October eighth

Today's Highlight in History:
On October eighth, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire erupted while another deadly blaze broke out in Peshtigo, Wisconsin.

On this date:
In 1869, the 14th president of the United States, Franklin Pierce (puhrs), died in Concord, New Hampshire.

In 1890, American aviation hero Eddie Rickenbacker was born in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1918, Sergeant Alvin C. York almost single-handedly killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 in the Argonne Forest in France.

In 1934, Bruno Hauptmann was indicted for murder in the death of the infant son of Charles A. Lindbergh.

In 1944, "The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet" made its debut on CBS Radio.

In 1945, President Truman announced that the secret of the atomic bomb would be shared only with Britain and Canada.

In 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series to date as the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0.

In 1970, Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was named winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.

In 1982, all labor organizations in Poland, including Solidarity, were banned.

In 1985, the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship "Achille Lauro" killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer.

Ten years ago: Israeli police opened fire on rioting Palestinians on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, killing 17. The House approved a revised deficit-reducing budget plan, and both chambers of Congress approved stopgap spending legislation to end a government shutdown. American doctors Joseph E. Murray and E. Donnall Thomas were named recipients of the Nobel Prize for medicine.

Five years ago: On the final day of his fourth US pilgrimage, Pope John Paul the Second celebrated Mass at Oriole Park in Baltimore.

One year ago: A damage award to State Farm auto insurance customers swelled to nearly $1.2 billion after a judge in Illinois ruled that the nation's largest auto insurer committed fraud by using generic auto-body repair parts. (The $730 million award of actual and punitive damages came on top of a jury's $456 million verdict in the same class-action lawsuit.) President Clinton dedicated a new US embassy in Ottawa, Canada. Laila Ali, the 21-year-old daughter of Muhammad Ali, made her professional boxing debut by knocking out opponent April Fowler 31 seconds after the opening bell in Verona, New York.

"Politics are usually the executive expression of human immaturity."

-- Vera Brittain, British author (1893-1970).