Today is Tuesday, October 2nd, the 275th day of the year. There are 90 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1803, U.S. statesman Samuel Adams died at the age of 81.
In 1916, the San Diego Zoo was founded.
In 1919, President Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that left him partially paralyzed.
In 1937, 26-year-old Ronald Reagan made his big screen acting debut in "Love is in the Air."
In 1949, the longtime radio show, "The Aldrich Family," debuted on NBC Television. It also became the first television sitcom.
In 1950, the first "Peanuts" comic strip appeared in nine newspapers.
In 1959, "The Twilight Zone" aired for the first time on CBS. Rod Serling was the creator and host of the show.
In 1965, The Who made their U.S. debut on the television show "Shindig!"
In 1985, actor Rock Hudson died after a battle with AIDS at the age of 59. He starred in several projects including the television show "McMillan and Wife" and the film "Pillow Talk."
In 1995, O.J. Simpson's eight month murder trial came to an end when the jury hearing Simpson's case reached a verdict of not guilty after only four hours of deliberations.
In 1996, former Los Angeles Police Detective Mark Fuhrman was sentenced to three years probation and a 200-dollar fine after pleading no contest to perjury charges in connection to his testimony in the O.J. Simpson murder trial.
In 1998, Hollywood's singing cowboy Gene Autry died at the age of 91. Autry was also the owner of the MLB's Anaheim Angels.
In 2003, after "The Los Angeles Times" reported that six women had accused actor-turned-politician Arnold Schwarzenegger of groping them on separate occasions, Schwarzenegger came forward to apologize, admitting to quote, "behaving badly at times." The Hollywood strongman also denied accusations that he once said he admired Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
In 2005, more than 103-thousand fans in Mexico City watched the Arizona Cardinals defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-14 in the NFL's first regular season game outside of the United States.
In 2008, almost 70-million Americans tuned in to the televised debate between vice presidential nominees Sarah Palin and Joe Biden. It was the largest audience for a VP debate in American history, shattering the record set in 1984 between Vice President George H. W. Bush and Democrat Geraldine Ferraro.
In 2010, CNN fired anchorman Rick Sanchez for caustic comments Sanchez made against comedian Jon Stewart and Jews in the media, during a radio interview.
In 2011, "60 Minutes" essayist Andy Rooney made his last regular appearance on the CBS news magazine program. The 92-year-old commentator began delivering his essays on the show in 1978.
In 2017, Singer Tom Petty died at the age of 66. He was found unconscious, not breathing and in full cardiac arrest.