Today is Monday, Oct. 12, the 285th day of 2009. There are 80 days left in the year. This is Columbus Day in the United States, as well as Thanksgiving Day in Canada.
On this date:
* In 1492, Christopher Columbus arrived with his expedition in the present-day Bahamas.
* In 1915, English nurse Edith Cavell was executed by the Germans in occupied Belgium during World War I.
* In 1918, the Cloquet Fire erupted in Minnesota, claiming some 450 lives.
* In 1933, bank robber John Dillinger escaped from a jail in Allen County, Ohio, with the help of his gang, who killed the sheriff, Jess Sarber.
* In 1984, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher escaped an attempt on her life when an Irish Republican Army bomb exploded at a hotel in Brighton, England, killing five people.
* In 2000, 17 sailors were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the U.S. destroyer Cole in Yemen.
Today's Birthdays: Actress Antonia Rey is 82. Comedian-activist Dick Gregory is 77. Former Sen. Jake Garn, R-Utah, is 77. Singer Sam Moore (formerly of Sam and Dave) is 74. Broadcast journalist Chris Wallace is 62. Actress-singer Susan Anton is 59. Rock singer-musician Pat DiNizio (The Smithereens) is 54. Actor Carlos Bernard is 47. Jazz musician Chris Botti is 47. R&B singer Claude McKnight (Take 6) is 47. Rock singer Bob Schneider is 44. Actor Hugh Jackman is 41. Actor Adam Rich is 41. R&B singer Garfield Bright (Shai) is 40. Country musician Martie Maguire (The Dixie Chicks) is 40. Actor Kirk Cameron is 39. Champion skier Bode Miller is 32. Arizona Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson is 30. Actor Marcus T. Paulk ("Moesha") is 23. Actor Josh Hutcherson is 17.
Thought for Today: "If Columbus had an advisory committee he would probably still be at the dock." -- Arthur J. Goldberg, American jurist and statesman (1908-1990).
