Today in History....October 6

On this day in …

1884, the Naval War College was established in Newport, R.I.

1927, the era of talking pictures arrived with the opening of "The Jazz Singer," a movie starring Al Jolson which featured both silent and sound-synchronized scenes

1945, former French premier and Vichy collaborator Pierre Laval tries to kill himself on the day he is to be executed for treason. He fails
1949,


American-born Iva Toguri D'Aquino, convicted of treason for being Japanese wartime broadcaster "Tokyo Rose," was sentenced in San Francisco to 10 years in prison and fined $10,000. (She ended up serving more than six years)

President Truman signed the Mutual Defense Assistance Act, totaling $1.3 billion in military aid to NATO countries

1961, President John F. Kennedy, speaking on civil defense, advises American families to build bomb shelters to protect them from atomic fallout in the event of a nuclear exchange with the Soviet Union. Kennedy also assured the public that the U.S. civil defense program would soon begin providing such protection for every American. Only one year later, true to Kennedy's fears, the world hovered on the brink of full-scale nuclear war when the Cuban Missile Crisis erupted over the USSR's placement of nuclear missiles in Cuba. During the tense 13-day crisis, some Americans prepared for nuclear war by buying up canned goods and completing last-minute work on their backyard bomb shelters

1973, war erupted in the Middle East as Egypt and Syria attacked Israel during the Yom Kippur holy day. Since then, Israel has been accused of "occupation" of Arab land

1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was shot to death by practitioners of that "religion of peace" while reviewing a military parade
2001, Cal Ripken played his last game in the major leagues as his Baltimore Orioles lost to the visiting Boston Red Sox, 5-1