Today in History – Oct. 1 – 1960 – Nigeria’s Independence Day

331 BC Alexander the Great defeats Darius III of Persia in the Battle of Gaugamela

1688 Prince Willem III of Orange accepts invitation of take up the British crown

1814 Opening of the Congress of Vienna, redraws Europe’s political map after the defeat of Napoléon Bonaparte

1867 Karl Marx publishes “Das Kapital” in Berlin, a description of the capitalist system, its instability and tendency to self-destruction

1908 Henry Ford introduces the Model T car (costs $825)

1918 World War I: Combined Arab and British force under the Lawrence of Arabia, T. E. Lawrence captures Damascus from the Turks

1988 Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet, effectively head of state of the Soviet Union

Today in Film & TV
1968 Cult zombie film “Night of the Living Dead” directed by George A. Romero, starring Duane Jones and Judith O’Dea premieres in Pittsburgh

Today in Sport
1975 “The Thrilla in Manila”; Muhammad Ali stops Joe Frazier in 14 rounds in Quezon City, the Philippines to retain his WBC/WBA heavyweight title

Do you know this fact about today? Did You Know?
National Geographic magazine publishes for the 1st time, on this day in 1888

Would you believe this fact about today? Would You Believe?
Winston Churchill calls Russia a “riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma”, on this day in 1939