Today is Friday, October 9, the 282nd day of 2009. There are 83 days left in the year.
1446 _ Korean Hangul alphabet devised
1876 _ First two-way telephone conversation, first over outdoor wires
1946 _ First electric blanket manufactured; sold for $39.50
1965 _ Beatles' ``Yesterday," single goes No. 1 and stays No. 1 for four weeks
1970 _ Khmer Republic (Cambodia) declares independence
1975 _ Emperor Hirohito of Japan visits San Francisco
1975 _ Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov wins Nobel Peace Prize
1983 _ 17 ranking South Korean officials assassinated in Rangoon, Burma
1990 _ Radio stations around the world play ``Imagine" honoring John Lennon
1990 _ Saddam threatens to hit Israel with a new missile