Moments in Time: Woodrow Wilson
The History Channel
On Sept. 29, 1780, British spy John André, an accomplice of Benedict Arnold, was court-martialed, found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging. He wrote to Gen. George Washington asking to be executed by firing squad instead, which was considered a more "gentlemanly" death, but though Washington attempted to have him exchanged for Arnold, the original sentence was carried out on Oct. 2.
On Sept. 30, 1918, President Woodrow Wilson gave a speech before Congress in which he supported a guarantee that women would be granted the right to vote. The House of Representatives had approved a 19th constitutional amendment giving women suffrage, but Congress would not pass the amendment for another year.
On Oct. 1, 1958, the American Express company issued its first charge card, made of purple paperboard, in the U.S. and Canada, to give traveling customers more flexibility.
On Oct. 2, 1965, during a football game between the University of Florida Gators and the Louisiana State University Tigers, UF players tested a new sports drink developed in the school's science labs to help them regain essential chemicals their bodies lost through sweating. The Gators won their match and the drink now known as Gatorade went on to make its investors wealthy.
On Oct. 3, 2011, an Italian appeals court overturned the murder conviction of American exchange student Amanda Knox, who'd been found guilty of stabbing her British roommate, Meredith Kercher, to death in 2007. Imprisoned since her arrest, Knox flew back to the States the following day.
On Oct. 4, 1970, singer Janis Joplin was found dead of an accidental heroin overdose in her Los Angeles hotel room after failing to attend a recording session. She was putting the finishing touches on the album titled "Pearl," that would prove to be the biggest hit of her career.
On Oct. 5, 1892, the infamous Dalton Gang attempted a daylight robbery of two Coffeyville, Kansas, banks simultaneously. After someone recognized a member and spread word of the crime, the townspeople ran for their guns and surrounded the two banks, then took justice into their own hands, killing all but Emmett Dalton, who, incredibly, survived prison and eventually ended up as a Hollywood screenwriter.
(c) 2025 King Features Synd., Inc.