The U.S. Navy traces its origins to the Continental Navy, which
was established during the American Revolutionary War and
was effectively disbanded as a separate entity shortly thereafter.

After suffering significant loss of goods and personnel at the
hands of the Barbary pirates from Algiers, the U.S. Congress
passed the Naval Act of 1794 for the construction of six heavy
frigates, the first ships of the U.S. Navy.

TIM MAGUIRE

On October 11, 2002, former President Jimmy Carter wins the
Nobel Peace Prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find
peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance
democracy and human rights, and to promote economic
and social development.”

Carter, a peanut farmer from Georgia, served one term as
U.S. president between 1977 and 1981. One of his key
achievements as president was mediating the peace talks
between Israel and Egypt in 1978.

James Earl Carter Jr. turned 96 October 1st.

Christopher D’Olier Reeve  (September 25, 1952 – October 10, 2004)

On October 10, 2004, the actor Christopher Reeve, who became
famous for his starring role in four Superman films, died from
heart failure at the age of 52 at a hospital near his home in
Westchester County, New York. Reeve, who was paralyzed in
a 1995 horse-riding accident, was a leading advocate for spinal
cord research.