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The world today, and the world as it was.

Sunday, October 4, 2026

Today

A picture of the day, a story worth your time, this date in history, and a few things you probably didn't know.

Michael Mullen
Picture of the day

Michael Mullen

Michael Mullen (born 4 October 1946) is a retired United States Navy admiral who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 2007 to 2011. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, he commanded three ships and the U.S. Second Fleet before becoming vice chief of naval operations in 2003 and chief of naval operations in 2005. As chairman, Mullen was the highest-ranking officer in the United States Armed Forces. He was present in the White House Situation Room during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. This 2007 official photograph shows Mullen in his role as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Photograph credit: United States Department of Defense. Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

Featured article

Pennsylvania State Capitol

The Pennsylvania State Capitol is located in Harrisburg. The building was designed by Joseph Miller Huston and completed in 1906 in a Beaux-Arts style with decorative Renaissance themes. It houses the legislative chambers for the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Harrisburg chambers for the Supreme Court and Superior Court of Pennsylvania, and the offices of the state's governor and lieutenant governor. The capitol project was the subject of a graft scandal, as the construction and furnishing cost three times more than the General Assembly had appropriated for the project. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is often referred to as a "palace of art" because of its many sculptures, murals, and stained-glass windows, most of which are Pennsylvania-themed or were made in Pennsylvania. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.

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On this day

October 4
  1. 1448

    Skanderbeg and Gjergj Arianiti signed a peace treaty to end the Albanian–Venetian War.

  2. 1633

    Smolensk War: Forces from the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth broke the Russian siege of Smolensk (depicted).

  3. 1862

    American Civil War: After a naval battle in Galveston Harbor, Texas, Confederate commanders negotiated the surrender of the city to Union forces.

  4. 1925

    Great Syrian Revolt: Rebels led by Fawzi al-Qawuqji captured the city of Hama from the French Mandate of Syria.

  5. 1927

    Gutzon Borglum and approximately 400 workers began sculpting Mount Rushmore.

Born and died on this day: George Formby Sr (b. 1875)·Mary Two-Axe Earley (b. 1911)·Christoph Waltz (b. 1956)·Pyotr Masherov (d. 1980)

Did you know

A man born in Austria became one of the first colonels of the People's Army of Vietnam?

The melodies of Alarms in the Heart were likened to Gregorian chants?

Australian model Cindy Rostron also had a career as an Indigenous ranger?

From 1959 all Guinean people aged 7 to 35 years old statutorily belonged to the Youth of the African Democratic Revolution?

Grady Prestage was the first African American elected to the Fort Bend County commissioners' court since Reconstruction?

John James Audubon gave his wife ownership of his Manhattan estate to prevent debt collectors from seizing it?

Philoxenos Yuhanon Dolabani defied church policy against Assyrian nationalism through anonymous poetry?

The anthropomorphic skunk Sabrina has been called "one of the most famous furry comics stars"?

Drag queen Marcus Hunter-Neill once donated £20,000 worth of clothes to charity?

Text from Wikipedia (Main Page), written by Wikipedia's volunteer editors and shared under CC BY-SA 4.0. EscapePod has reformatted it, and this adapted text is shared under the same licence. Links lead to the original articles and news reports. EscapePod is not affiliated with Wikipedia or the Wikimedia Foundation.

From October in years gone by

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