AP Highlight in History: On Oct. 7, 2001, the United States and Britain launched air strikes against Taliban positions and Osama bin Laden's training camps in Afghanistan; bin Laden praised God for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in a videotaped statement aired on the Arabic satellite station Al-Jazeera.
On this date in:
1765
The Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England.
1849
Author Edgar Allan Poe died at age 40.
1868
Cornell University was inaugurated in Ithaca, N.Y.
1879
Communist revolutionary Leon Trotsky was born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein in Yanovka, Ukraine.
1949
The Republic of East Germany was formed.
1954
Marian Anderson became the first black singer hired by New York's Metropolitan Opera.
1963
President John F. Kennedy signed the documents of ratification for a nuclear test ban treaty with Britain and the Soviet Union.
1968
The Motion Picture Association of America adopted a film-rating system.
1982
The musical "Cats" opened on Broadway, beginning its record run of 7,485 performances.
1985
Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean with more than 400 people aboard.
1996
Fox News Channel made its debut.
1998
Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten, robbed and left tied to a wooden fence post outside Laramie, Wyo.; he died five days later. (Two men are serving life sentences for Shepard's murder.)
AP Photo
1999
American Home Products Corp. agreed to pay up to $4.83 billion to settle claims that the fen-phen diet drug combination caused dangerous heart valve problems.
2001
Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants wrapped up his record-breaking season with his 73rd homer, while San Diego's Rickey Henderson became the 25th player with 3,000 career hits.
2002
The Washington-area sniper struck again, shooting and critically wounding a 13-year-old boy in Bowie, Md.
2003
California voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis and elected actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him.
2004
Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk abdicated because of poor health.
2006
Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who had chronicled Russian military abuses against civilians in Chechnya, was found shot to death in Moscow.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa turns 77 years old today.
AP Photo/Dawn Villella
Name
Profession
Age
Al Martino
Singer
81
Oliver North
Former National Security Council aide
65
Kevin Godley
Rock musician (10cc)
63
Jill Larson
Actress ("All My Children")
61
Kieran Kane
Country singer
59
Dick Juaron
Football coach
58
John Mellencamp
Rock singer, musician
57
Mary Badham
Actress ("To Kill a Mockingbird")
56
Christopher Norris
Actor
55
Tico Torres
Rock musician (Bon Jovi)
55
Yo-Yo Ma
Cellist
53
Michael W. Smith
Gospel singer
51
Dylan Baker
Actor
50
Simon Cowell
TV personality ("American Idol")
49
Charlie Marinkovich
Rock musician (Iron Butterfly)
49
Dale Watson
Country singer
46
Tony Sparano
Football coach
47
Ann Curless
Singer
45
Toni Braxton
R&B singer
41
Thom Yorke
Rock singer, musician (Radiohead)
40
Leeroy Thornhill
Musician, dancer
39
Nicole Ari Parker
Actress
38
Damian Kulash
Rock musician (OK Go)
33
Taylor Hicks
Singer ("American Idol")
32
Charles Woodson
Football player
32
Omar Benson Miller
Actor
30
Evan Longoria
Baseball player
23
Comedian and TV host Joy Behar ("The View") turns 66 years old today.
AP Photo/Evan Agostini
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