OCTOBER 2, 1950 - The "Peanuts" comic strip first appeared in newspapers. The comic, which introduced us to characters such as Charlie Brown, Peppermint Patty, Linus and Snoopy, became one of the most successful comic strips in history, running for nearly 50 years. At its peak "Peanuts" ran in over 2,600 newspapers, with a readership of 355 million in 75 countries. Though the strip did not have a lead character at the onset, it soon began to focus on Charlie Brown, the loveable loser who can never seem to fly a kite, win a baseball game or even kick a football. The last "Peanuts" comic strip ran on February 13, 2000 -- the day after Schulz's death.

OCTOBER 2, 1998 - Gene Autry, The Singing Cowboy, died at age 91. Autry's career as an actor and singer spanned more than three decades and included radio, movies and television. His signature song was "Back in the Saddle Again;" however, he is best known for his Christmas songs, including "Here Comes Santa Claus," which he wrote. His performances of "Frosty the Snowman" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" were most popular. During his film career Autry regularly played under his own name and rode his horse, Champion. He was also the owner of the Anaheim Angels baseball team from 1961 until his death.

OCTOBER 3, 1993 - U.S. Special Forces launched an operation to capture key advisors of warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid in Mogadishu, Somolia. The operation, which was supposed to last only 30 minutes, took a turn for the worse when a MH-60 Black Hawk helicopter was shot down by a rocket-propelled grenade. While a team was sent to rescue the crew, a second Black Hawk helicopter was shot down. A third helicopter was called off for fear of another crash, but aboard two Delta Force snipers Gary Gordon and Randy Shughart requested permission three times to be left behind to help. Despite the grave danger, the pair voluntarily made their way to the second crash site and extracted the crew. They set up a defensive perimeter around the downed aircraft; however, they were devastatingly outnumbered. The snipers were eventually killed by the Somali militia, but as a result of their actions pilot Michael Durant survived. Both Gordon and Shughart received the Congressional Medal of Honor posthumously for their heroics -- the first American servicemen to receive the Medal of Honor since the Vietnam War. Nineteen Americans died in the Battle of Mogadishu.  Their story is chronicled in the book Black Hawk Down and movie by the same name.