What Happened On
"Grizzly Man" Comes to a Grizzly End
October 5, 2003
American environmentalist Timothy Treadwell, known as the "Grizzly Man," and his girlfriend are killed and eaten by a bear while camping among the grizzlies. He had lived among the grizzly bears of Katmai National Park in Alaska for 13 summers. This was the first fatal bear attack in the park's history. The film Grizzly Man (2005) documents his work and death with the bears. Writings: Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska (1997).
NFL Fined $60,000,000
October 5, 1992
$30,000,000 was awarded to 235 developmental squad players because of wage fixing during the 1989 season. Another $30,000,000 was awarded to players who were shorted a week's pay at the end of the 1987 player strike.
Dr. No
October 5, 1962
Dr. No, first in the James Bond series, makes its world premiere in London. It starred Sean Connery as 007.
It was based on the 1958 novel by Ian Fleming. Produced on a budget of $1.1 million, it took in over $59 million at the box office.
Connery wasn't the first choice for the role of Bond. Actor Patrick McGoohan who played spy John Drake in the television series Danger Man and David Niven both turned down the role. David Niven went on to play Bond in the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale.
However, it was not the first James Bond movie. The first James Bond movie was a live TV-broadcast of Casino Royale.
Breakfast at Tiffany's
October 5, 1961
The American classic comedy Breakfast at Tiffany's is released, starring Audrey Hepburn as Holly Golightly.
Harry Truman
Harry Truman
First Televised U.S. Presidential Address From the White House
October 5, 1947
President Harry S. Truman makes the first televised presidential address from the White House. Truman asked Americans to abstain from eating meat on Tuesdays and eggs and poultry on Thursdays and to conserve food to help Europeans, who were still recovering from World War II.
The first U.S. President on Television was Franklin D. Roosevelt when he was broadcast giving a speech from the RCA pavilion as part of the opening ceremonies of the 1939 New York World's Fair. This was viewable only on about 200 sets in the local area.
First Person Arrested for Distribution under the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937
October 5, 1937
Samuel R. Caldwell becomes the first person arrested for distribution under the Marihuana Tax Act of 1937. He was caught selling three joints and in possession of four pounds of cannabis. He was sentenced to four years in Leavenworth.
Caldwell has previously served time in Leavenworth for bootlegging.
Two days earlier, Moses Baca became the first person arrested for possession.
Left to right: Bill Power, Bob Dalton, Grat Dalton, Dick Broadwell
Left to right: Bill Power, Bob Dalton, Grat Dalton, Dick Broadwell
End of the Dalton Gang
October 5, 1892
Two Dalton brothers along with two other gang members are killed by Coffeyville, Kansas citizens during an attempted bank robbery. A third brother was captured and sentenced to life in prison. They were attempting to rob two banks at once. An employee of one of the banks falsely convinced them the safe was on a time lock and couldn't be opened for another 45 minutes. While the robbers waited, word spread that the bank was being robbed. Residents armed themselves and when the gang exited the banks, a shootout began. Three townspeople were shot, and Town Marshal Charles Connelly was killed when he ran into the street after hearing gunfire. He returned fire and died while killing one of the gang. Gang members Grat and Bob Dalton, Dick Broadwell, and Bill Power were killed. Emmett Dalton survived, but received 23 gunshot wounds. He was sentenced to life in prison, but pardoned after 14 years.
The Dalton Gang were outlaws of the Old West from 1890-92. The three brothers were initially lawmen, but they became outlaws after not being paid the money owed them.
Another Lost Satellite
October 5, 1993
A $228 million Landsat 6 disappears shortly after launch. It is the fourth U.S. satellite lost in two months; the total losses are estimated at $2.3 billion.
Jim Bakker Convicted of Fraud
October 5, 1989
Televangelist and former leader of the PTL Club, Jim Bakker, is convicted of fraud and conspiracy. He had defrauded followers out of $158 million. He would serve 4½ years in prison (1989-94).
In his 1996 book, I Was Wrong, Bakker admitted that the first time he actually read the Bible all the way through was while he was in prison and realized that he had taken passages out of context to support his prosperity theology.
Sullivan walking in space to check an antenna (left) and Sullivan in spacesuit
Sullivan walking in space to check an antenna (left) and Sullivan in spacesuit
First U.S. Woman to Walk in Space
October 5, 1984
The space shuttle Challenger is launched with Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan aboard. She became the first U.S. woman to walk in space on the 11th.
Tylenol Murders
October 5, 1982
264,000 bottles of the pain reliever are taken off the market after a California man is stricken from strychnine-laced capsules. A 12-year-old girl and a 27-year-old man died the previous week in the Chicago area after taking cyanide-laced Tylenol capsules. The man's brother and sister-in-law later also died from after taking Tylenol from the same bottle. Three other people would die in the following days. Tests showed that the Tylenol had been laced with cyanide. Several others also died in copycat murders.
The Beatles Release Love Me Do
October 5, 1962
The Beatles release the single Love Me Do. The flip side contained P.S. I Love You.
First Radio Broadcast of the World Series
October 5, 1921
KDKA and WJZ of Newark broadcast the first World Series on the radio, between the New York Giants and the New York Yankees, with Grantland Rice and Tommy Cowan calling the games for KDKA and WJZ, respectively. The broadcasters were not actually present at the game, but gave reports from a telegraph wire.
First Airplane Shot Down by Another Plane
October 5, 1914
A German plane shoots down a French pilot.
Harrison (left) and Tecumseh
Harrison (left) and Tecumseh
War of 1812 - Battle of the Thames
October 5, 1813
Future U.S. President William Henry Harrison defeats the British and Indians during the War of 1812. Shawnee Indian chief Tecumseh was killed in this battle. As a result, the British lost control of Southwestern Ontario and Tecumseh's Confederacy collapsed.
Future U.S. Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson would later claim that he personally killed Tecumseh during the battle.
Birthdays
Steve Miller
Born October 5, 1943
American guitarist. Music: The Joker (1973) and Fly Like an Eagle (1976).
Bil Keane (William Aloysius Keane)
Born October 5, 1922 d. 2011
American cartoonist. Creator of The Family Circus (1960) and Channel Chuckles (1954). Quote: "Yesterday's the past, tomorrow's the future, but today is a gift. That's why it's called the present."
Ray Kroc
Born October 5, 1902 d. 1984
American businessman. Kroc built McDonald's into a hamburger empire. The brothers Dick McDonald and Maurice "Mac" McDonald started the chain in 1940. Kroc met the McDonald's brothers while trying to sell them Multimixers. After seeing their operation he decided to open one of his own in Des Plaines, Illinois. His first day sales were $366.12. It was the ninth restaurant in the chain. Kroc eventually bought out the brothers and built McDonalds's into the hamburger empire it is now.
The McDonald brothers introduced the "Speedee Service System" in 1948. The original McDonald's mascot was a chef hat on top of a hamburger called "Speedee." Speedee was replaced in 1962 by the Golden Arches. The clown Ronald McDonald was introduced in 1965.
Left to right: Moe, Curly, Larry
Left to right: Moe, Curly, Larry
Larry Fine (Louis Feinberg)
Born October 5, 1902 d. 1975
American comedian. One of the original Three-Stooges. He started performing as a violinist and had a brief career as a boxer, winning one professional bout.
Goddard next to the first liquid-fueled rocket
Goddard next to the first liquid-fueled rocket
Father of the Space Age
Robert Hutchings Goddard
Born October 5, 1882 d. 1945
American physicist, rocket pioneer, "Father of the Space Age." He launched the first liquid-fueled rocket (1926). A New York Times editorial mocked Goddard, stating that rockets will never fly in space and saying that "…he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools." Goddard's response was, "Every vision is a joke until the first man accomplishes it; once realized, it becomes commonplace."
The New York Times issued an apology in 1969 after the successful launch of Apollo 11 to the Moon.
Chester A. Arthur (Chester Alan Arthur)
Born October 5, 1829 d. 1886
American politician. 21st U.S. President (1881-85) and 20th U.S. Vice-President (1881). He became President after the assassination of President James A. Garfield.
Karen Allen
Born October 5, 1951
American actress. Film: National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981).
Photo Credit: 'ElLo57 (Elmar J. Lordemann)
Photo Credit: 'ElLo57 (Elmar J. Lordemann)
Bob Geldof (Robert Frederick Xenon Geldof)
Born October 5, 1951
Irish singer with the Boomtown Rats. He organized the recording of the record Do They Know It's Christmas? (1984) and the Live Aid concert (1985) to raise funds for famine relief. He also starred in the film Pink Floyd: The Wall (1982). He co-wrote the Boomtown Rats song I Don't Like Mondays, based on 16-year-old Brenda Spencer opening fire on children in an elementary school playground, killing two adults and injuring eight children and a police officer. She stated, "I don't like Mondays."
Bill Dana (William Szathmary)
Born October 5, 1924 d. 2017
American comedian, screenwriter. TV: The Bill Dana Show (Jose Jimenez) and St. Elsewhere (father of Wayne Fiscus).
Donald Pleasence
Born October 5, 1919 d. 1995
British actor. Film: The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965, the Devil), You Only Live Twice (1967, Ernst Blofeld), and Halloween (1978).
Allen Ludden
Born October 5, 1917 d. 1981
American game show host. TV: Password (1961-80).
John Hoyt
Born October 5, 1905 d. 1991
American actor. TV: Gimme a Break! (Grandpa Kaminsky).
Louis Lumière
Born October 5, 1864 d. 1948
French motion picture pioneer. He and his brother Auguste Lumière developed the Cinématographe motion picture camera and projector. They conducted the first paid movie screening.
The Father of Baseball
Henry Chadwick
Born October 5, 1824 d. 1908
English-born American sports writer. Called "The Father of Baseball" for his early reporting on and contributions to the development of the game. He wrote the first baseball rule book (1858) and is credited with creating box scores, the abbreviation "K" for a strikeout, and the statistics of batting average and earned run average. Chadwick also edited The Beadle Dime Base-Ball Player (1860-81) the first annual baseball guide on public sale and in 1868 wrote the first hardcover baseball book, The Game of Base Ball.
Deaths
Apple Computer Co-Founder
Steven Paul Jobs
Died October 5, 2011 b. 1955
American businessman, co-founded Apple Computer, Inc. (1975) working out of his parents' garage.
Rodney Dangerfield (Jacob Cohen)
Died October 5, 2004 b. 1921
American Grammy-winning comedian. On the day of Dangerfield's death, the randomly selected Joke of the Day on his website happened to be "I tell ya I get no respect from anyone. I bought a cemetery plot. The guy said, 'There goes the neighborhood!'" His wife then choose "There goes the neighborhood" as the epitaph on his headstone.
Film: Caddyshack (1980) and Back to School (1986). Comedy Album: No Respect (1980, Grammy) and Rappin' Rodney (1980, Grammy).
Joke: Last week my house was on fire. My wife told the kids, "Be quiet, you'll wake up Daddy."
Joke: I was ugly, very ugly. When I was born, the doctor smacked my mother.
Maurice Wilkins
Died October 5, 2004 b. 1916
British biochemist, co-winner of the 1962 Nobel prize for discovering the structure of DNA. He also worked on creating the first atomic bomb.
Seymour Cray and a Cray-1
Photo Credit: Michael Hicks
Seymour Cray and a Cray-1Photo Credit: Michael Hicks
Supercomputers Designed by Elves
Seymour Cray
Died October 5, 1996 b. 1925
American supercomputer architect. Seymour Cray designed the supercomputers that were the fastest in the world and founded Cray Research that built many of these. Called the "Father of Supercomputing", he is credited with creating the supercomputer industry. His CDC 6600 was the first commercial supercomputer and with a performance of up to 3 megaflops it was three times faster then the previous fastest computer. It held the record as the fastest computer from 1964-1969.
Cray's pastimes included digging tunnels under his home. He claimed that elves would visit him while digging his tunnels and they would provide solutions to his design problems.
Dick Butkus
Died October 5, 2023 b. 1942
American football player, actor. Butkus played in the NFL for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1973 and was twice the NFL's Defensive Player of the Year.
Grizzly Man
Timothy Treadwell (Timothy Dexter)
Died October 5, 2003 b. 1957
American environmentalist, "Grizzly Man." After spending 13 summers with the brown bears in Alaska, he and his girlfriend were killed and partially eaten by one. This was the first fatal bear attack in Katmai National Park history. The film Grizzly Man (2005) documents his work and death with the bears. Writings: Among Grizzlies: Living With Wild Bears in Alaska (1997).
Eddie Kendricks
Died October 5, 1992 b. 1939
American singer. With the Temptations, the most successful male vocal group of the 1960s and '70s. Music: My Girl (1965, #1).
Founder of Al-Anon
Lois Wilson
Died October 5, 1988 b. 1891
American founder of Al-Anon, the support group for friends and family of alcoholics. She was the wife of Alcoholics Anonymous cofounder Bill Wilson.
Rudolf Flesch
Died October 5, 1986 b. 1911
Austrian-born American author. His book Why Johnny Can't Read (1955) advocated the use of phonics to sound out words. This book inspired Dr. Seuss to write The Cat in the Hat (1957).
Earl Silas Tupper
Died October 5, 1983 b. 1907
American businessman, invented Tupperware (1942) and used the neighborhood party method to sell it.
First Jewish U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Louis Dembitz Brandeis
Died October 5, 1941 b. 1856
American jurist. He was the first Jewish U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1916-39). He graduated from Harvard Law School at the age of 20 with what is widely rumored to be the highest grade average in the law school's history. Known for taking cases for no pay, he became known as the "Robin Hood of the Law."
Sam Warner
Died October 5, 1927 b. 1887
American film executive. He and his brothers Harry, Albert, and Jack founded Warner Bros. Pictures (1923).
Tecumseh
Died October 5, 1813 b. circa 1768
Shawnee Indian chief. He was killed in the Battle of the Thames. Future U.S. Vice President Richard Mentor Johnson would later claim that he personally killed Tecumseh during the battle.
Note: The statue of Tecumseh outside of U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis is actually of Delaware Chief Tamenend.