Well, its the start of a new week and the 279th day of the year, but what happened in history today on October 6th?

In 1866, the Reno Brothers, John and Simeon Reno, staged the first train robbery in American history, making off with $13,000 (worth $246, 884.04 in today’s dollars) from an Ohio and Mississippi railroad train in Jackson County, Indiana. The Reno Brothers had a history of train-related crimes with burglaries of stationary trains sitting in freight yards, but this was the first time that they held up a moving train.  The brothers contribution to criminal history was to stop a moving train in thinly populated regions, like in the open plains to carry out the crime without law enforcement or curious bystanders interfering with the crime. Though this method was created in Indiana, the Reno Brothers’ new method of robbing trains spreads throughout the West and quickly became popular with train robber bandits. Many bandits, who might’ve been robbing train coaches or banks, discovered that newly built transcontinental and regional railroad were perfect targets from robberies with the western economy booming. During the booming economy, trains were mainly used to carry large amounts of money and precious minerals like gold, silver, copper, or lead. The wide open spaces of the Great Plains in the West allowed train robbers having plenty of wide-open spaces for stopping the train and hiding from the law. One famous group of train robbers were the Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch, found that robbing trains were so lucrative and easy that it was made it their criminal specialty. Over the years, the railroad companies began to find ways of stopping these train robbers like having a car full of guards and horses to chase after the robbers, which made the profession dangerous and extremely difficult.

In 1926, Yankee slugger, Babe Ruth, hit a record of three home runs in Game 4 against the St. Louis Cardinals in the World Series, setting a new record. He became the first player to achieve this feat, with his third home run being the longest in World Series history at an estimated 530 feet (176.7 yards). The New York Yankees won the game with 10-5 against the St. Louis Cardinals, but they lost the series. His home runs include a 395-footer (131.7 yards) and a 515-footer (171.7 yards). This game is also associated with the legend of Ruth hitting a home run for a sick boy, Johnny Sylvester, who was seriously ill and recovering from a horse-riding accident that caused a skull injury and blood poisoning. Sylvester had written a letter to Baby Ruth, and Ruth sent a baseball signed by the Yankees, with a personal note inscribed: “I’ll knock a homer for you in tomorrow’s game.”

In 1949, inventor and former NASA researcher, Lonnie Johnson, was born today. He was known for inventing the Super Soaker in 1982. He accidentally invented it while developing an environmentally friendly heat pump for NASA and built the prototype out of household materials like PVC pipes and a soda bottle. His invention revolutionized the water gun market and made over $1 billion in sales over its lifetime.

In 1973, the start of the Yom Kippur War between Israel, Egypt, and Syria. The war started with a surprise attack by Egypt and Syria forces on Israel in October of 1973 threw the Middle East into turmoil and threatens to bring the United States and USSR into direct conflict since the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962. Combat didn’t break out between the two nations, but the events surrounding the Yom Kippur War seriously damaged relationships between the United States and the USSR and all but destroyed President Nixon’s much publicized policy of détente (a process of managing relationships with a hostile country to maintain peace). The U.S. aided the Israel military with massive amounts of military assistance, as Israel counterattacks turned the tides of the war. The U.S. and Soviet Union counterparts eventually arranged a shaky cease-fire. The Soviets backed down on their threats, but the relationship between the two countries was damaged and the effects were serious and long lasting. The countries later agreed to peace and agreed to stop using force on one another. The war ended on October 25th, 1973.

Here are some historical events to start the week off and that history can occur anywhere at any time.