Today in History: Oct. 8

Today is Tuesday, Oct. 8, the 282nd day of 2024. There are 84 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Oct. 8, 1871, the Great Chicago Fire began; more than 300 people died and more than 17,000 structures were destroyed during the three-day blaze.

Also on this date:

In 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series as the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5, 2-0.

In 1997, scientists reported the Mars Pathfinder had yielded what could be the strongest evidence yet that Mars might once have been hospitable to life.

In 2002, a federal judge approved President George W. Bush’s request to reopen West Coast ports, ending a 10-day labor lockout that was costing the U.S. economy an estimated $1 billion to $2 billion a day.

In 2005, a magnitude 7.6 earthquake on the Pakistan-India border killed an estimated 86,000 people.

In 2016, Donald Trump vowed to continue his campaign after many Republicans called on him to abandon his presidential bid in the wake of the release of a 2005 video in which he made lewd remarks about women and appeared to condone sexual assault.

In 2020, authorities in Michigan said six men had been charged with conspiring to kidnap Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in reaction to what they viewed as her “uncontrolled power.”

In 2022, an explosion caused the partial collapse of a bridge linking the Crimean Peninsula with Russia, damaging an important supply artery for the Kremlin’s war effort in southern Ukraine.

Today’s Birthdays: Actor Paul Hogan is 85. Civil rights activist Rev. Jesse Jackson is 83. Comedian Chevy Chase is 81. Author R.L. Stine is 81. Actor Sigourney Weaver is 75. Musician Robert “Kool” Bell (Kool & the Gang) is 74. Producer-director Edward Zwick is 72. NASCAR Hall of Famer Bill Elliott is 69. Comedian Darrell Hammond is 69. Actor Kim Wayans is 63. Gospel singer CeCe Winans is 60. Olympic gold medal swimmer Matt Biondi is 59. Actor Karyn Parsons is 58. Singer-producer Teddy Riley is 57. Actor Matt Damon is 54. Actor-TV host Nick Cannon is 44. Singer-songwriter Bruno Mars is 39. Actor Angus T. Jones is 31. Actor-singer Bella Thorne is 27.

– Associated PRess