In A.D. 1000, long before Columbus, Eriksson led a Viking voyage westward from Greenland and reached the coast of North America, in what is now Newfoundland. He named his discovery Vinland. Although Eriksson is not officially credited with the European discovery of America, ever since 1964 U.S. presidents have had the option of proclaiming October 9 as Leif Eriksson Day.
Daily Calendar for Thursday, October 9, 2025
Born
- Lewis Cass (politician) –
- Camille Saint-Saens (composer) –
- Myron Herrick (politician) –
- Alfred Dreyfus (French army officer) –
- Leonard Wood (physician) –
- Charles Rudolph Walgreen (merchant) –
- Jacques Tati (director) –
- E. Howard Hunt (author) –
- John Lennon (musician) –
- Jackson Browne (musician) –
- Tony Shalhoub (actor) –
- Scott Bakula (actor) –
- Steve Ovett (runner) –
- Brandon Routh (actor) –
- Zachery Ty Bryan (actor) –
- Tyler James Williams (actor) –
Died
- Oskar Schindler (businessman) –
- David Dukes (actor) –
- Charles Guggenheim (filmmaker) –
- Jan Hooks (actress) –
Events
- The Collegiate School, later renamed Yale University, is founded in Connecticut. –
- Joshua Stoddard received a patent for a calliope –
- The nation’s first working underground oil pipeline was completed between Oil Creek and Pithole, Pennsylvania –
- American Humane Association organized –
- The Washington Monument opened to the public –
- 7.7 earthquake struck Kodiak Island, Alaska –
- Deadly fire leveled Baudette and Spooner, Minnesota –
- First electronic blanket manufactured, Petersburg, Virginia –
- In Bolivia, Che Guevara is killed while leading a Cuban-sponsored guerrilla force –
- Cape Kennedy restored to original name of Cape Canaveral” in Florida” –
- A meteorite struck a car in Peekskill, New York –
- Starting on September 28, Lloyd Scott, a 41-year old former firefighter and professional football player from Rainham, London, dived through the depths of Loch Ness for 12 days to complete on this day the world’s first ever underwater marathon. Lloyd wore an 80-kilogram diving suit throughout the 26-mile adventure –
- The new U.S. $20 bill, with its faint tinge of peach color in the background, made its way into bank vaults and consumers’ pockets –
Weather
- Damaging hailstorms hit Montana, causing $7.5 million in crop damage –
