Today marks Saturday, October 18, 2025, the 291st day of the year, leaving 74 days remaining until we welcome 2026.
Today in history:
On this day in 1977, Reggie Jackson cemented his legacy by hitting three home runs during Game 6 of the World Series, propelling the New York Yankees to an 8-4 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers. This triumph secured a 4-2 series win, earning him the moniker “Mr. October” for his postseason heroics.
Also on this date:
Back in 1867, the United States officially acquired Alaska from Russia, marking a significant expansion of American territory.
In 1898, for the first time, the American flag was raised over Puerto Rico. This event occurred just before Spain formally transferred control of the island to the United States.
The world lost a great mind in 1931 when Thomas Edison, the prolific inventor, passed away at his residence in West Orange, New Jersey, at the age of 84.
In a groundbreaking moment in 1954, Texas Instruments introduced the Regency TR-1, the first transistor radio available for commercial purchase, revolutionizing the way people listened to music.
In 1962, James D. Watson, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine and Physiology for determining the double-helix molecular structure of DNA.
In 1968, American Bob Beamon shattered the previous long jump world record by nearly two feet, leaping 29 feet, 2 1/4 inches (8.90 meters) at the Summer Olympics in Mexico City.
In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, overriding President Richard Nixon’s veto.
In 1977, West German commandos stormed a hijacked Lufthansa jetliner on the ground in Mogadishu, Somalia, freeing all 87 hostages and four crew members and killing three of the four hijackers; the Lufthansa flight had been hijacked five days earlier by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and made multiple stops before the rescue raid.
In 2007, two bombs exploded near a motorcade carrying former Pakistan Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi hours after her return from eight years in exile, killing more than 130 people; Bhutto herself was unhurt but would be assassinated in December 2007.
In 2018, President Donald Trump threatened to close the U.S. border with Mexico if authorities could not stop a caravan of migrants from Central America.
Today’s Birthdays:
- Football Hall of Famer Mike Ditka is 86.
- Composer Howard Shore is 79.
- Actor Joe Morton is 78.
- Author Terry McMillan is 74.
- Tennis Hall of Famer Martina Navratilova is 69.
- Boxing Hall of Famer Thomas Hearns is 67.
- Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme is 65.
- Jazz musician Wynton Marsalis is 64.
- Musician Ne-Yo is 46.
- Olympic gold medal skier Lindsey Vonn is 41.
- Jazz singer-musician Esperanza Spalding is 41.
- Actor Freida Pinto is 41.
- Actor Zac Efron is 38.
- WNBA center Brittney Griner is 35.
- Actor Tyler Posey is 34.
- Actor Barry Keoghan is 33.
