On Oct. 8, 1869, the nation’s 14th president, Franklin Pierce, died in Concord, N.H.
In 1871 the Chicago Fire supposedly began in Patrick O’Leary’s barn, eventually razing much of the city and claiming at least 250 lives. Also in 1871 flames destroyed Peshtigo, Wis., and killed 1,182 people.
In 1918 Army Sgt. Alvin C. York killed 25 German soldiers and captured 132 almost single-handedly in the Argonne Forest of France.
In 1934 Bruno Hauptmann was indicted for murder in the death of the son of Charles Lindbergh.
In 1941 Rev. Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville, S.C.
In 1944 “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” made its debut on CBS Radio.
In 1956 Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series to date as the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 2-0.
In 1970 Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was named winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.
In 1982 all labor organizations in Poland, including Solidarity, were banned.
In 1985 the hijackers of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer.
In 1990 Israeli police opened fire on rioting Palestinians on the Temple Mount, called Haram ash-Sharif by Muslims, in Jerusalem, killing 17.
In 2003 Jarome Iginla of the Calgary Flames became the first black captain in NHL history.
In 2004 Martha Stewart reported to the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia to begin serving her sentence for lying about a stock sale. Also in 2004 Kenyan environmentalist Wangari Mathai won the Nobel Peace Prize.
