Today in History - History - October 12th

1973Nixon nominates Gerald Ford to replace Spiro Agnew as VP

1999Pat LaFontaine formally retires from the NHL due to lingering concussion problems

1792First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York

1901Theodore Roosevelt renames "Executive Mansion," "The White House"

1933John Dillinger escapes from jail in Allen County, Ohio

1518Pontifical ambassador interrogates Martin Luther

1915Ford Motor Company under Henry Ford manufactures its 1 millionth Model T automobile

1862JEB Stuart completes his "second ride around Mcclellan"

1492Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall on Caribbean island he names San Salvador (likely Watling Island, Bahamas). The explorer believes he has reached East Asia (OS 21 Oct)

1900The first modern submarine is commissioned by the U.S.Navy as the USS Holland, named for its designer John Philip Holland

1968Hugh Jackman, Australian actor and singer (X-men, Real Steel)

1935Luciano Pavarotti, Modena Italy, operatic tenor (Oh Giorgio, 3 Tenors), (d. 2007)

1991Steven Spielberg weds Kate Capshaw

1822"The Hunchback of Notre Dame" author Victor Hugo (20) weds Adele Fourcher

1893Education pioneer Booker T. Washington (37) weds Margaret James Murray

1980Oscar-winning actor Dustin Hoffman (43) weds businesswoman Lisa Gottsegen (26) in Roxbury, Connecticut

1929US military leader George Marshall (48) weds Katherine Tupper

1942Jazz musician Louis Armstrong (41) weds dancer Lucille Wilson (28)

1870Robert E. Lee, US General of Confederate Army, dies at 63

1997John Denver, American country music star (Country Boy), dies in a plane crash at 53

1845Elizabeth Fry, British social reformer and philanthropist (b. 1780)

1999Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player, dies of congestive heart failure at 63