Rock Hudson became the first major celebrity to die of AIDS-related complications
The beloved actor's death at age 59 shocked the world and brought unprecedented mainstream attention to the AIDS crisis. Hudson's longtime friend Rona...
October 2 in History
Significant events that happened on this day.
Historical Events
1985
1967
Thurgood Marshall was sworn in as the first African American Supreme Court Justice
MajorMarshall had already made history as the NAACP lawyer who successfully argued Brown v. Board of Education. His appointment to the nation's highest cou...
1955
The anthology TV series Alfred Hitchcock Presents premiered on CBS
The Master of Suspense introduced each episode with his deadpan humor and rotund silhouette, often making darkly comic remarks about the sponsors. The...
1950
The Peanuts comic strip by Charles M. Schulz debuted in seven newspapers
Charlie Brown, Snoopy, and the gang made their first appearance in what would become one of the most influential comic strips of all time. The strip r...
1948
The first Polaroid camera went on sale for $89.75 at a Boston department store
Edwin Land's revolutionary instant camera sold out completely on its first day despite the hefty price tag (equivalent to about $1,100 today). The cam...
1925
John Logie Baird successfully transmitted the first television picture with a greyscale image
MajorWorking in his makeshift laboratory in London, Baird transmitted the image of a ventriloquist's dummy named "Stooky Bill" because a real person couldn...
1919
President Woodrow Wilson suffered a massive stroke that left him partially paralyzed and largely incapacitated
For the remaining 17 months of his presidency, Wilson's condition was hidden from the public and even from his cabinet. His wife Edith effectively ran...
1872
Phileas Fogg began his fictional journey around the world in eighty days
In Jules Verne's classic novel, the unflappable English gentleman accepted a £20,000 wager at his gentlemen's club and departed London on this date. T...
1869
Mahatma Gandhi was born in Porbandar, India
MajorMohandas Karamchand Gandhi would grow up to become one of history's most influential advocates of nonviolent resistance. His philosophy of peaceful pr...
1608
Hans Lipperhey applied for a patent on the telescope, though he didn't actually invent it
The Dutch eyeglass maker filed the first documented patent application for a telescope, but evidence suggests his apprentices may have discovered the...
1187
Saladin captured Jerusalem from the Crusaders after a siege of just twelve days
MajorSultan Saladin's forces retook Jerusalem nearly 90 years after the First Crusade had captured it. Unlike the Crusaders' bloody conquest in 1099, Salad...