October 3 is:
National Soft Taco Day (as opposed to just regular Taco Day, October 4th)
A taco is a traditional Mexican dish composed of a corn or wheat tortilla folded or rolled around a filling.
A taco can be made with a variety of fillings, including beef, chicken, seafood, vegetables and cheese, allowing for great versatility and variety.
A taco is generally eaten without utensils and is often accompanied by garnishes such as salsa, avocado or guacamole, cilantro, tomatoes, minced meat, onions and lettuce.
St. Francis of Assisi died on this day in 1226. St. Francis is one of the most venerated religious figures in Roman Catholic history. He founded the Franciscan orders, including the Poor Clares and the lay Third Order. He and St. Catherine of Siena are the patron saints of Italy, and he is also the patron saint of ecology and of animals.
The Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is dispair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
Anniversary of the death of Myles Standish in 1656. The Pilgrims needed a man to coordinate any military campaigns and to organize the defense of their new colony. Captain Standish agreed to accompany the group on the Mayflower in 1620. The Pilgrims had several conflicts with the natives from 1621-1635 and Standish proved himself to be a decisive, sometimes brutal military leader.
His memory has been perpetuated by Longfellow’s “The Courtship of Miles Standish”. In that legend, John Alden won the hand of Priscilla after first wooing her for his friend, Miles Standish when she asked: “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?” Longfellow was a descendant of John and Priscilla Alden
and depicts Standish as a shy and timid romantic.
On October 3rd of 1789, General George Washington issued a proclamation designating a “day of thanksgiving” to be held on Thursday, the 26th of November, 1789 to celebrate victory over the British in the Battle of Saratoga.
Edgar Allen Poe On October 3, 1849, American author Edgar Allan Poe was found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore, Maryland under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public. He died on October 7.
Birthday of William Crawford Gorgas (October 3, 1854), American sanitarian, surgeon-general of the United States Army, famous for his success in controlling yellow fever, an achievement that permitted completion of the Panama Canal.
Federal Income Tax signed into law in 1913 (at 1%).
1916 Birthday of
James Herriot, (born as James Alfred Wight) veterinarian, author of much-loved books including:
All Creatures Great and Small (1972),
All Things Bright and Beautiful (1974),
All Things Wise and Wonderful (1977),
and The Lord God Made Them All.
He died in 1995.
1960: The Andy Griffith Show debuted on American television and was an immediate success. The show starred Andy Griffith as Andy Taylor, the widowed sheriff of Mayberry, North Carolina, a fictional community of roughly 2,000–5,000 people. Other major characters included Andy’s cousin, the well-meaning and enthusiastic deputy, Barney Fife (Don Knotts); Andy’s aunt and housekeeper, Bee Taylor (Frances Bavier); and Andy’s young son, Opie (Ron Howard). It ran until 1968.
1961: The Dick Van Dyke Show, a pioneer of the sitcom genre, began airing on CBS. The show starred Dick Van Dyke, Mary Tyler Moore, Rose Marie, Morey Amsterdam, and Larry Mathews. It ran until 1966.
1990 – German Reunification. The German Democratic Republic ceased to exist and its territory became part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East German citizens became part of the European Community, which later became the European Union. Now celebrated as German Unity Day.