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ON THIS DAY

On This Day: October 7

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On Oct. 7, 1985 Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean with more than 400 people aboard.

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On Oct. 7, 1897, Elijah Muhammad, the American leader of the Black Muslim movement from the 1930s to the 1970s, was born. Following his death on Feb. 25, 1975, his obituary appeared in The Times.

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On This Date

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.
1981	Egypt's parliament named Vice President Hosni Mubarak to succeed the assassinated Anwar Sadat.
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.
2001	Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants wrapped up his record-breaking season with his 73rd home run.
2003	California voters recalled Gov. Gray Davis and elected actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to replace him.
2006	Anna Politkovskaya, a journalist who had chronicled Russian military abuses against civilians in Chechnya, was found shot to death in Moscow.
2008	The Federal Reserve annouced a radical plan to buy massive amounts of short-term debt, known as commercial paper, to get credit markets moving again.

Current Birthdays

TV personality Simon Cowell ("American Idol") turns 52 years old today.

AP Photo/Joel Ryan

Comedian, TV host Joy Behar ("The View") turns 69 years old today.

AP Photo/Peter Kramer

1931	Desmond Tutu, Archbishop, Nobel Peace Prize winner, turns 80
1943	Oliver North, Former National Security Council aide, turns 68
1951	John Mellencamp, Rock singer, musician, turns 60
1955	Yo-Yo Ma, Cellist, turns 56
1958	Dylan Baker, Actor, turns 53
1961	Tony Sparano, Football coach, turns 50
1967	Toni Braxton, R&B singer, turns 44
1976	Taylor Hicks, Singer ("American Idol"), turns 35
1976	Charles Woodson, Football player, turns 35
1985	Evan Longoria, Baseball player, turns 26

Historic Birthdays

Elijah Muhammad10/7/1897 - 2/25/1975American leader of the Nation of Islam (1934-75).Go to obituary »

71	William Laud 10/7/1573 - 1/10/1645 English Archbishop of Canterbury (1633-45)
66	James Whitcomb Riley 10/7/1849 - 7/22/1916 American poet
50	George Cram Cook 10/7/1873 - 1/14/1924 American writer
77	Niels Henrik David Bohr 10/7/1885 - 11/18/1962 American scientist
77	Henry Agard Wallace 10/7/1888 - 11/18/1965 American vice president (1941-5); Progressive Party candidate for president (1948)
44	Heinrich Himmler 10/7/1900 - 5/23/1945 German National Socialist politician, administrator and military commander
73	Jo Jones 10/7/1911 - 9/3/1985 American musician
77	Alfred Drake 10/7/1914 - 7/25/1992 American singer