The New York Times, In
’04 Florida, Lawsuits Begin Before Election, October 14, 2004 (Registration required)The Washington Post, Behind
the Scenes, Officials Wrestle Over Voting Rules, October 10, 2004 (Registration
required)

CNN, Kerry:
GOP suppressing vote in swing states, October 4, 2004

The Los Angeles Times, Nov. 2 Is V-Day for Blacks in Florida, October 11, 2004 (Registration required)

1776 – During the American Revolution the first naval battle of Lake Champlain was fought. The forces under Gen. Benedict Arnold suffered heavy losses.

1811 – The Juliana, the first steam-powered ferryboat, was put into operation by the inventor John Stevens. The ferry went between New York City, NY, and Hoboken, NJ.

1869 – Thomas Edison filed for a patent on his first invention. The electric machine was used for counting votes for the U.S. Congress, however the Congress did not buy it.

1881 – David Henderson Houston patented the first roll film for cameras.

1890 – The Daughters of the American Revolution was founded in Washington, DC.

1899 – The Boer War began in South Africa between the British and the Boers of the Transvaal and Orange Free State.

1929 – JCPenney opened a store in Milford, DE, making it a nationwide company with stores in all 48 states.

1932 – In New York, the first telecast of a political campaign was aired.

1936 – The radio show, “Professor Quiz”, aired for the first time.

1939 – U.S. President Roosevelt was presented with a letter from Albert Einstein that urged him to develop the U.S.atomic program rapidly.

1942 – The Battle of Cape Esperance, during World War II, began in the Solomons.

1958 – Pioneer 1, a lunar probe, was launched by the U.S. The probe did not reach its destination and fell back to Earth and burned up in the atmosphere.

1968 – Apollo 7 was launched by the U.S. The first manned Apollo mission was the first in which live television broadcasts were received from orbit. Wally Schirra, Don Fulton Eisele and R. Walter Cunningham were the astronauts aboard.

1971 – Hugh Downs left the “Today” show and “Concentration”. He later became the host of ABC’s “20/20”.

1975 – “Saturday Night Live” was broadcast for the first time. George Carlin was the guest host.

1983 – The last hand-cranked telephones in the U.S. went out of service. The 440 telephone customers of Bryant Pond, ME, were switched to direct-dial service.

1984 – Construction began on the Kamric/Cinergy Futursonics Studio in Houston, TX.

1984 – American Kathryn D. Sullivan became the first female astronaut to SpaceWalk. She was aboard the space shuttle Challenger.

1984 – Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) made his debut in the National Hockey League (NHL) against the Boston Bruins. He scored a goal on his first shot on his first NHL shift.

1994 – U.S. troops in Haiti took control of the National Palace.

1994 – Iraqi troops began moving away from the Kuwaiti border.

1994 – The Colorado Supreme Court declared that the anti-gay rights measure in the state was unconstitutional.

1776

Benedict Arnold fights valiantly at Valcour Island »

2008

Blind driver breaks land-speed record »

1862

Stuart hits Pennsylvania »

1986

Reagan and Gorbachev meet in Reykjavik »

1923

A mail car explodes in a train robbery »

1793

Yellow fever breaks out in Philadelphia »

1776
Benedict Arnold and the Battle of Valcour Island »
1899
Boer War begins in South Africa »
1962
Pope opens Vatican II »
1968
Apollo 7 launched »

1975

Saturday Night Live debuts »

1925

Elmore Leonard is born »

1975

Bruce Springsteen scores his first pop hit with “Born to Run” »

1809

Meriwether Lewis dies along the Natchez Trace, Tennessee »

2003

Martinez-Zimmer scuffle interrupts ALCS »

1954

Viet Minh take control in the north »

1961

Kennedy ponders the Vietnam situation »

1915

Bulgaria enters World War I »

1942

United States defeats Japanese in the Battle of Cape Esperance »