October 15: First VP debate takes place, Gorbachev, Mandela, Klerk win Nobel Peace Prize

October 14, 11:06 PMPortland History ExaminerNatalie Leavitt

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Maine Fast Fact: Maine was the first state to give voting and school privileges to its citizens, regardless of race.

Births:

• 70 BC: Virgil, Roman poet
• 1844: Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche, German philosopher
• 1942: Penny Marshall, American actress, director and producer
• 1945: Jim Palmer, American baseball player
• 1946: Richard Carpenter, American musician, singer in the group The Carpenters
• 1953: Tito Jackson, American musician, guitarist and member of the group The Jackson 5
• 1959: Emeril Lagasse, American chef; Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York
• 1969: Paige Davis, American television personality
• 1970: Ginuwine, American R&B singer

Deaths:

• 1963: Horton Smith, American golfer, first man to win the Masters Tournament
• 1964: Cole Porter, American composer and songwriter

History:

• 1764: Edward Gibbon hears a group of friars singing in the ruined Temple of Jupiter in Rome and inspires him to write his book The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
• 1860: Grace Bedell, an eleven-year-old from Westfield, New York, writes a letter to presidential candidate Abraham Lincoln, suggesting he could improve his appearance by growing a beard.
• 1864: Glasgow, Missouri and the Union troops surrender to the Confederate troops at the Battle of Glasgow.
• 1878: The Edison Electric Light Company opens.
• 1888: Jack the Ripper’s “From Hell” letter is received by investigators.
• 1939: The New York Municipal Airport is dedicated (later to be renamed La Guardia Airport).
• 1951: I Love Lucy premiers on CBS; Mexican chemist Luis E. Miramontes conducts the last step in the first synthesis of norethisterone, the progestin that would later be used in one of the first oral contraceptives.
• 1966: The Black Panther Party is created by Bobby Seale and Huey P. Newton; The Department of Transportation is created.
• 1976: The first debate between vice-presidential nominees takes place between Democrat Walter F. Mondale and Republican Bob Dole.
• 1989: Wayne Gretzky surpasses Gordie Howe’s scoring record and becomes the all-time point scorer in the NHL with 1,850 points.
• 1990: Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev wins the Nobel Peace Prize; The Separate Amenities Act, a law in South Africa which barred blacks from public facilities, is scrapped.
• 1991: Clarence Thomas is confirmed the nomination to the Supreme Court by the Senate in a narrow vote of 52-48.
• 1993: Nelson Mandela and F.W. de Klerk are awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts to end apartheid in South Africa.
• 1997: British Air Force pilot Andy Green sets the first supersonic land speed record exactly 50 years and one day after Chuck Yeager first breaks the sound barrier.
• 2003: China launches Shenzhou 5, its first manned space mission; The Andrew J. Barberi, a Staten Island Ferry boat, crashes into a pier at the St. George Ferry Terminal in Staten Island, killing 11 people and injuring 43 people.
• 2005: Iraq votes to approve a constitution.

October 15 is White Cane Safety Day, a day to celebrate the achievements of blind or visually impaired people and the symbol of their independence, the white cane. President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaimed this date as White Cane Safety Day in 1964. It is National Teacher’s Day in Brazil and Global Handwashing Day, a campaign to motivate people around the world to wash their hands with soap. Today is also Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, a day to remember all pregnancies and infant deaths. The day is observed with Remembrance Ceremonies and candle lighting vigils at 7pm around the world to honor and remember children.