Adopt a puppy, visit the zoo, watch some cute cat videos on YouTube, volunteer at your local shelter or wear a paper mache tiger mask until Oct. 5.  These are just a few suggestions on how you can celebrate World Animal Day.  Begun by a group of ecologists in Italy in 1931, World Animal Day celebrates all forms of animal life and acknowledges the diverse roles that animals play in our lives.  Oct. 4 coincides with the Christian Feast of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.

1895 First Golf U.S. Open Tournament

The United States Golf Association held the first U.S. Open Championship of men’s golf in Newport, R.I.  Horace Rawlins, age 21, won the first tournament, taking home $150 in prize money and a gold medal.

1941 Norman Rockwell’s Willie Gillis Character Debuts

The cover of “ The Saturday Evening Post” featured Norman Rockwell’s fictional soldier, Willie Gillis.  On his first cover, a young Gillis, in uniform, holds a care package. Gillis matures throughout his 10 subsequent covers.  The final “Saturday Evening Post” Gillis cover art in 1946 deviates from wartime themes and shows his studying in college.  Norman Rockwell painted his first cover for “The Saturday Evening Post” in 1916 when he was 22.

1957 Soviet Union Launches Sputnik

The space race takes off when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, the first artificial satellite, into orbit.

1965 First Pope to Visit America

In the first papal visit to the United States, Pope Paul VI delivered a blessing at St. Patrick’s cathedral in New York.

2001 Florida Man Diagnosed With Anthrax

Less than a month after the terrorist attacks of 9/11, an anthrax scare grips the nation.  Letters containing anthrax were mailed Sept. 18, 2001,  to major news outlets and two senators. Florida resident Bob Stevens, a newspaper photo editor, is the first fatality linked to the series of anthrax attacks.  He died Oct. 6, 2001.

Famous Birthdays

1895 Buster Keaton

1941 Ann Rice

1946 Chuck Hagel

1946 Susan Sarandon

1948 Linda McMahon

1965 Micky Ward

1976 Alicia Silverstone

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