On October 3, 1863, expressing gratitude for a pivotal Union Army
victory at Gettysburg, President Abraham Lincoln announced that
the nation will celebrate an official Thanksgiving holiday on
November 26, 1863.

The speech, which was actually written by Secretary of State
William Seward, declared that the fourth Thursday of every
November thereafter would be considered an official U.S. holiday
of Thanksgiving.

From left: Terry Meeuwsen, Pat Robertson and Gordon P. Robertson

(Fox News) – Pat Robertson, the iconic televangelist who founded
the Christian Broadcasting Network, is stepping down as the daily
host of the long-running flagship program “The 700 Club.”

“Today’s show will be my final as host of The 700 Club,” the 91-
year-old Robertson said on the 60th anniversary of the network,
“My replacement will be my very capable son, Gordon, who will
take over as full-time host of the program.”

Beginning in October, Robertson will be appearing on “The 700
Club” on a monthly basis to answer viewer emails.

According to CBN News, Robertson will continue to make other
on-air appearances but will also be teaching at Regent University,
the Christian institution he founded in 1977.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) – A California woman found a 4.38-carat
yellow diamond at Crater of Diamonds State Park.

According to a release from the park, Noreen Wredberg, of Granite
Bay, California, said she found the diamond sitting on top of the
ground within an hour of searching.

Wredberg said that she and her husband, Michael, arrived at the
Arkansas state park on Thursday. She said she started to search
in a shaded area near the mine entrance, but her husband
suggested they venture farther out.

His suggestion paid off, because about 40 minutes later as she
was walking just north of a central pathway in the search area,
she spotted the sparkling gem on top of the ground.

Noreen Wredberg

On September 30, 1947, the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn
Dodgers, 5-3, in Game 1 of the World Series—the first Fall Classic
game broadcast on television. It is the second “Subway Series”
between and Yankees and Dodgers and first World Series to
involve a black player. Jackie Robinson of the Dodgers broke
Major League Baseball’s color barrier six months earlier.

While Red Barber and Mel Allen (below) called the game on the
radio, Bob Stanton described the action on NBC.

        
Red Barber (1908 – 1992)         Mel Allen (1913 – 1996)     

Jack Roosevelt Robinson
(January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972)

The USS Nautilus (above), the world’s first nuclear submarine,was commissioned by the U.S. Navy.

The Nautilus was constructed under the direction of U.S. Navy
Captain Hyman G. Rickover, a Russian-born engineer who
joined the U.S. atomic program in 1946. In 1947, he was put in
charge of the navy’s nuclear-propulsion program and began work
on an atomic submarine. 

In 1952, the Nautilus‘ keel was laid by President Harry S. Truman,
and on January 21, 1954, first lady Mamie Eisenhower broke a
bottle of champagne across its bow as it was launched into the
Thames River at Groton, Connecticut.