October 31, 1992, the Catholic Church, the Vatican and Pope John Paul II finally admitted the church "erred" when it prosecuted Galilei Galileo for heresy, because he promoted the Copernican theory that the Earth revolved around the sun, not the other way around.
In 1633, Catholic prosecutors argued that the sun revolving around the Earth was explicitly stated in the Bible.
Exactly which passage says that? Show your work, guys!
Deidre Hall, born October 31, 1947 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has won numerous awards for her performances in Days of Our Lives.
But before that she was Electra Woman! She appeared in the Saturday morning live-action superhero show Electra Woman and Dyna Girl with Judy Strangis. She also appeared in Murder, She Wrote, but did not have any scenes with Angela Lansbury. Bummer.
And Then There Were None, the movie based on Agatha Christie's masterpiece novel, was released October 31, 1945. It is the first in a number of adaptions of the one of the best selling novels of all time. As usual though, there are a number of deviations from the book, which was published in 1939.
It has a rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Dame Judith Anderson is the only performer I'm familiar with in the cast. She played Emily Brent.
Venera 13, launched October 30, 1981, sent back the first color pictures of Venus. Its twin Venera 14 was launched only 5 days later. The descent vehicle separated from the spacecraft and entered the Venusian atmosphere March 1, 1982.
It was expected to last for about 30 minutes, it functioned for over 2 hours before ceasing its transmissions. Venera 13 made the first sound recording of another planet.
Ronald Garan, Jr., born October 30, 1961 in Yonkers, New York, is a veteran of two space flights.
His first mission was aboard Discovery (STS-124) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May-June 2008. He conducted three EVAs during the mission with fellow astronaut Michael Fossum.
His second and final flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-21 as Flight Engineer to the ISS in April 2011. He participated in Expeditions 27 and 28. He conducted an EVA with Fossum in July 2011. He returned to Earth in September 2011.
Keeping Up Appearances, a British comedy about an annoying social climber Hyacinth Bucket (pronounced "bouquet") aired its first episode October 29, 1990. It ran for 5 seasons until Patricia Routledge (Hyacinth) decided to leave the show.
She tried to be a socialite, but her sister Daisy (played by Judy Cornwell) and brother-in-law Onslow were adorably white trash. Another sister Rose was always going into or coming out of a relationship. Her sister Violet, which was rarely seen until the final season, was the envy of Hyacinth. Violet had a Mercedes, sauna and room for a pony.
She terrorized her husband Richard (played by Clive Swift), her next-door neighbors Elizabeth and Emmet, and the vicar and his wife.
It's still one of the funniest television shows ever.
Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas, released across the US October 29, 1993, is a stop-motion animated dark fantasy film about Jack Skellington, the King of Halloween Town, who becomes obsessed with Christmas.
Tim Burton wrote a poem while working as an animator for Walt Disney Productions and it eventually became The Nightmare Before Christmas. Disney released it through its stepchild studio Touchstone Pictures.
It was a critical and financial success and was nominated for an Oscar for Best Visual Effects. It won Saturn Awards for Best Fantasy Film and Best Music.
Valeri Tokarev, born October 29, 1952 in the former Soviet Union, is a veteran of two space flights.
His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-96) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May-June 1999. He stayed in space for 9 days 19 hours.
His second trip was aboard Soyuz TMA-7 as commander to the International Space Station launched in October 2005. He participated in Expedition 12 while on board the ISS. He performed two EVAs during the mission.
My man Billy Joel released My Life, a single from his album 52nd Street on October 28, 1978. It peaked at #2 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary charts and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. Peter Cetera and Donnie Dacus from the band Chicago sang the background vocals.
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown made its television debut October 27, 1966. It is perennial Halloween watching for those of us who grew up with Charlie Brown and the gang. While everyone is out trick-or-treating, Linus sits in a pumpkin patch to wait for the Great Pumpkin.
It was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards: Outstanding Children's Program, Special Classifications of Individual Achievements for director Bill Melendez and writer Charles Schulz.
It lost the Children's Program award to Jack and the Beanstalk. Anyone remember that one?
Steven Nagel, born October 27, 1946 in Columbia, Missouri, went into space four times.
His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-51-G) as mission specialist in June 1985. It was Shannon Lucid's first flight as well.
His second flight was aboard Challenger (STS-61-A) as pilot in October-November 1985. It was the last successful flight of Challenger and holds the record for the largest crew - eight - aboard any since spacecraft for the entire mission.
His third mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-37) as commander in April 1991. The mission included two EVAs, the first since 1985.
His fourth and final mission was aboard Columbia (STS-55) as commander in April-May 1993. The mission hosted 88 experiments from 11 different nations.
He was married to fellow astronaut Linda Godwin.
Nagel passed away in August 2014 from advanced melanoma.
The Terminator, the blockbuster directed by James Cameron and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Lance Henriksen and Michael Biehn, was released October 26, 1984.
It opened to mainly positive reviews, a rare 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has spawned 5 sequels. It won three Saturn Awards (Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films) in 1985 for Best Science Fiction Film, Best Writing and Best Make-up.
Stephen Robinson, born October 26, 1955 in Sacramento, California, is a veteran of four space shuttle flights.
His first flight was aboard Discovery (STS-85) as mission specialist in August 1997. The mission lasted almost 12 days.
His second flight was again on Discovery (STS-95) as mission specialist in October-November 1998. One of his fellow astronaut was US Senator John Glenn, his second trip into space.
His third flight was aboard Discovery (STS-114) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in July-August 2005. It was the "Return to Flight" space shuttle mission, the first following the Columbia disaster in 2003.
His fourth and final flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-130) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in February 2010.
The Amazing Colossal Man, released in the US October 25, 1957, was produced and directed by Bert I. Gordon. It was based on The Nth Man, a short science fiction novel by Homer Eon Flint, published in 1928.
Glenn Langan survives a plutonium bomb explosion, only to begin growing in size. Soon he reaches fifty feet and goes insane, attacking Las Vegas.
It spawned a sequel War of the Colossal Beast released in June 1958. Both movies were skewered by Joel and the bots on Mystery Science Theater 3000.
MillenniuM, a spin-off from the X-files, debuted October 25, 1996. It featured Lance Hendriksen as Frank Black, a former FBI profiler with a "gift" that he could see into the mind of the killer. MillenniuM had a much darker and more violent tone than the X-files, which is one of the reasons it lasted only three seasons.
During its run, however, it won several awards and was nominated for many more. Lance Hendriksen was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama series all three seasons.
Deep Space 1, launched October 24, 1998, encountered asteroid 9969 Braille and comet 19P/Borrelly. It was intended to fly by Comet 79P/West-Kohoutek-Ikemura and asteroid 3352 McAuliffe, but a delayed launch and a brief engine failure forced NASA to change Deep Space 1's objectives.
It encountered Comet 9969 Braille on July 29, 1999 and flew by Comet 19P/Borrelly on September 22, 2001.
NASA shut its engines down in December 2001. Attempts to resume contact in March 2002 were unsuccessful. Deep Space 1 remains in a heliocentric orbit.
Jackson Bostwick, born October 23, 1943 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, is best known for his portrayal of Captain Marvel from DC Comics on the Saturday morning TV show Shazam!. He played Captain Marvel for the first season and two episodes into the second season, when he was fired by the producers. He was late for filming one day, due to getting treatment for injuries he obtained during the previous day's filming, but the producers thought he was holding out for more money and fired him.
Donald Peterson, born October 22, 1933 in Winona, Mississippi, went into space aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-6) as mission specialist in April 1983. It was the maiden flight of Challenger. He and fellow astronaut Story Musgrave performed an EVA which lasted 4 hours 17 minutes. He remained in space for just over 5 days.
He passed away in May 2018 from Alzheimer's disease and bone cancer.
Curly Howard, born October 22, 1903 in Brooklyn, New York, is best known for his performances with the Three Stooges. His brother Shemp was one of the original three, with brother Moe and Larry Fine. Curly replaced Shemp in 1932 and made over 100 appearances with the team before he suffered a massive stroke, during filming Half-Wits Holiday. It was his last appearance as a Stooge. He made a brief, uncredited cameo in the short Hold That Lion! in 1947.
He passed away in January 1952 from a massive cerebral hemorrhage.
Douglas Hurley, born October 21, 1966 in Endicott, New York, has been in space three times.
His first flight was aboard Endeavour (STS-127) as pilot to the International Space Station in July 2009. When they docked at the ISS, they set a record for the most humans in space at the same time, at thirteen.
His second flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-135) as pilot to the ISS in July 2011. It was the final flight of the Space Shuttle program.
His latest flight was aboard SpaceX's Endeavour, the first crewed test flight of the Crew Dragon spacecraft, to the ISS in May 2020. He and fellow astronaut Bob Behnken participated in Expedition 63. They returned to Earth on August 2, 2020.
Geostorm, released October 20, 2017, is a man-made natural disaster movie starring handsome Gerard Butler. Sexy Jim Sturgess played Butler's younger brother. The story is about a global network of satellites that can control the weather all over the world. What happens if that control becomes corrupted?
The sixth episode of the second season of Star Trek, The Doomsday Machine, aired October 20, 1967. The crew of the Enterprise comes across the seriously damaged sister ship the USS Constellation, helmed by Commodore Decker. He is the only survivor of an attack by a planet-killer. He is determined to destroy the planet-killer, even at the cost of the USS Enterprise and her crew.
It has been called one of the best episodes of Star Trek: The Original Series.
Donna Summer released her eighth studio album The Wanderer October 20, 1980. She was disappointed with her previous label Casablanca Records and decided to move on and became the first artist to be signed onto Geffen Records.
The single The Wanderer reached #3 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single Cold Love got her a Grammy nomination for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance. Her song I Believe in Jesus was nominated for Best Inspirational Performance.
Cinematic powerhouse Jon Favreau, born October 19, 1966 in Queens, New York, is a producer, director and actor. He is the executive producer for all three Iron Man movies, and three of the Avengers movies, Age of Ultron, Infinity War and Endgame.
He directed the first two Iron Man movies.
He has appeared in six movies as Tony Stark's chauffeur Happy Hogan.
Favreau won a Saturn Award (Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films) for Best Director for Iron Man. He has also been recognized for his work on the Disney Star Wars production of The Mandalorian.
Disney Studios released their animated version of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, October 18, 1967. It was the last movie to be personally supervised by Walt Disney and was the first to be released after his death in 1966.
The song The Bare Necessities was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The movie was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children.
Ranger 5, launched October 18, 1962, was supposed to take pictures of the moon before crashing into its surface, but missed its target. Its guidance system experienced problems shortly after launch, but NASA sent commands and Ranger 5 was back on course.
Soon, the computer system detected high temperatures and then power generation from the solar panels ceased. The computer did not command the spacecraft to align with Earth and telemetry at tracking stations malfunctioned. An electrical short had disabled the solar panels, leaving Ranger 5 with a few hours of battery power. NASA made several attempts to salvage the mission, but were not successful.
On October 21, Ranger 5 passed within 724 km of the moon and entered a heliocentric orbit.
One of the most beloved children's books, Charlotte's Web, was published October 15, 1952, written by E. B. White and Illustrated by Garth Williams. It is a story about a pig, Wilbur, who is in danger of being slaughtered, but a barn spider, Charlotte, writes messages in her webs, praising Wilbur. The farmer decides to spare Wilbur's life.
Charlotte's Web won a Newbery Honor Book, a recognition given by the Association for Library Service to Children, in 1953. The Newbery Medal is given to the best book, which was given to Ann Nolan Clark's Secret of the Andes. Whatever.
Charlotte's Web won more awards. It has been made into two movies and a musical.
The National Education Association listed it as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". It has been named one of the "Top 100 Chapter Books" of all time by the School Library Journal.
One of the sexiest men alive, Antonio Banderas, born August 10, 1960 in Malaga, Spain, is a multi-award winning actor. He's been nominated for an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy, a Golden Globe among many others.
He has starred in The Mambo Kings, Philadelphia, and the Expendables 3. He is the voice of Puss in Boots in the Shrek movies.
Soyuz MS-17, launched this morning, has carried three members of Expedition 63 to the International Space Station. Its crew consists of Commander Sergey Ryzhikov, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, and Kathleen Rubins (NASA), who celebrates her birthday today!
Santiago Ramon y Cajal, born May 1, 1852 in Navarre, Spain, is the first person of Spanish origin to win a scientific Nobel Prize. His work with Italian scientist Camillo Golgi on the structure of the nervous system was recognized in 1906 when they were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
He won many awards, prizes and distinctions throughout his career. He passed away in October 1934.
An asteroid 117413 Ramonycajal has been named in his honor.
Jose Ferrer, born January 8, 1912 in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the first Hispanic actor to win an Academy Award. He won the honor for Best Actor in a Leading Role, for his role in Cyrano de Bergerac March 29, 1951. He was nominated two more times for an Academy Award: once for Best Actor in a Leading Role in Moulin Rouge (1953), and Best Supporting Actor in Joan of Arc (1949).
Michael Good, born October 13, 1962 in Parma, Ohio, is a veteran of two space shuttle flights.
His first trip into space was aboard Atlantis (STS-125) as mission specialist to the Hubble Space Telescope, the fifth and final flight to the Hubble Telescope in May 2009. He conducted 2 EVAs with fellow astronaut Michael Massimino for almost 16 hours total.
His second and final flight was aboard Atlantis (STS-132) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in May 2010. He conducted two more EVAs with fellow astronauts Steve Bowen and Garrett Reisman.
Although not the first Hispanic elected to the Oklahoma Senate, Michael Brooks-Jimenez is helping change the face of Oklahoma politics. A lawyer and a Democrat, he was elected in a 2017 special election to fill the seat vacated by Ralph Shortey, a Republican who resigned after being charged with soliciting prostitution from a male minor. He represents the 44th district, which covers parts of southern Oklahoma City.
He is the only Latino member of the Senate and one of only three in the Legislature.
First Man, released in the US October 12, 2018, is the award winning movie showing the life of Neil Armstrong and the mission that made him become the first man to walk on the moon. Ryan Gosling played Armstrong.
First Man won an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. It was nominated for three more: Best Sound Editing, Best Production Design, and Best Sound Mixing.
Edwin "Jake" Garn, born October 12, 1932 in Richfield, Utah, went into space aboard Discovery (STS-51-D) as payload specialist in April 1985.
Garn asked to fly on the shuttle since he was head of the Senate appropriations committee that dealt with NASA. He was a US Senator for Utah from December 1974 to January 1993.
Sergeant First Class Modesto Cartagena, born July 21, 1921 in Cayey, Puerto Rico, served in the US Army during WWII and the Korean War. In WWII he was assigned to the Army's 65th Infantry Regiment and served in units guarding Caribbean military installations and in the Allied occupation of Germany.
He was discharged after the war and he returned to Puerto Rico. He re-enlisted at the outbreak of the Korean War and was assigned to Company C, 65th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division.
He earned the nickname "One Man Army" after his actions on April 19, 1951 in North Korea. He left his position "with no regard for his own safety" and charged into enemy fire, single-handedly destroyed two enemy positions. Although being knocked to the ground twice by exploding grenades, he got up and attacked three more times, destroying three more enemy positions. He was finally wounded.
He stated later that he though the rest of the squad was behind him. He did not realize that most of them had been wounded or forced to take cover.
He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the second highest military decoration in the US Army. Among others decorations, he won the Silver Star, the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart.
One of a number of big bug movies, The Black Scorpion, was released October 11, 1957. A series of volcanic eruptions release giant scorpions from underground caverns and they threaten to demolish Mexico City.
The movie appears to have received some good reviews for its stop-motion animation effects. It was featured in an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.
Rex Walheim, born October 10, 1962 in Redwood City, California, is a veteran of three space shuttle missions. He obtained the rank of second lieutenant in the Air Force in May 1984.
His first mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-110) as mission specialist to the International Space Station in April 2002. The mission's main objective was to install the S0 Truss segment, which forms the back bone of the ISS.
His second mission was again aboard Atlantis (STS-122) as mission specialist to the ISS in February 2008. Walheim conducted 3 EVAs with fellow astronauts Stanley Love and Hans Schlegel for over 21 hours.
His third and final mission was aboard Atlantis (STS-135) as mission specialist to the ISS in July 2011. It was the final flight of the Space Shuttle program.
Marilyn Milian, born in Manhattan to Cuban parents, is the first Hispanic woman to preside over a court show, the People's Court, which is the first reality court show. She was an assistant state attorney in Dade County, appointed by Janet Reno. Shrub's brother Jeb appointed her to the Miami Circuit Court. In 2001, she replaced Jerry Sheindlin as judge of the People's Court for its 17th season.
Luis Alvarez, born June 13, 1911 in San Francisco, California, was an inventor, professor and a physicist, who won the Novel Prize in Physics in 1968. He worked on the Manhattan Project with Robert Oppenheimer in Los Alamos on the atomic bomb.
With his son Walter in the 1980s, Alvarez developed the theory that a huge comet is what made the dinosaurs extinct.
Alvarez passed away in September 1988 from complications from esophageal cancer.
Kirk Alyn, born October 8, 1910 in Oxford, New Jersey, was the first actor to play the live version of Superman. He starred as the Man of Steel in serials from 1948 to 1950 with Noel Neill as Lois Lane. She would go on to reprise the role in Adventures of Superman with George Reeves in the title role.
Oscar Hijuelos, born August 24, 1951 in New York City, became the first Hispanic to win a Pulitzer Prize for fiction. He won the prize for his second novel, The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love in 1990. The novel was adapted into a movie The Mambo Kings starring Antonio Banderas.
Cipriano Andrade, born September 1, 1840 in Tampico, Mexico served in the US Navy for 40 years and attained the rank of Rear Admiral. During the Civil War, he served aboard the USS Lancaster from August 1861 to October 1863. He served aboard the USS Pontiac from December 1863 to June 1865. He served as chief engineer on the USS Ashuelot from September 1, 1881 to November 1881.
He was changed to Captain on March 3, 1899 and in July 1901, he was transferred to the retired list of the Navy with the rank of Rear Admiral.
Super-group Alabama, winner of countless country music awards, was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, October 6, 1998. They have released almost two dozen albums and have over 40 #1 hits.
The third episode of the third season of X-Files, D.P.O., aired October 6, 1995. Scully and Mulder investigate a young man who appears to possess electrokinesis, the ability to manipulate electricity. Sound familiar? A man in Oklahoma who can control lightning?
Oh, well.
Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny portray their characters of Scully and Mulder. Giovanni Rabisi plays the man with the ability to conjure lightning bolts and Jack Black plays the same character he does in almost all his movies.
Catherine Cortez Masto, born March 29, 1964 in Las Vegas, Nevada, is the first Latina to serve as US Senator and the first woman to represent Nevada in the senate.
She narrowly defeated her Republican challenger to replace the outgoing Democratic Senator. She took office in January 2017.
Venom, starring sexy Tom Hardy, was released October 5, 2018. A spin-off of Marvel's Spiderman series, Venom is about a symbiote from outer space, who finds a human host and becomes a dual person. In the comics, Venom was originally worn by Peter Parker. But Venom became too co-dependent, and Peter had to separate from the symbiote. Venom hated Parker for that and bonded with Eddie Brock who also had hatred for Peter.
Major Francisco "Frank" Rubio, born December 11, 1975 in Los Angeles, was selected as a member of NASA Astronaut Group 22 in 2017. He has since completed his training and is looking forward to going into space or even the moon in 2024.
He was a UH-60 Blackhawk pilot in the US Army, was a platoon leader in the 2nd Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, and company commander for the 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment. He has over 1100 hours flying time including 600 combat hours in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan.
He has a Doctorate of Medicine and was a surgeon for the 3rd Battalion, 10th Special Force Group at Fort Carson.
