Today in History for Oct. 2, 2015

Major League pitcher Addie Joss

Oct. 2, 1535 – Jacques Cartier discovered the area where Montreal is now located.

Oct. 2, 1768 - The British fleet first entered Boston Harbor carrying 1,000 soldiers. This was the beginning of the British occupation of Boston.

Oct. 2, 1780 – During the American Revolution, British army major John André, age 31, was hanged as a spy at Tappan, N.Y. by American forces. Andre, an accomplice of Benedict Arnold, had been captured by Patriots John Paulding, David Williams and Isaac Van Wart on September 23 after they found incriminating papers in his boot. The papers revealed that Andre was returning from a secret meeting with U.S. General Benedict Arnold, commander of West Point, who had offered to surrender the strategic Hudson River fort to the British for a bribe of £20,000.

Oct. 2, 1789 – George Washington sent proposed Constitutional amendments (The United States Bill of Rights) to the States for ratification.

Oct. 2, 1835 – The Texas Revolution began with the Battle of Gonzales as Mexican soldiers attempted to disarm the people of Gonzales, Texas, but encountered stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia.

Oct. 2, 1836 - Charles Darwin returned to England after five years of acquiring knowledge around the world about fauna, flora, wildlife and geology. He used the information to develop his "theory of evolution" which he unveiled in his 1859 book entitled “The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection.”

Oct. 2, 1851 - The pasilalinic-sympathetic compass was first demonstrated. Also known as the snail telegraph, the compass was a contraption built to show that snails create a permanent telepathic link when they touch. It was later revealed to be a hoax.

Oct. 2, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmish was fought near the Confederate camp at Charlestown, Missouri.

Oct. 2, 1861 – During the Civil War, a skirmishes was fought at Chapmansville and Springfield Station, Virginia.

Oct. 2, 1864 - The Battle of Saltville took place in southwestern Virginia. Union cavalry forces attacked but were defeated by a Confederate force that was patched together from several reserve units. The Union suffered 329 men killed, wounded, or missing at Saltville, while the Confederates lost 190 men.

Oct. 2, 1879 – Modernist poet Wallace Stevens was born in Reading, Pa.

Oct. 2, 1904 – Writer Graham Greene was born in Hertfordshire, England.

Oct. 2, 1908 - Addie Joss of Cleveland pitched the fourth perfect game in Major League Baseball history.

Oct. 2, 1914 – Confederate veteran William M. McCrory passed away at the age of 72 in the Commerce community in Conecuh County, Ala. He was a native of South Carolina and a former resident of Butler County.

Oct. 2, 1918 – During World War I, Army Pvt. Daniel Robinson of Camden, Ala. and Army Pvt. Joshua T. Jordan of Opp, Ala. “died from disease.”

Oct. 2, 1920 - The Cincinnati Reds and the Pittsburgh Pirates played the only triple-header in Major League Baseball history. The Reds won two of the three games.

Oct. 2, 1927 - Author Cecil Dawkins was born in Birmingham, Ala.

Oct. 2, 1940 – Longtime Evergreen High School and Sparta Academy athletic booster Byron Warren Jr. was born in Evergreen, Ala.

Oct. 2, 1950 – The comic strip “Peanuts” by Charles Schulz made its debut in eight local papers in a variety of U.S. cities. The strip was an almost immediate success that expanded from its original eight newspapers to more than 2,600 papers in 75 countries at its peak.

Oct. 2, 1956 - The Atomichron, the first commercial atomic clock in the U.S., was unveiled in New York City. Its timing was based on the constant frequency of the oscillations of the caesium atom - 9,192,631,830 MHz.

Oct. 2, 1959 – The anthology series "The Twilight Zone" debuted on CBS-TV. The show ran for five years for a total of 154 episodes.

Oct. 2, 1965 – A homecoming football game between Repton High School and Lyeffion High School ended in a 6-6 tie on this Saturday night in Lyeffion. Lyeffion quarterback Homer Chaver scored Lyeffion’s only touchdown, and Repton quarterback Nickey Thompson scored Repton’s only touchdown.

Oct. 2, 1967 – Army Spc. James Thomas Likely of Georgiana, Ala. was killed in action in Vietnam.

Oct. 2, 1968 - St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Bob Gibson struck out 17 Detroit Tigers in the first game of the World Series, breaking Sandy Koufax’s record for the most strikeouts in a Series game. Though the Cards ended up losing the Series in seven games, Gibson pitched three and struck out an unprecedented 35 batters.

Oct. 2, 1969 – Birmingham, Ala. native Al Worthington appeared in his final Major League Baseball game, taking the mound one last time for the Minnesota Twins.

Oct. 2, 1970 – A plane carrying the Wichita State University football team, administrators and supporters crashed in Colorado, killing 31 people.

Oct. 2, 1972 – Conecuh County (Ala.) Circuit Court Judge Robert E.L. Key swore in Evergreen Mayor Coy L. Harper and Evergreen’s city council, which included Tal Stuart III, Robert M. Glass, Knud Nielsen Jr., Clarence E. “Buddy” Evers (Mayor Pro Tem) and Ronnie Mullen.

Oct. 2, 1977 – “Julia,” a movie version of a portion of Alabama author Lillian Hellman's book “Pentimento,” was released.

Oct. 2, 1980 – Michael Myers became the first member of either chamber of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War.

Oct. 2, 1995 – John James “Coach Jack” Finklea passed away at the age of 86 at his residence in Americus, Ga. A graduate of Monroe County High School, he served as a coach and assistant principal at T.R. Miller High School in Brewton, Ala. and as the principal at Evergreen High School, before becoming the Director of Public Recreation for Americus and Sumter County in 1952, a post he held for 28 years until his retirement in 1980.

Oct. 2, 1998 - About 10,000 Turkish soldiers crossed into northern Iraq and attacked Kurdish rebels.

Oct. 2, 2002 – The Beltway sniper attacks began, extending over three weeks.

Oct. 2, 2007 – Beth Twitty’s book “Loving Natalee: A Mother's Testament of Hope and Faith” was published under the name "Beth Holloway," a name she resumed using following her December 2006 divorce from Jug Twitty.