Today in History: October 2

October 2nd

1869: Mohandas K. Ghandi, also known as the Mahatma, or great soul, is born in India, then under British colonial rule. Ghandi's use of non-violent tactics as a political and spiritual leader helps India gain its independence decades later.

1919: In Washington, President Woodrow Wilson suffers a stroke which leaves him partially paralyzed. Wilson never fully recovers, effectively putting his presidency in limbo for the rest of his term in office and the stroke ends Wilson's drive for the United States to join the League of Nations, forerunner of the United Nations.

1967: Also in the nation's capital, Thurgood Marshall is sworn in as the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court.

1985: Actor Rock Hudson dies at his home in Beverly Hills, California, after a battle with AIDS. He was 59. Hudson was the first major celebrity to reveal that he had AIDS, a disclosure that helped raise awareness and change perceptions about the disease.

1890: Comedian Groucho Marx, star of silver screen and TV, both with his comedy team brothers and on his own, is born in New York City.

1950: Here comes Charlie Brown and the gang as the daily comic strip Peanuts premieres in newspapers. The strip runs for nearly 50 years until its creator, Charles Schultz dies in 2000.

1951: Sting, the actor and singer who first gained fame as the frontman for the rock group The Police is born Gordon Sumner in Wallsend, England.


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