Today in History: October 3, Germany reunifies after 45 years
Fireworks illuminate the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, while thousands of spectators celebrate the reunification of East and West Germany, Oct. 3, 1990. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Today in history:
On Oct. 3, 1990, West Germany and East Germany ended 45 years of postwar division, declaring the creation of a reunified country.
Also on this date:
U.S. engineer battalion troops, having cleared a path through the “Dragon’s Teeth” of the Siegfried line in Germany on Oct. 3, 1944, and building a bridge at the point, keep guard as a jeep passes through. (AP Photo)
U.S. engineer battalion troops, having cleared a path through the “Dragon’s Teeth” of the Siegfried line in Germany on Oct. 3, 1944, and building a bridge at the point, keep guard as a jeep passes through. (AP Photo)
In 1944, during World War II, U.S. Army troops cracked the Siegfried Line north of Aachen, Germany.
In this Oct. 3, 1951 file photo, Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits a home run against Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, which became known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round The World,” during a playoff baseball game at the Polo Grounds in New York. (AP Photo/File)
In this Oct. 3, 1951 file photo, Bobby Thomson of the New York Giants hits a home run against Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca, which became known as “The Shot Heard ‘Round The World,” during a playoff baseball game at the Polo Grounds in New York. (AP Photo/File)
In 1951, the New York Giants captured the National League pennant by a score of 5-4 as Bobby Thomson hit a three-run homer off Ralph Branca of the Brooklyn Dodgers, which became known as the “Shot Heard ‘Round the World.”
Franks Robinson smiles as he is named manager of the Cleveland Indians, succeeding Ken Aspromonte, in Cleveland, Oct. 3, 1974. At left is Nick Mileti, president of the Indians. (AP Photo)
Franks Robinson smiles as he is named manager of the Cleveland Indians, succeeding Ken Aspromonte, in Cleveland, Oct. 3, 1974. At left is Nick Mileti, president of the Indians. (AP Photo)
In 1974, Frank Robinson was named the American League’s first Black manager after he was hired by the Cleveland Indians.
A group of young Somalis chant anti American slogans while sitting atop the burned out hulk of a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter in Mogadishu, Somalia on Oct. 19, 1993. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard)
A group of young Somalis chant anti American slogans while sitting atop the burned out hulk of a U.S. Black Hawk helicopter in Mogadishu, Somalia on Oct. 19, 1993. (AP Photo/Dominique Mollard)
In 1993, 18 U.S. service members and hundreds of Somalis were killed in the Battle of Mogadishu — the deadliest battle for U.S. troops since the Vietnam War inspired the film “Black Hawk Down.”
Attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. holds onto O.J. Simpson as the not guilty verdict is read in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday morning, Oct. 3, 1995. Left is F. Lee Bailey and second from left is Robert Kardashian. (AP Photo/Pool, Myung J. Chun)
Attorney Johnnie Cochran Jr. holds onto O.J. Simpson as the not guilty verdict is read in a Los Angeles courtroom Tuesday morning, Oct. 3, 1995. Left is F. Lee Bailey and second from left is Robert Kardashian. (AP Photo/Pool, Myung J. Chun)
In 1995, the jury in the O.J. Simpson murder trial in Los Angeles found the former football star not guilty of the 1994 slayings of his former wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman.
O.J. Simpson is taken into custody after being found guilty on all 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. The verdict comes thirteen years to the day after he was acquitted of double murder charges. (AP Photo/Daniel Gluskoter, Pool)
O.J. Simpson is taken into custody after being found guilty on all 12 charges, including felony kidnapping, armed robbery and conspiracy at the Clark County Regional Justice Center in Las Vegas on Friday, Oct. 3, 2008. The verdict comes thirteen years to the day after he was acquitted of double murder charges. (AP Photo/Daniel Gluskoter, Pool)
In 2008, O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbing two sports-memorabilia dealers at gunpoint in a Las Vegas hotel room. (Simpson was later sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison; he was granted parole in July 2017 and released from prison in October of that year.)
In 2011, an Italian appeals court freed Amanda Knox of Seattle after four years in prison, tossing murder convictions against Knox and an ex-boyfriend in the stabbing of their British roommate, Meredith Kercher.
A survivor cries on the casket of her sister who died when their boat capsized off in the Canal of Sicily before it is embarked on a Italian Navy ship at the Lampedusa island harbor, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013. A fishing boat packed with 500 African migrants capsized on Thursday Oct. 3, 2013 off the shores of the island of Lampedusa, causing more than 300 dead. (AP Photo/Mauro Buccarello)
A survivor cries on the casket of her sister who died when their boat capsized off in the Canal of Sicily before it is embarked on a Italian Navy ship at the Lampedusa island harbor, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013. A fishing boat packed with 500 African migrants capsized on Thursday Oct. 3, 2013 off the shores of the island of Lampedusa, causing more than 300 dead. (AP Photo/Mauro Buccarello)
In 2013, a smugglers’ ship packed with African migrants sank off the coast of a southern Italian island, killing more than 365 people.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leaves the House floor after being ousted as Speaker of the House at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., leaves the House floor after being ousted as Speaker of the House at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
In 2023, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to remove House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — the first time in U.S. history a Speaker had been ousted from the position.
Click here to see who was born on October 3.