Today in History - 8 October

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Welcome to today's edition of Today in History. Every day is unique in its own way. What will today show history? We won't know until today is over. However, we can look back on this day and see what historical events took place that piques our interest. First, a cow is at fault. A cow brought a large and growing city to its knees by kicking over an oil lamp and causing one of the biggest fires in American history. In 1871 Chicago burned. The small blaze started in a barn, burned 3.3 square miles, leaving 100,000 people homeless. Three hundred people died in the fire that took two days to contain. As I looked for other fire news, I found another fire that burned out of control on this date. The Port Huron Fire of 1871 or the Great Michigan Fire, burned a number of cities in the thumb of Michigan, including White Rock and Port Huron claiming 1.2 million acres. Fires also burned in the cities of Holland and Manistee, Michigan. On the same night as the Chicago Fire, the Peshtigo Fire in Peshtigo, Wisconsin burned a large area of that city. Four days later, Windsor, Ontario, Canada would burn. It is also Fire Prevention week through October 13th. Next on this date in history, is a story about a Conscientious Objector who became a Medal of Valor recipient. In 1918, Corporal Alvin C. York fought against Germans in World War I in the Argonne Forest, killing 25 and capturing 132 almost single-handedly. He was promoted to Sergeant York and received the Medal of Honor. Maybe this next day in history is a little closer to home for some of you. I know I was three-years-old when this event took place, but still too young to know what was going on. It was fifth game World Series in 1956, and Yankees pitcher Don Larson was on the mound for the first MLB postseason perfect game against their rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. They were known as the Bronx Bombers at the time and won their 17th World Series. Batter Up! Will today go down in World Series history? This last event takes another turn in history, from fun to political. I know, no one likes politics, but when something goes right, we like to know about it. In 1967, Che Guevara, native to Argentina, and having traveled through Africa and South America championing his Marxist cause was caught by 1800 CIA-backed soldiers in Bolivia at his guerilla encampment. There you have today in history. How will today be remembered? Thanks for reading.