Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/185358
2A Daily News – Thursday, October 3, 2013 Today in History By The Associated Press Today is Thursday, Oct. 3, the 276th day of 2013. There are 89 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a reunified country. On this date: In 1226, St. Francis of Assisi, founder of the Franciscan order, died; he was canonized in 1228. In 1789, President George Washington declared Nov. 26, 1789, a day of Thanksgiving to express gratitude for the creation of the United States of America. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the last Thursday in November Thanksgiving Day. In 1951, the New York Giants captured the National League pennant by a score of 5-4 as Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off the Brooklyn Dodgers' Ralph Branca in the ''shot heard 'round the world.'' In 1961, ''The Dick Van Dyke Show,'' also starring Mary Tyler Moore, made its debut on CBS. In 1991, Arkansas Gov. Bill Clinton entered the race for the Democratic presidential nomination. In 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial found the former football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman (however, Simpson was later found liable in a civil trial). Ten years ago: A tiger attacked magician Roy Horn of duo ''Siegfried & Roy'' during a performance in Las Vegas, leaving the superstar illusionist in critical condition on his 59th birthday. Five years ago: Amid dire warnings of economic disaster, a reluctant Congress abruptly reversed course and approved a historic $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry; President George W. Bush swiftly signed it. Today's Birthdays: Basketball Hall of Famer Marques O. Haynes is 87. Composer Steve Reich is 77. Rock and roll star Chubby Checker is 72. Actor Alan Rachins is 71. Sen. Jeff Bingaman, D-N.M., is 70. Magician Roy Horn is 69. Singer Lindsey Buckingham is 64. Jazz musician Ronnie Laws is 63. Blues singer Keb' Mo' is 62. Former astronaut Kathryn Sullivan is 62. Baseball Hall of Famer Dave Winfield is 62. Baseball Hall of Famer Dennis Eckersley is 59. Civil rights activist Rev. Al Sharpton is 59. Actor Hart Bochner is 57. Thought for Today: ''The worst disease in the world is the plague of vengeance.'' -- Dr. Karl Menninger, American psychiatrist (1893-1990).