On Oct. 8, 1956, Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series to date as the New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in Game 5, 2-0.

Ten years ago: Word reached the United States of North Korea’s claim that it had exploded a nuclear weapon for the first time, conducting an underground test that defied international warnings (because of the time difference, it was Oct. 9 in North Korea).

Five years ago: Scott Anderson became the first openly gay ordained Presbyterian minister during a ceremony at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Madison, Wisconsin. In a rain-interrupted game that ended a few minutes past midnight, the Texas Rangers defeated the Detroit Tigers 3-2 in Game 1 of the AL championship series. Al Davis, the Hall of Fame owner of the Oakland Raiders, died at age 82. Pianist Roger Williams, 87, died in Los Angeles.

One year ago: Volkswagen’s top U.S. executive, Michael Horn, offered deep apologies, yet sought to distance himself from the emissions scandal enveloping the world’s largest automaker, asserting before a congressional subcommittee that top corporate officials had no knowledge of the cheating software installed in 11 million diesel cars. Svetlana Alexievich, a Belarusian journalist and prose writer, won the Nobel Prize in literature. Chef Paul Prudhomme, 75, who’d sparked a nationwide interest in Cajun food, died in New Orleans.

— By The Associated Press