Today is Thursday, October 4th, the 277th day of the year. There are 88 days until the end of the year.
On this day:
In 1931, Chester Gould's comic strip, "Dick Tracy" debuted.
In 1933, "Esquire" magazine was published for the first time.
In 1957, the first man-made satellite was launched into space by the Soviet Union. The craft was named "Sputnik One."
In 1957, "Leave It To Beaver" debuted on CBS. The show starred Barbara Billingsley, Hugh Beaumont, Tony Dow and Jerry Mathers as "the Beaver."
In 1970, rock singer Janis Joplin died of a drug overdose at the age of 27.
In 1975, Willie Nelson earned his first number one country hit with "Blue Eyes Crying In the Rain."
In 1989, Art Shell was appointed coach of Oakland Raiders, making him the first black coach in modern NFL.
In 1989, legendary racehorse Secretariat died at the age of 19.
In 1990, the Aaron Spelling TV series "Beverly Hills 90210" debuted on the Fox Network. The show continued on for a decade, finally ending its run in 2000.
In 1997, hundreds of thousands of men attended a Promise Keepers rally on the mall in Washington D.C.. It was one of the largest religious gatherings in U.S. history.
In 2004, Gordon Cooper Jr., one of the original Mercury astronauts, passed away at his home in Ventura, California. He was 77. During his career, Cooper piloted the sixth and last flight of the Mercury program and later commanded Gemini 5.