Moments in time

The History Channel

• On Oct. 13, 1775, the Continental Congress authorizes construction and administration of the first American naval force. Esek Hopkins was appointed the first commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy. His first fleet consisted of seven ships: two 24-gun frigates, two 14-gun brigs and three schooners.

• On Oct. 12, 1786, a lovesick Thomas Jefferson composes the first of many romantic letters to a married woman named Maria Cosway. In 1789, his letters grew less frequent. She continued to write to him and vented her frustration at his growing aloofness. After her husband died, Cosway moved to a village in Italy to open a convent school for girls.

• On Oct. 11, 1793, the death toll from a yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia hits 100. By the time it ended, 5,000 people were dead. A vaccine prevents yellow fever in much of the world, though 20,000 people still die every year from the disease.

• On Oct. 14, 1944, German Gen. Erwin Rommel, nicknamed “the Desert Fox,” is given the option of facing a public trial for treason, as a co-conspirator in the plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, or taking cyanide. He chose the latter. The German government gave Rommel a state funeral. His death was attributed to war wounds.

• On Oct. 8, 1956, New York Yankees right-hander Don Larsen pitches the first no-hitter in the history of the World Series. Even better, it was a perfect game — that is, there were no runs, no hits and no errors, and no batter reached first base.

• On Oct. 10, 1985, the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro reaches a dramatic climax when U.S. Navy F-14 fighters intercept an Egyptian airliner attempting to fly the Palestinian hijackers to freedom. On Oct. 7, four heavily armed terrorists had hijacked the Achille Lauro and 320 crewmembers and 80 passengers.

• On Oct. 9, 1992, a 28-pound bowling-ball-sized meteorite lands on an orange 1980 Chevy Malibu in Peekskill, N.Y. Scientists have determined that it came from the inner edge of the main asteroid belt in space, between Jupiter and Mars.

(c) 2012 King Features Synd., Inc.