actor
39 Heidi Newfield
Country musician
33 Alicia Silverstone
Actress ("Clueless")
31 Phillip Glasser
Actor
31 Marc Roberge
Rock singer, musician (O.A.R.)
30 Rachael Leigh Cook
Actress
29 Jimmy Workman
Actor
22 Jessica Benson
R&B singer (3lw)
22 Michael Charles Roman
Actor
Historic Birthdays
Buster Keaton
10/4/1895 - 2/1/1966
American actor
(Go to obit.)
26 Louis X
10/4/1289 - 6/5/1316
King of Navarre (1305-14) and king of France (1314-16)
61 Charles IX
10/4/1550 - 10/30/1611
King of Sweden (1604-11)
85 Lord Richard Cromwell
10/4/1626 - 7/12/1712
English lord protector (1658-9)
60 Jean Francois Millet
10/4/1814 - 1/20/1875
French painter
70 Rutherford Birchard Hayes
10/4/1822 - 1/17/1893
19th president of the United States (1877-81)
48 Frederic Remington
10/4/1861 - 12/26/1909
American artist; specialized in western themes
67 Edward L. Stratemeyer
10/4/1862 - 5/10/1930
American writer
62 Damon Runyon
10/4/1884 - 12/10/1946
American writer
69 John Kelly
10/4/1890 - 6/20/1960
American oarsman
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SOURCE: The Associated Press
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