In 1778,
British Captain James Cook, fresh off exploring Hawaii, anchors in Alaska for
the first time! Cook is mostly
remembered for finding Hawaii…but he was instrumental in mapping pretty much
the entire West Coast of North America.
On October 3, 1778, he anchored in Alaska and started mapping up there.
In 1789,
George Washington made Thanksgiving a national holiday for the first time. I love Thanksgiving…and maybe this is why…it
was created on my birthday! Similarly,
in 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday in November as Thanksgiving
Day.
In 1932,
Iraq gained their independence from the United Kingdom on October 3.
In 1942, the
first man-made object to reach space was launched in Germany. This was the first successful launch of a
V-2/A4 rocket. Thus, man’s first ever
entrance into space occurred on October 3rd.
In 1951, the
Shot Heard Round the World occurred…when the New York Giants’ Bobby Thompson
launched a walk off, game winning, pennant clinching off the Brooklyn Dodgers’
Ralph Branca. The Giants, at one point,
were 14 games behind Brooklyn…rough day for the boys in blue.
In 1952, the
United Kingdom joined the world’s nuclear powers, becoming the 3rd
nation to successfully test a nuclear weapon.
Not sure how I feel about this one.
In 1964, the
first Buffalo Wings are made at the Anchor Bar in buffalo, NY. So, any of you wing fans out there…yup, they
were first made on my birthday in 1964!
In 1985 (or
in 2 APQ), the Space Shuttle Atlantis made its maiden voyage! October 3 seems to have been a pretty awesome
date in space exploration history.
In 1995,
O.J. Simpson was acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald
Goldman.
And in the
2000s, nothing of note has happened….guess we need to start making more history
on October 3!
Some pretty
awesome people share my birthday with me.
When I say October 3 is a day great people are born, its no joke! The following people were born on October 3:
1800 –
George Bancroft, American historian and 17th Secretary of the Navy (of note, he
established the US Naval Academy in Annapolis)
1894 – Elmer
Robinson, American politician (the 33rd mayor of SF…a Republican
Mayor, at that! Go figure…)
1904 –
Ernst-Günther Schenck, Nazi German physician (most known for providing
historically valuable insight to Adolf Hitler’s final days)
1925 – Gore
Vidal, American author (most known for his historical novels and his political
and foreign policy writings for many top publications. Also wrote the epic historical drama Ben-Hur.)
1935 –
Charles Duke, American astronaut (the youngest person to walk on the moon –
Apollo 16)
1938 – Eddie
Cochran, American singer and guitarist (inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of
Fame for his influence on the genre.)
1941 –
Chubby Checker, American singer-songwriter (known for popularizing the twist
dance style with his cover of The Twist)
1944 – Roy
Horn, German-American magician (The Roy in Siegfried & Roy. Oddly enough, it was also on October 3 that
he was famously attacked by one of his tigers during a show in Vegas).
1954 – Al
Sharpton, American Baptist minister (big time civil rights activist, democratic
political hack, etc.)
1954 –
Stevie Ray Vaughan, American blues musician (one of the greatest blues rock
guitarists of all time…Pride and Joy, Texas Flood!)
1959 – Fred
Couples, American golfer (One was the No. 1 ranked golfer in the world…won the
1992 Masters for his only major)
1962 – Tommy
Lee, American Drummer (Founding member of Motley Crue! Seriously, just for this alone he should be
considered an amazing person…love Motley Crue.
Also famous for marrying famous models and actresses…including Pam
Anderson)
1969 – Gwen
Stefani, American musician and actress (Known mostly for No Doubt…and being
annoying. Not a huge fan. October 3 apologizes for this one…)
1973 – Neve
Campbell, Canadian actress (Party of Five, the Scream movies, Wild Things)
1976 –
Herman Li, British musician (Seriously, go watch him play guitar for DragonForce…its
insane.)
1976 – Seann
William Scott, American actor (STIFFLER!)
1980 –
Anquan Boldin, American football player (he’s been a rather productive player
for both Arizona and Baltimore)
1981 –
Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish footballer (anyone who follows international soccer
will know him…just a dominant striker)
There’s, of
course, many more important people born on this date…these are just those who
are of interest to me. I’ve always
enjoyed that I shared a birthday with Dennis Eckersley. The A’s fan in me appreciates that. The late Stevie Ray Vaughn is one of my
favorite musicians. Herman Li is a new
find when researching for this piece…and I think that’s just awesome that we
share a birthday. Definitely remember
Kent, Jimmy B, and I watching videos of him playing guitar with
DragonForce. Insane! Also share a birthday with Stiffler! That should give me an excuse to act like a
jackass on my birthday, right? RIGHT? Heh…
No real
notable deaths, as far as I’m concerned.
I mean, some somewhat important people have passed away on October 3…but
no one I seem to particularly care about.
This makes sense. No one would
want to sully the greatness of October 3 by passing away!
So, yeah, I’d
say October 3 is pretty awesome! One of
my favorite holidays was created, one of my favorite baseball players was born,
and Germany was unified! The first
man-made object made it to space, Space Shuttle Atlantis has its maiden voyage,
and we welcomed a few future phenomenal musicians to the world. All in all, October 3 is pretty amazing! I am but a small piece of it…but I’m glad to
be a part of it.
Hopefully
October 3, 2012 lives up to its predecessor’s prestigious history!
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