Today in History for Oct. 14, 2012

Today is Sunday, Oct. 14, the 288th day of 2012. There are 78 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight:

On Oct. 14, 1912, former President Theodore Roosevelt, campaigning for the White House as the Progressive candidate, was shot in the chest in Milwaukee by New York saloonkeeper John Schrank. Despite the wound, Roosevelt went ahead with a scheduled speech, declaring, “It takes more than one bullet to kill a bull moose.”

On this date:

In 1066, Normans under William the Conqueror defeated the English at the Battle of Hastings.

In 1586, Mary, Queen of Scots, went on trial in England, accused of committing treason against Queen Elizabeth I. (Mary was beheaded in February 1587.)

In 1890, Dwight D. Eisenhower, 34th president of the United States, was born in Denison, Texas.

In 1908, the E.M. Forster novel “A Room With a View” was first published by Edward Arnold of London.

In 1939, a German U-boat torpedoed and sank the HMS Royal Oak, a British battleship anchored at Scapa Flow in Scotland’s Orkney Islands; 833 of the more than 1,200 men aboard were killed.

In 1944, German Field Marshal Erwin Rommel committed suicide rather than face execution for allegedly conspiring against Adolf Hitler.

In 1947, Air Force test pilot Charles E. (“Chuck”) Yeager broke the sound barrier as he flew the experimental Bell XS-1 (later X-1) rocket plane over Muroc Dry Lake.

In 1960, Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy suggested the idea of a Peace Corps while addressing an audience of students at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

In 1961, the Frank Loesser musical “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying,” starring Robert Morse as J. Pierrepont Finch, opened on Broadway.

In 1964, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was named winner of the Nobel Peace Prize.

In 1977, singer Bing Crosby died outside Madrid, Spain, at age 74.

In 1987, a 58-hour drama began in Midland, Texas, as 18-month-old Jessica McClure slid 22 feet down an abandoned well at a private day care center; she was rescued on Oct. 16.

Ten years ago: FBI analyst Linda Franklin was killed by the Beltway Sniper in a mall parking lot in Falls Church, Va. President George W. Bush called recent attacks in Kuwait, Indonesia and Yemen part of a grim pattern of terror, and said “we’ve got a long way to go” to defeat Osama bin Laden’s global network. The San Francisco Giants beat the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 to win the National League Championship Series in five games.

Five years ago: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice opened an intense round of Mideast shuttle diplomacy. Three University of Texas students exploring Airman’s Cave were rescued after getting lost inside a day earlier. Lorena Ochoa clinched her second straight LPGA Tour player of the year award with a runaway victory in the Samsung World Championship, finishing at 18-under 270.

One year ago: President Barack Obama cast himself as a savior of the U.S. auto industry as he stood in a once-shuttered Michigan assembly plant with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak to boast of a new trade deal and the auto bailout he’d pushed through Congress. The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Milwaukee Brewers 7-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the NL championship series. In Tokyo, Japan’s Kohei Uchimura gave the home fans what they wanted, becoming the first man to win three titles at the world gymnastics championships.

Today’s birthdays: Former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop is 96. Actor Roger Moore is 85. Classical pianist Gary Graffman is 84. Movie director Carroll Ballard is 75. Former White House counsel John W. Dean III is 74. Country singer Melba Montgomery is 74. Fashion designer Ralph Lauren is 73. Singer Sir Cliff Richard is 72. Actor Udo Kier is 68. Singer-musician Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) is 66. Actor Harry Anderson is 60. Actor Greg Evigan is 59. TV personality Arleen Sorkin is 57. World Golf Hall of Famer Beth Daniel is 56. Singer-musician Thomas Dolby is 54. Actress Lori Petty is 49. MLB manager Joe Girardi is 48. Actor Steve Coogan is 47. Singer Karyn White is 47. Actor Jon Seda is 42. Country musician Doug Virden is 42. Country singer Natalie Maines (The Dixie Chicks) is 38. Actress-singer Shaznay Lewis (All Saints) is 37. Singer Usher is 34. TV personality Stacy Keibler is 33. Actor Ben Whishaw is 32. Actor Jordan Brower is 31. Actress Skyler Shaye is 26. Actor-comedian Jay Pharoah (“Saturday Night Live”) is 25.

Thought for today: “Ninety-nine percent of failures come from people who have the habit of making excuses.” — George Washington Carver, American botanist (1864-1943).