Holidays
Guardian Angels Day
Commemorating the angels who protect us from spiritual and physical harm, observed by the Catholic Church.
This was a local feast before it was placed in the General Roman Calendar in 1607 by Pope Paul V.
What Happened On
First Major Celebrity to Die of AIDS
October 2, 1985
Movie star Rock Hudson dies of complications of AIDS. He was also one of the first major public figures to announce they had AIDS.
Hinckley Stalks Carter
October 2, 1980
John Hinckley, Jr. manages to get within 6 feet of U.S. President Jimmy Carter at a campaign event in Dayton, Ohio. A week later, he was arrested in Nashville, Tennessee on a weapons charge. Carter was in Nashville campaigning at the time. It is believed Hinckley intended to assassinate Carter in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he had developed an obsession with. The following March, he attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, shooting the President, James Brady, and two others.
The Twilight Zone
October 2, 1959
The TV show The Twilight Zone debuts on CBS, starring Rod Serling as its narrator and host. It was almost canceled after the first three episodes due to poor ratings.
"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Twilight Zone."
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
October 2, 1955
The anthology series Alfred Hitchcock Presents debuts on CBS. It was hosted by Alfred Hitchcock and the opening theme music was Charles Gounod's "Funeral March of a Marionette". It was renamed The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1962 and ran until 1965.
Hitchcock only directed 18 episodes of the series and his daughter Patricia Hitchcock appeared in 10 episodes.
Hitchcock was noted for stating, "Television has brought murder back into the home - where it belongs".
Elvis Presley - "Go Back to Driving Trucks"
October 2, 1954
Elvis Presley makes his first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry. Not impressed, the Opry talent manager Jim Denny suggested he go back to driving trucks. Elvis vowed to never again play at the Grand Ole Opry.
Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett
Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett
Tom Corbett, Space Cadet
October 2, 1950
The television series Tom Corbett, Space Cadet, starring Frankie Thomas as Tom Corbett, premieres on CBS television. It followed the adventures of Corbett, Astro, and Roger Manning, cadets at the Space Academy as they trained to become members of the Solar Guard. The action takes place at the Academy in classrooms and bunkrooms, aboard their training ship the rocket cruiser Polaris, and on alien worlds, both within the solar system and in orbit around nearby stars. The Tom Corbett stories were also depicted in 1950s radio, books, comic books, and comic strips.
It is one of only six TV series to appear on all four major networks of the time.
First Peanuts comic strip, featuring Charlie Brown, Shermy, and Patty
First Peanuts comic strip, featuring Charlie Brown, Shermy, and Patty
Peanuts
October 2, 1950
Charles M. Schulz' comic strip featuring Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and pals debuts. Its original run lasted until Schulz' death in 2000, and then it continued with reruns. Peanuts also spawned several popular TV holiday specials.
Snoopy made his first appearance in the third strip which appeared on October 4.
First African-American U.S. Supreme Court Justice
October 2, 1967
Thurgood Marshall is publicly sworn in.
Ben Casey
October 2, 1961
Ben Casey debuts on ABC.
Birthdays
Spanky McFarland (George McFarland)
Born October 2, 1928 d. 1993
American actor. He appeared as Spanky in 95 Our Gang films from 1932 to 1942.
McFarland said he was given the name "Spanky" by a Los Angeles newspaper reporter as a toddler. The term "a spanky child" was early-20th-century slang for an intelligent, gifted toddler and he was given the name due to ability to act.
McFarland and Jackie Cooper were the only two Our Gang members to receive a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.
Top to bottom: Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Groucho, and Zeppo Marx
Groucho Marx (Julius Marx)
Born October 2, 1890 d. 1977
American comedian, cigar-smoking Marx Brother and host of TV's You Bet Your Life.
Quote: "I sent the club a wire stating, PLEASE ACCEPT MY RESIGNATION. I DON'T WANT TO BELONG TO ANY CLUB THAT WILL ACCEPT ME AS A MEMBER."
Quote: "Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend. Inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
Miss Unsinkable
Violet Jessop
Born October 2, 1887 d. 1971
Argentinean survivor, "Miss Unsinkable." She survived the sinking of the sister ships RMS Titanic (1912) and HMHS Britannic (1916), and was aboard their elder sister ship RMS Olympic when it collided with a British warship in 1911.
Tiffany (Tiffany Darwish)
Born October 2, 1971
American singer. Music: I Think We're Alone Now (1987, #1).
Sting (Gordon Sumner)
Born October 2, 1951
British Grammy-winning singer, actor, with The Police (1977-84). Music: Roxanne (1978), Message In A Bottle (1979, #1), Every Breath You Take (1983, #1).
Don McLean
Born October 2, 1945
American singer. Music: American Pie (1971).
The song American Pie's refrain "the day the music died" refers to a plane crash in 1959 that killed Buddy Holly, J.P. "The Big Bopper" Richardson, and Ritchie Valens, ending the era of early rock and roll.
Rex Reed
Born October 2, 1938
American movie critic.
Moses Gunn
Born October 2, 1929 d. 1993
American actor. TV: Father Murphy (Moses Gage) and Roots (Kintango).
Bud Abbott (William Alexander Abbott)
Born October 2, 1897 d. 1974
American comedian. Lou Costello's partner.
Cordell Hull
Born October 2, 1871 d. 1955
American statesman, Nobel Peace Prize winner (1945). He served in both houses of Congress and as secretary of state (1933-44). He is noted for his contributions to the establishment of the United Nations.
Mahatma Gandhi (Mohandas Karamchand)
Born October 2, 1869 d. 1948
Indian political, spiritual, and civil rights leader. He gained world honor for his advocacy of nonviolence.
Mahatma is Sanskrit honorific title meaning "great-souled" or "venerable".
America's First Woman Newspaper Editor
Ann Smith Franklin
Born October 2, 1696 d. 1763
America's first woman newspaper editor. She and her husband, James Franklin who was Benjamin Franklin's brother, brought the first printing press to the Rhode Island colony and published its first newspaper, The Rhode Island Gazette. She took over the Newport Rhode Island Mercury in 1762 after the death of her husband, making her America's first woman newspaper editor. She was also the first woman to write an almanac, the Rhode Island Almanack (1737-41).
Richard III
Born October 2, 1452 d. 1485
King of England (1483-85). He was killed in battle with Henry Tudor after being deserted by his key nobleman.
Deaths
Gene Autry
Died October 2, 1998 b. 1907
American actor, the singing cowboy. He wrote and recorded more than 200 songs. His recording of the Johnny Marks song Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer made #1 in 1949.
Rock Hudson (Roy Scherer, Jr.)
Died October 2, 1985 b. 1925
American actor. Film: Giant (1956) and Pillow Talk (1959). TV: McMillan and Wife (1971-77, McMillan). He was one of the first major public figures to announce they had AIDS and was the first major celebrity to die of the disease.
Rock Hudson was born Roy Harold Scherer, Jr., but in 1932, his mother married Wallace Fitzgerald who adopted him and his name became Roy Fitzgerald.
Proved Tomatoes Weren't Poisonous
Robert Gibbon Johnson
Died October 2, 1850 b. 1771
American horticulturist. According to legend, he ate a tomato in front of the Salem, New Jersey courthouse, shocking onlookers and proving that they were not poisonous as generally believed. Reportedly, a woman screamed and fainted at the sight of him eating the "poisonous" tomato.
Capture of John André
Capture of John André
Benedict Arnold's Accomplice
John André
Died October 2, 1780 b. 1750
British officer. He assisted Benedict Arnold in the failed attempt to surrender West Point, New York to the British during the American Revolution. He was caught by the Continental Army and hanged as a spy. Benedict Arnold escaped and was commissioned as a brigadier general in the British Army and later fought against colonial troops that he had previously commanded.
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
Tom Petty
Died October 2, 2017 b. 1950
American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame singer, with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. He sold more than 80 million records worldwide. Music: Refugee (1980) and You Got Lucky (1982).
Nipsey Russell
Died October 2, 2005 b. 1918
American comic actor. Frequent TV game show panelist, known for his poems. Film: The Wiz (1978, Tin Man).
Sir Peter Brian Medawar
Died October 2, 1987 b. 1915
British Nobel-winning medical scientist. He was co-winner of a 1960 Nobel Prize for his work on skin grafting.
Paul Hartman
Died October 2, 1973 b. 1904
American actor. TV: The Andy Griffith Show (1967-68, Emmett the fix-it man).
Stanley and his wife on Mount Washington
Stanley and his wife on Mount Washington
Freelan O. Stanley
Died October 2, 1940 b. 1849
American automaker. He and his twin brother formed the Stanley Steamer Co. (1897-1924), which produced steam-powered automobiles. As a publicity stunt, Stanley and his wife drove one of their automobiles to the top of Mount Washington in New Hampshire to become the first humans to make this journey by car (1899). Mount Washington is the highest mountain on the eastern seaboard of North America. The climb was approximately 7.6 miles long. When descending, the engine was put in low gear and brakes were used extensively.
Sir Thomas Johnstone Lipton
Died October 2, 1931 b. 1850
British tea maker, yachtsman. He began his tea empire in 1871 with a single provision shop in Glasgow.
Clarence Walker Barron
Died October 2, 1928 b. 1855
American financial editor, Barron's Financial Weekly (1921-28).
Francis Lieber
Died October 2, 1872 b. 1800
German-born American historian, political economist. Creator and first editor of the Encyclopaedia Americana (1829-33). He created the Lieber Code during the American Civil War (1863, aka Code for the Government of Armies in the Field). The Lieber Code is considered the first document to comprehensively outline rules regulating the conduct of war, and laid the foundation for the Geneva Conventions.
Samuel Adams
Died October 2, 1803 b. 1722
American patriot. One of the leaders of the Boston Tea Party (1773), signer of the Declaration of Independence, and governor of Massachusetts (1794-97).
Urban IV
Died October 2, 1264 b. ????
French-born religious leader, 182nd Pope (1261-64).