Our front page for October 11 — written and set by The Yesterday Times from the events below. Not an archival document.
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On October 11 in 1984, 42 years ago, Sullivan Is First U.S. Woman to Spacewalk. This page reports 9 stories from the date, 25 people born on this day and 15 who died on it.
The stories in full
Kennedy Space Center
1984 — Sullivan Is First U.S. Woman to Spacewalk
Kathryn D. Sullivan's three and a half hours outside Challenger during STS-41-G made her the first American woman to spacewalk, six days after an October 5 launch that also carried Sally Ride — marking the first time two women orbited together.
Kathryn Sullivan in her NASA flight suit with helmet — NASA
Kathryn D. Sullivan floated free of the shuttle Challenger this morning, becoming the first U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk. The extravehicular activity lasted three and a half hours and tested a new satellite refueling system. Sullivan's walk came six days after Challenger launched from Cape Canaveral. She is one of six women selected in NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first class to include female candidates. Sally Ride flew aboard the same craft, making this the first flight with two women in space together. Challenger, which entered service in April 1983, is the second orbiter in the shuttle fleet after Columbia.
Kathryn D. Sullivan performed the first extra-vehicular activity (EVA) by an American woman during mission STS-41-G.
The spacewalk took place aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger, which launched on October 5, 1984.
Sullivan was one of six women selected in NASA Astronaut Group 8, the first group to include women.
Sally Ride was also on the same mission, making it the first time two women were in space together.
Challenger was the second Space Shuttle orbiter to fly into space after Columbia, launching on its maiden flight in April 1983.
Theodore Roosevelt, barrel-chested and grinning, climbed aboard a Wright biplane at Kinloch Field this afternoon and flew four minutes over St. Louis, becoming the first U.S. president to leave the ground in a heavier-than-air craft. Pilot Arch Hoxsey, one of the Wright brothers' exhibition team, kept the craft low and steady. The former president waved to the small crowd gathered at the edge of the field as the biplane circled once before landing. Hoxsey, who had learned to fly only months earlier, said the flight had gone exactly as planned. Roosevelt stepped from the craft brushing dust from his trousers and immediately asked when he might go up again.
Piloted by Arch Hoxsey, Theodore Roosevelt becomes the first U.S. president to fly in an airplane.
1958 — NASA Launches Pioneer 1, First Space Probe; Craft Fails to Orbit
First space probe launched, fails to orbit.
NASA's maiden space probe, Pioneer 1, rocketed from Cape Canaveral at 8:42 a.m. today on a mission to orbit the Moon, but the Thor-Able booster cut off prematurely and the craft fell back to Earth after forty-three hours. Controllers tracked the probe during descent, losing signal over the South Pacific.
NASA launches Pioneer 1, its first space probe, although it fails to achieve a stable orbit.
2000 — NASA Launches STS-92, Marks 100th Shuttle Mission
The 100th Space Shuttle mission launched today.
The shuttle clears the launch pad in a burst of flame — NASA
NASA launched STS-92 from Kennedy Space Center at 7:17 p.m. EDT today, sending Discovery into orbit on the 100th flight of the reusable spacecraft program. The milestone came nineteen years after Columbia's maiden voyage in April 1981. The seven-member crew will spend twelve days aloft, docking with the International Space Station to deliver a truss segment and docking port.
NASA launches STS-92, the 100th Space Shuttle mission.
Reagan and Gorbachev began their Iceland summit with aides present, confronting the possibility of mutual reduction for nuclear weapons stationed on the continent.
Reagan and Gorbachev sit across a wooden table with aides at Hofdi House — President (1981-1989
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev met in Iceland to continue discussions about scaling back IRBM arsenals in Europe. They sat across a wooden table at Hofdi House this morning, aides at their sides. The Reykjavik summit opened with familiar stakes.
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev meet in Iceland to continue discussions about scaling back IRBM arsenals in Europe.
The drowning of at least 359 people in the Channel of Sicily becomes the deadliest such incident in the region's modern migration crisis.
The drowning of at least 359 people has made this the deadliest migrant shipwreck in the Mediterranean in memory. A boat carrying migrants sank in the Channel of Sicily, according to reports reaching this office. The vessel went down with hundreds aboard, most believed to be from sub-Saharan Africa and Syria. The Italian coast guard and navy recovered bodies through the night. The ship had departed from Libya, part of the surge of crossings that has overwhelmed rescue services this year. The death toll of at least 359 surpasses previous disasters and has renewed calls for expanded search-and-rescue operations.
A migrant boat sinks in the Channel of Sicily, with at least 359 people drowning.
1968 — Apollo 7 Lifts Off From Cape Kennedy With Three-Man Crew on First Manned Mission of Program
Apollo 7's eleven-day command module trial marked NASA's first crewed mission since the 1967 Apollo 1 fire, carrying Commander Schirra with Eisele and Cunningham for the program's first live television broadcast from space.
America returned its astronauts to space today as Apollo 7 launched from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Florida. The first manned mission of NASA's Apollo program carried three men into an eleven-day trial of the command module. Commander Walter M. Schirra led Command Module Pilot Donn F. Eisele and Lunar Module Pilot R. Walter Cunningham. The mission marked the first crewed flight since the Apollo 1 fire killed three astronauts in January 1967. It included the first live television broadcast from an American spacecraft.
Apollo 7 launched on October 11, 1968, from Cape Kennedy Air Force Station, Florida.
The crew was commanded by Walter M. Schirra, with Command Module Pilot Donn F. Eisele and Lunar Module Pilot R. Walter Cunningham.
Apollo 7 was the first crewed flight in NASA's Apollo program after the Apollo 1 fire killed three astronauts on January 27, 1967.
The mission included the first live television broadcast from an American spacecraft.
Apollo 7 splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean on October 22, 1968, after eleven days in space.
1984 — Aeroflot Flight 3352 Crashes in Omsk, Killing 178
A Tupolev Tu-154 arriving from Krasnodar struck maintenance vehicles on the runway at Omsk Airport, killing 178 people aboard and on the ground.
The crew of Aeroflot Flight 3352 attempted a landing in early morning darkness at Omsk when their Tupolev Tu-154 struck maintenance vehicles on the runway. The airliner, arriving from Krasnodar, crashed and burned, killing 178 people aboard and on the ground. The accident occurred at Omsk Airport in western Siberia, a major Soviet transit hub. Reports reaching this office indicate the crew had been cleared to land on a runway where ground vehicles remained. The collision destroyed the aircraft and ignited fuel tanks that fed an intense fire. Soviet authorities have sealed the airport and begun an investigation.
Aeroflot Flight 3352 crashes into maintenance vehicles upon landing in Omsk, Russia, killing 178.
1138 — Earthquake Levels Aleppo, Kills Tens of Thousands in Single Morning
The ground shook with such violence that towers fell as sand castles before the tide.
In the year 1138 by the reckoning of Our Lord, the earth beneath Aleppo opened in wrath upon the tenth day of October. The city, chief jewel of Nur ad-Din's realm, lies now in heaps of stone and dust.
Witnesses who reached our scribes report that the citadel cracked, the great mosque split, and markets where thousands walked at sunrise became their tombs by noon. The number of the dead mounts beyond counting—some say forty thousand souls, others twice that—making this among the most destructive tremors since the age of the ancients.
Hama and other towns to the south felt the same blow. Fires followed where oil and grain had spilled. The Emir has ordered prayer in every quarter that remains standing, and alms for the widows.
A massive earthquake strikes Aleppo; it is one of the most destructive earthquakes ever.
1991 Anita Hill testifies at Clarence Thomas hearing — 35 years agosource
1962 Second Vatican Council convenes in Rome — 64 years agosource
2018 Soyuz MS-10 aborts after launch, crew lands safely — 8 years agosource
1987 750,000 attend Great March for LGBT rights in Washington — 39 years agosource
1950 CBS field-sequential color TV system licensed — 76 years agosource
1852 University of Sydney inaugurated as Australia's oldest university — 174 years agosource
1311 Peerage and clergy publish Ordinances of 1311 — 715 years agosource
1890 Daughters of the American Revolution founded in Washington — 136 years agosource
Famous birthdays on October 11
1884Eleanor RooseveltAnna Eleanor Roosevelt was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist.
1937Bobby CharltonSir Robert Charlton was an English footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, left winger or centre-forward.
1942Amitabh Bachchan(84 this year)Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian actor, playback singer, and producer who primarily works in Hindi cinema.
1946Daryl Hall(80 this year)Daryl Franklin Hohl, known professionally as Daryl Hall, is an American rock and soul singer-songwriter.
1966Luke PerryCoy Luther "Luke" Perry III was an American actor.
1993Hardik Pandya(33 this year)Hardik Himanshu Pandya is an Indian international cricketer who plays for the Indian cricket team.
1896Roman JakobsonRoman Osipovich Jakobson was a Russian linguist and literary theorist.
1899Eddie DyerEdwin Hawley Dyer was an American left-handed pitcher, manager and farm system official in Major League Baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1922 to 1944 and 1946–1950.
1916Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur AttarAhmad Abd al-Ghafur Attar was a Saudi Arabian writer, journalist and poet, best known for his works about 20th-century Islamic challenges.
1916Nanaji DeshmukhChandikadas Amritrao Deshmukh, better known as Nanaji Deshmukh, was an Indian social activist and politician.
1925Elmore LeonardElmore John Leonard Jr. was an American novelist, short story author and screenwriter.
1927Jim PriorJames Michael Leathes Prior, Baron Prior, was a British Conservative Party politician.
1935Daniel QuinnDaniel Clarence Quinn was an American author, cultural critic, and publisher of educational texts, best known for his novel Ishmael, which won the Turner Tomorrow Fellowship Award in 1991 and was published the following year.
1949Henry Luke Orombi(77 this year)Henry Luke Orombi in Pakwach, North Western Uganda, is a Ugandan Anglican bishop.
1951Louise RennisonLouise Rennison was an English author and comedian who wrote the Confessions of Georgia Nicolson series for teenage girls.
1951Miroslav DvořákMiroslav Dvořák was a Czechoslovak ice hockey defenseman.
1961Steve Young(65 this year)Jon Steven Young is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers.
1964Michael J. Nelson(62 this year)Michael John Nelson is an American comedian and writer, most known for his work on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K).
1965Sean Patrick Flanery(61 this year)Sean Patrick Flanery is an American actor.
1967David Starr(59 this year)David Leon Starr is an American professional stock car racing driver.
1968Jane Krakowski(58 this year)Jane Krakowski is an American actress and singer.
1970Vanessa Harding(56 this year)Leslie Culton better known by her ring name Vanessa Harding, is a semi-retired American professional wrestler and manager who has competed in North American independent promotions throughout the early 2000s including Full Impact Pro, Future of Wrestling, the Heartland Wrestling Association, Ohio Valley Wrestling and NWA Florida.
1972Marcus Bai(54 this year)Marcus "George" Bai is a Papua New Guinean former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An international representative winger, he represented Papua New Guinea on numerous occasions including at the 1995 Rugby League World Cup.
1977Rhett McLaughlin(49 this year)Rhett James McLaughlin and Charles Lincoln "Link" Neal III, collectively known as Rhett & Link, are an American comedy duo.
1984Jane Zhang(42 this year)Zhang Liangying, also known as Jane Zhang, is a Chinese singer, songwriter and record producer.
Died on October 11
1579Sokollu Mehmed PashaSokollu Mehmed Pasha was an Ottoman statesman.
2007Werner von TrappThe Trapp Family was a singing group formed from the family of former Austrian naval commander Georg von Trapp.
1986Norm CashNorman Dalton Cash was an American Major League Baseball first baseman who spent almost his entire career with the Detroit Tigers.
1809Meriwether LewisMeriwether Lewis was an American explorer, soldier, politician, and public administrator, best known for his role as the leader of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, with William Clark.
1531Huldrych ZwingliHuldrych Zwingli was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland.
1960Richard CromwellRichard Cromwell also known as Roy Radabaugh, was an American actor.
1904Mary Tenney GrayMary Davy Tenney Gray was a 19th-century American editorial writer, clubwoman, philanthropist, and suffragist from Pennsylvania, who later became a resident of Kansas.
2014Bob SuchRobert Bruce Such was a South Australian politician.
1779Casimir PulaskiKazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski, anglicised as Casimir Pulaski, was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called "The Father of American cavalry" or "The Soldier of Liberty".
2000Donald DewarDonald Campbell Dewar was a Scottish statesman and politician who served as the first first minister of Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000 and leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1998 until his death in 2000.
1971Tamanoumi MasahiroTamanoumi Masahiro was a Japanese professional sumo wrestler from Aichi.
2013Erich PriebkeErich Priebke was a German mid-level Schutzstaffel (SS) commander in the Sicherheitspolizei (SiPo) of Nazi Germany.
1998Richard DenningRichard Denning was an American actor who starred in science fiction films of the 1950s, including Unknown Island (1948), Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954), Target Earth (1954), Day the World Ended (1955), Creature with the Atom Brain (1955), and The Black Scorpion (1957).
1961Chico MarxLeonard "Chico" Marx was an American comedian, actor, and pianist.
1542Thomas WyattSir Thomas Wyatt was a 16th-century English politician, ambassador, and lyric poet credited with introducing the sonnet to English literature.
Holidays and observances
Agilbert
Alexander Sauli
Andronicus, Probus, and Tarachus (Roman Catholic Church)
Bruno the Great
Cainnech of Aghaboe
Gratus of Oloron
Gummarus
Maria Soledad Torres y Acosta
Nicasius, Quirinus, Scubiculus, and Pientia
October 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Philip the Evangelist
Pope John XXIII (Roman Catholic Church)
Quote of the Day
“To be great is to be misunderstood.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance
October 11 History Quiz
On October 11, 1984, what milestone did astronaut Kathryn Sullivan achieve?
First American woman to spacewalk
What made Theodore Roosevelt's flight on October 11, 1910 historically significant?
He was the first president to fly
What was significant about the Apollo 7 mission launched on October 11, 1968?
Every event on this page was picked by hand from the historical record, written up as a news report, and checked against its source. Photographs are matched to the event they illustrate and verified before they are used. Sources are linked on each story.
![Front page of The San Francisco call, San Francisco [Calif.], 11 October 1910](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:ndnp:curiv:batch_curiv_mecca_ver01:data:sn85066387:00175046665:1910101101:0261/full/pct:50/0/default.jpg)
![Front page of New-York tribune, New York [N.Y.], 11 October 1910](https://tile.loc.gov/image-services/iiif/service:ndnp:dlc:batch_dlc_canada_ver02:data:sn83030214:00175039739:1910101101:0238/full/pct:50/0/default.jpg)
The Godfather, Mario Puzo
Ragtime, E. L. Doctorow
“Another One Bites The Dust”, 
Firestarter, Stephen King
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier
Bleachers, John Grisham
Edge of Eternity, Ken Follett
The Secret of Secrets, Dan Brown
