5th Oct: History Today

Today is Monday, October 5, the 278th day of 2015. There are 87 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

On October 5, 1947, President Harry S. Truman delivered the first televised White House address as he spoke on the world food crisis.

On this date:

In 1829, the 21st president of the United States, Chester Alan Arthur, was born in North Fairfield, Vermont.

In 1931, Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon completed the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean, arriving in Washington state some 41 hours after leaving Japan.

In 1953, Earl Warren was sworn in as the 14th chief justice of the United States, succeeding Fred M. Vinson.

In 1955, a stage adaptation of "The Diary of Anne Frank" by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett opened at the Cort Theatre in New York.

In 1969, the British TV comedy program "Monty Python's Flying Circus" made its debut on BBC 1.

In 1970, British trade commissioner James Richard Cross was kidnapped in Canada by militant Quebec separatists; he was released the following December.

In 1974, the Irish Republican Army bombed two pubs in Guildford, Surrey, England, resulting in five deaths and dozens of injuries. (Four men who became known as the Guildford Four were convicted of the bombings, but were ultimately vindicated.)

In 1984, the space shuttle Challenger blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center on an 8-day mission; the crew included Kathryn D. Sullivan, who became the first American woman to walk in space, and Marc Garneau, the first Canadian astronaut.

In 1988, Democrat Lloyd Bentsen lambasted Republican Dan Quayle during their vice-presidential debate, telling Quayle, "Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy."

In 1990, a jury in Cincinnati acquitted an art gallery and its director of obscenity charges stemming from an exhibit of sexually graphic photographs by the late Robert Mapplethorpe.

In 1995, Seamus Heaney of Ireland won the 1995 Nobel Prize in literature.

In 1999, two packed commuter trains collided near London's Paddington Station, killing 31 people.

Ten years ago: Defying the White House, senators voted 90-9 to approve an amendment sponsored by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., that would prohibit the use of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" against anyone in U.S. government custody. (A reluctant President George W. Bush later signed off on the amendment.) Americans Robert H. Grubbs and Richard R. Schrock and Frenchman Yves Chauvin won the Nobel Prize in chemistry. Daniel Alfredsson scored twice in the final six minutes of regulation and once during the first shootout in NHL history, leading the Ottawa Senators to a 3-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Five years ago: Faisal Shahzad (FY'-sul shah-ZAHD'), the Pakistani immigrant who'd tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square, accepted a life sentence from a federal judge in New York with a smirk and warned that Americans could expect more bloodshed at the hands of Muslims. President Barack Obama convened the first-ever White House summit on community colleges, calling them the "unsung heroes of America's education system." Paroled burglar Steven Hayes was convicted of murdering a woman and her two daughters during a home-invasion robbery in Cheshire, Connecticut. (Hayes and fellow perpetrator Joshua Komisarjevsky (koh-mih-sahr-JEV'-skee) remain on death row.)

One year ago: A suicide bomber blew himself up in Grozny, killing five policemen and wounding 12 others as the Chechen capital celebrated the birthday of its pro-Russian leader, Ramzan Kadyrov (kuh-DEE'-ruhv). Geoffrey Holder, a Tony Award-winning director, actor, painter, dancer and choreographer, died in New York at age 84.

Today's Birthdays: Actress Glynis Johns is 92. Comedian Bill Dana is 91. Actor Peter Brown is 80. College Football Hall of Fame coach Barry Switzer is 78. Rhythm-and-blues singer Arlene Smith (The Chantels) is 74. Singer-musician Steve Miller is 72. Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin, D-Md., is 72. Rock singer Brian Johnson (AC/DC) is 68. Actress Karen Allen is 64. Writer-producer-director Clive Barker is 63. Rock musician David Bryson (Counting Crows) is 61. Rock singer and famine-relief organizer Bob Geldof is 61. Designer Maya Lin is 56. Actor Daniel Baldwin is 55. Rock singer-musician Dave Dederer is 51. Hockey Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux is 50. Actor Guy Pearce is 48. Actress Josie Bissett is 45. Singer-actress Heather Headley is 41. Pop-rock singer Colin Meloy (The Decemberists) is 41. Rock musician Brian Mashburn (Save Ferris) is 40. Actress Parminder Nagra (pahr-MIHN'-da NAH'grah) is 40. Actor Scott Weinger is 40. Actress Kate Winslet is 40. Rock musician James Valentine (Maroon 5) is 37. Rock musician Paul Thomas (Good Charlotte) is 35. Actor Jesse Eisenberg is 32. TV personality Nicky Hilton is 32. Actress Azure Parsons is 31. Rhythm-and-blues singer Brooke Valentine is 30. Actor Kevin Bigley is 29. Actor Joshua Logan Moore is 21.