On Thlis Date In History, October 8...

1860 Telegraph line between LA and  San Francisco  opened.


1869 Franklin Pierce 14th president of US, died in Concord, NH


1890 Eddie Rickenbacker aviator "Ace of Aces" (WW I)  was born.  A couple of interesting relations concerning Eddie Rickenbacker: (1)  An airfield in Marietta, Georgia (my hometown) was named afer Eddie Rickenbacker, which later was the center of Bell Bomber, Lockheed Aircraft, and Dobbins Air Force Base operations.  (2)  In WW II my uncle Jack Hunter saved Eddie Rickenbacker's life.  Jack was in a PT boat and Rickenbacker's plane went down a couple days before and he was adrift.


1918 Sgt Alvin York single-handedly kills 25, captures 132 Germans.