Today is Tuesday, Oct. 7, the 281st day of 2008. There are 85 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 7, 1777, the second Battle of Saratoga began during the American Revolution. (British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered 10 days later.) On this date: In 1571, allied Christian forces defeated an Ottoman fleet in the naval Battle of Lepanto. In 1858, the fifth debate between Illinois senatorial candidates Abraham Lincoln and Stephen Douglas took place in Galesburg. In 1868, Cornell University was inaugurated in Ithaca, N.Y. In 1916, in the most lopsided victory in college football history, Georgia Tech defeated Cumberland University 222-0 in Atlanta. In 1949, the Republic of East Germany was formed. In 1954, Marian Anderson became the first black singer hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York. In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican opponent Richard M. Nixon held their second televised debate, in Washington, D.C. In 1979, Pope John Paul II concluded his weeklong tour of the United States with a Mass on the Washington Mall. Continued... |