On this day

1955: James Dean killed in car smash
The Hollywood film star James Dean has been killed in a road accident in California, USA.
The 24-year-old actor was behind the wheel of his German-made Porsche sports car when it was involved in a head-on collision with another car 30 miles (48 km) east of Paso Robles this evening.

Mr Dean's mechanic, Rolph Wutherich, who was a passenger in the car, was taken to hospital with serious injuries. The driver of the other car was also injured.

Medics said Mr Dean, who was dead on arrival at hospital, suffered a broken neck and numerous broken bones.

At the time of the accident the road racing enthusiast was on his way to a race meeting at Salinas, California.

James Dean completed his latest film "Giant", an adaptation of Edna Ferber's book about Texas, just yesterday.

His first film, "East of Eden", cast him firmly into the spotlight and many critics believe he had a glittering Hollywood future ahead of him.

Farm boy

James Byron Dean was born on 8 February 1931 in Marion, Indiana to Winton and Mildred Dean.

When he was five the family moved to Los Angeles where Winton Dean had secured a new job as a dental technician.

His mother died when he was eight after which Jimmy returned to the Midwest where he was brought up by his aunt and uncle on their Indiana farm.

After attending UCLA university in California he moved to New York to pursue his acting career.

He appeared in several television shows before gaining his first major role in "East of Eden." His second film "Rebel Without a Cause" has not yet been released.

Preparations are now being made for Mr Dean's funeral.


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James Dean made three movies in his short-lived Hollywood career


James Dean's life, an extract from BBC's "Living Famously"







In Context
The legend of James Dean lives on to the present day.
He was buried in Fairmount, Indiana and his grave is visited by thousands of people every year.

Although he was fast becoming a Hollywood star when he was alive, he was elevated to cult status after his death.

Within a year of the accident nearly four million people had joined his fan club and his studio was receiving up to 4,000 letters every day.

His image of rebellious youth, compared at the time to Marlon Brando, continues to make £100 millions every year.

A rumour began after his death that he was not actually killed in the car crash but was hideously deformed and is still alive in a Californian hospital.


Stories From 30 Sep
1955: James Dean killed in car smash
2000: Shocking images of boy shot in Gaza
1971: Foreign Office names Soviet superspy
1988: 'SAS killed lawfully' - Gibraltar jury
1994: Sleepy Boris 'snubs' Irish leader
1951: Festival closes to applause
1938: 'Peace for our time' - Chamberlain

1630 - John Billington, one of the original pilgrims who sailed to the New World on the Mayflower, became the first man executed in the English colonies. He was hanged for having shot another man during a quarrel.

1840 - The foundation stone for Nelson's Column was laid in Trafalgar Square.

1888 - Jack the Ripper murdered two more women - Liz Stride, found behind 40 Berner Street, and Kate Eddowes in Mitre Square, both in London's East End.

1938 – At 2:00 am, Britain, France, Germany and Italy sign the Munich Agreement, allowing Germany to occupy the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.

1954 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Nautilus is commissioned as the world's first nuclear reactor powered vessel.

1960 - The Flintstones premiered on TV.

1967 - BBC's Radio One, went on the air.

1968 – The Boeing 747 is rolled out and shown to the public for the first time at the Boeing Everett Factory.

1993 - Around 10,000 people were killed when an earthquake measuring 6.4 struck southern India.

2005 – The controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

1962: Mississippi race riots over first black student
Two people have been killed and at least 75 injured in rioting at the University of Mississippi campus in Oxford.
Hundreds of extra troops have been brought in to join Federal forces already stationed in the nearby town of Oxford as the violence spread to its streets.

The protesters are angry at the admission of James Meredith, a black American, to the university.

Rioting erupted last night as President Kennedy addressed the nation in a televised broadcast urging a peaceful settlement to the dispute over racial segregation.


This is not a happy occasion

James H Meredith

Earlier Mr Kennedy had 'federalised' the Mississippi National Guard to maintain law and order, and mobilised other regular infantrymen and military police across the state line in Tennessee.

The Federal Government had been expecting resistance from the Mississippi State police under the governorship of Ross Barnett, who has previously defied court orders requiring desegregation.

Despite Governor Barnett's assurances that his police would carry out their duties, there have been reports that they neglected to provide adequate security, and additional troops and marshals were called in.

US marshals, military police and National Guardsmen used teargas to take on rioters armed with rocks, lead pipes, petrol bombs and in some instances rifles and shotguns.

More than 100 people were arrested during the night. One US marshal was shot in the neck and critically wounded.

Cars and television trucks were smashed and burned and journalists and cameramen were beaten, as rioters turned on the media.

Mr Meredith remained under guard inside the campus in a university dormitory during the fighting.

After his enrolment this morning, Mr Meredith said: "This is not a happy occasion," but he is said to have remained calm throughout the ordeal.

He was then escorted to his first class - a seminar on American colonial history - through a crowd of several hundred jeering students.

Rioting has continued in the town of Oxford with further arrests made and more troops flown in.

In a broadcast Governor Barnett said that law and order must prevail "even though our state has been invaded by federal forces". He urged those who came from outside the Oxford area to go home.


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James H Meredith is led through jeering crowds by US marshals


President Kennedy calls for a halt to Mississippi race riots







In Context
The riots receded and over the coming days most troops were withdrawn from the town.
Mr Meredith said his enrolment was "more for America than it was for me". He faced continued hostility and required 24 hour protection but graduated in 1963 without incident.

Three years later he was shot and wounded on a lone civil rights march through Mississippi.

Soon after he dropped out of the civil rights movement to work as a stockbroker, and then in real estate. In 1967 he became an investor and entered Columbia University Law School in 1968.

That year he also became president of Meredith Enterprises and began to lecture on racial problems. In 1972 he stood unsuccessfully as a Republican candidate for the US House of Representatives.

The civil rights movement that began in the late 1950's won for black Americans basic rights long denied to them.

The landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed racial discrimination, removed obstacles to voting and furthered desegregation.


Stories From 1 Oct
1962: Mississippi race riots over first black student
1985: Riots erupt in Toxteth and Peckham
2005: Bombs rip through Bali restaurants
1975: Muhammad Ali wins 'Thrilla in Manila'
1970: Mourners killed as Nasser is buried
1957: British public gets 'Asian Flu' vaccine

1811 – The first steamboat to sail the Mississippi River arrives in New Orléans, Louisiana.

1843 – The News of the World tabloid begins publication in London.

1869 – Austria issues the world's first postcards.

1906 - The first hot-air balloon race was staged at Whitley, Yorkshire and was won by US Army Lieutenant Frank Lahm.

1908 - Henry Ford introduced the Model T automobile. It cost $825.

1918 - Lawrence of Arabia captured Damascus from the Turks with combined Arab and British forces.

1931 – The George Washington Bridge linking New Jersey and New York opens.

1946 – Mensa International is founded in the United Kingdom.

1957 - A vaccine against the strain of influenza that had been sweeping around the world was made available to the British public.

1969 – Concorde breaks the sound barrier for the first time.

1971 - Walt Disney World, the world's largest amusement resort, opened in Orlando, Florida.

1974 - The first McDonalds restaurant opened in London.

1982 – EPCOT Center opens at Walt Disney World near Orlando, Florida, United States.

1989 – Denmark introduces the world's first legal modern same-sex civil union called registered partnership.

1998 – Vladimir Putin becomes a permanent member of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

2005 - Suicide bombers strike three restaurants in two tourist areas on Bali, killing 22 and injuring more than 50 others.

1187 - Saladin, the Muslim sultan, captured Jerusalem after its 88-year occupation by the Franks.

1836 - Charles Darwin returned from his five-year survey of South American waters aboard the HMS Beagle.

1870 - Rome became the capital of the newly unified Italy. The previous capital was Florence.

1925 - London's first red buses with roofed-in upper decks went into service, they had been in use in Cheshire since 1909.

1968 - A woman gave birth to six babies in what was hailed as the first recorded case of live sextuplets in Britain.

1995: OJ Simpson verdict: 'Not guilty'
OJ Simpson has been found not guilty of the murders of his ex-wife Nicole and her friend Ronald Goldman.
The jury took less than four hours to reach a unanimous decision in the trial that has gripped America for an entire year.

Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were stabbed to death outside her Brentwood townhouse on June 12 1994.

Former American football star Simpson was arrested soon after the killings but insisted from the start he was "absolutely, 100% not guilty".

Judge Lance Ito ordered OJ Simpson be released "forthwith" ending 473 days in custody.

In a statement, Jason Simpson expressed his father's relief that "this part of the incredible nightmare that occurred is over".

Orenthal James Simpson's fate has become essential television viewing for the American public ever since 95 million Americans watched police give chase to his white Ford Bronco on the day of his arrest.

Prosecuting lawyers produced evidence such as a pair of gloves - one found at the crime scene, the other at OJ's apartment - and emphasised OJ Simpson's violent relationship with his ex-wife.

The defence criticised the integrity of the Los Angeles Police Department, and the authenticity of their evidence.

Summing up, defence lawyer Johnnie Cochran alluded to an institutional racism which the jury had the power to redress.

"Maybe you are the right people at the right time in the right place to say: 'No more'," he said.

There had been fears a guilty verdict would spark repeat performances of the violent LA riots of 1992 after the acquittal of four police officers, filmed beating a black motorist.

But as the verdicts were returned, the crowd cheered so enthusiastically mounted police officers struggled to control their horses.


I deeply believe that this country lost today. Justice was not served

Fred Goldman, father of murder victim Ronald Goldman

The prosecution admitted they were profoundly disappointed with the verdict.

Chief prosecutor Gill Garcetti said: "Don't look at this case as being how most cases are handled. Juries do the right thing - nearly all the time."

Members of the victims' families were distraught: Fred Goldman, father of Ronald Goldman, said the day of his son's murder was the worst day of his life, and today was the second.

"I deeply believe that this country lost today. Justice was not served," he said.

Johnnie Cochran dismissed claims that his counsel had 'played the race card'.

"We choose to call it the credibility card," he said.



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OJ: "absolutely, 100% not guilty"


BBC 'World Tonight' reports on the OJ Simpson verdict




In Context
The criminal trial was one of the lengthiest in US legal history. The official court transcript was more than 50,000 pages long.
Polls suggested most black Americans regarded OJ as a victim of racism in contrast to more than 50% of whites who considered him guilty.

The Goldman and Brown families filed a civil court case against OJ Simpson and in 1997 were awarded over $30 million in compensatory damages.

The civil jury took six days to reach a verdict and declare OJ Simpson responsible.

Simpson successfully challenged paying the award. He retained custody of his children and moved to Florida.


Stories From 3 Oct
1995: OJ Simpson verdict: 'Not guilty'
1975: London's Spaghetti House siege ends
1944: Poles surrender after Warsaw uprising
1981: IRA Maze hunger strikes at an end
1952: Tea rationing to end
1979: Anti-racists tackle South African rugby tourists

1835 – The Staedtler Company is founded in Nuremberg, Germany.

1863 – The last Thursday in November is declared as Thanksgiving Day by President Abraham Lincoln as are Thursdays, November 30, 1865 and November 29, 1866.

1906 - SOS became the international distress signal, replacing the call sign CDQ, sometimes explained as Come Damn Quick!

1932 - With the admission of Iraq into the League of Nations, Britain terminated their mandate over the nation, and Iraq became independent .

1942 – Spaceflight: The first successful launch of a V-2 /A4-rocket from Test Stand VII at Peenemünde, Germany. It is the first man-made object to reach space.

1952 - Britain successfully tested its first atomic bomb off the northwest coast of Australia.

1989 - Art Shell became the first African-American to coach a professional football team, the Los Angeles Raiders.

1990 - Less than a year after East Germany opened its borders to the West and took down the Berlin Wall, East Germany and West Germany became a united and sovereign state.

2003 – Roy Horn, of the famed illusionist duo Siegfried and Roy, is mauled by tiger during a performance in Las Vegas, canceling the show until 2009.

Births:

1957 – Tim Westwood, English DJ and radio/TV presenter
1962 – Tommy Lee, American Drummer
1964 – Clive Owen, British actor
1969 – Gwen Stefani, American musician and actress
1971 – Kevin Richardson, American singer (Backstreet Boys)
1973 – Neve Campbell, Canadian actress
1976 – Seann William Scott, American actor
1978 – Gerald Asamoah, German footballer
1978 – Neil Clement, English footballer
1978 – Claudio Pizarro, Peruvian footballer
1979 – John Morrison, American pro wrestler
1980 – Danny O'Donoghue, Irish singer (The Script)
1981 – Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish footballer
1983 – Thiago Alves, Brazilian mixed martial artist
1984 – Chris Marquette, American film and television actor
1984 – Ashlee Simpson-Wentz, American singer
1984 – Anthony Le Tallec, French footballer

Deaths:
2005 – Ronnie Barker, English comic actor (b. 1929)

1957: Sputnik satellite blasts into space
A Russian satellite has been launched into space - the first man-made object ever to leave the Earth's atmosphere.
The Russian news agency, Tass, said the satellite Sputnik was now 560 miles (900 kilometres) above the Earth and circling it every hour-and-a-half.

Scientists predict the metal sphere will eventually burn up in the atmosphere but they hope it will send important data back to Earth before doing so.

The Soviet Union and the USA have both committed to launching satellites for research as part of the International Geophysical Year (IGY).

Delegations from both countries' IGY committees were at a reception at the Russian embassy in Washington when news of Sputnik's launch came through.

The chairman of the American IGY committee, Dr Joseph Kaplan, congratulated the Russians on a "remarkable achievement".

The leader of the Russian delegation, Dr A A Blagonravov, who is believed to have been closely involved with the preparations for the launch, described Sputnik as "the simplest kind of baby moon".

He attributed its weight - 180lb (83.5kg) - largely to heavy batteries.

'Nothing to fear'

The satellite's weight has led some American experts to speculate that the rocket which launched it might also be capable of carrying a nuclear weapon thousands of miles.

The fact that Sputnik is expected to fly over the US seven times a day has also caused unease.

There have already been calls for an immediate review of US defences, given the implications of the technological leap ahead by a political enemy.

But Dr Blagonravov said no-one had anything to fear from the Soviet satellite programme.

"It will keep everyone too busy watching the instruments to think about anything else," he said.

President Eisenhower has been informed of the Russian success.

But he said the news would not lead the US to accelerate its own satellite programme.

The first US launch is expected next month.


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The satellite's size has amazed scientists






In Context
Sputnik transmitted information via radio signals to Soviet scientists for three weeks.
The signals fascinated both radio enthusiasts and Western scientists.

Sputnik II was launched in November 1957 with a passenger aboard - a dog called Laika. The flight allowed Russian scientists to learn much about the prospects for human space travel.

The Soviet authorities said Laika died painlessly after a week in orbit but in 2002 new evidence revealed the dog died from over-heating and panic just a few hours after take-off.

In December 1957 the US programme suffered a setback when a rocket carrying a test satellite into space exploded.

Finally, in February 1958, the US successfully launched its first satellite, 'Explorer'.

But the Americans' achievements were eclipsed in 1961 when the Soviet Union put the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space.


Stories From 4 Oct
1957: Sputnik satellite blasts into space
1992: El Al jumbo crashes in Amsterdam
1993: US forces killed in Somali gun battle
1976: New train speeds into service
1965: Immigrants feel at home with BBC

1535 – The first complete English-language Bible (the Coverdale Bible) is printed, with translations by William Tyndale and Miles Coverdale.

1883 – The first run of the Orient Express.

1883 - The Boys' Brigade was founded, in Glasgow, by Sir William Alexander Smith.

1905 - Orville Wright became the first to fly an aircraft for over 33 minutes.

1911 - Britain's first escalators were introduced. They connected the District Line and Piccadilly Line platforms at Earl's Court underground station in London.

1958 - The first transatlantic passenger jet service was begun by British Overseas Airways Corporation (now British Airways) with flights between London and New York.

1973 - The BBC broadcast the 500th edition of Top Of The Pops.

1976 – Official launch of the Intercity 125 High Speed Train (HST).

1983 – Richard Noble sets a new land speed record of 633.468 mph (1,019 km/h), driving Thrust 2 at the Black Rock Desert of Nevada.

2004 – SpaceShipOne wins Ansari X Prize for private spaceflight, by being the first private craft to fly into space.