Today's Highlight in History:
A mere seventy years ago, on Sept. 1, 1939, World War II began as Nazi Germany invaded Poland. Adolf Hitler makes the big announcement. Scroll up two items for AP print stories.
On this date:
In 1807, former Vice President Aaron Burr was found not guilty of treason. (Burr was then tried on a misdemeanor charge, but was again acquitted.) In 1894, the Great Hinckley Fire destroyed Hinckley, Minn., and five other communities, and killed more than 400 people. In 1897, the first section of Boston's new subway system was opened. In 1905, Alberta and Saskatchewan entered Confederation as the eighth and ninth provinces of Canada. In 1914, the last known passenger pigeon died at the Cincinnati Zoo. In 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake that claimed some 140,000 lives. In 1932, New York City Mayor James "Gentleman Jimmy" Walker resigned following charges of graft and corruption in his administration. In 1942, A federal judge in Sacramento, Calif., upheld the wartime detention of Japanese-Americans as well as Japanese nationals.
In 1951, the United States, Australia and New Zealand signed a mutual defense pact, the ANZUS treaty.
Forty years ago, in 1969, a coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.
In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of game 21.
In 1981, Albert Speer, a close associate of Adolf Hitler who ran the Nazi war machine, died at a London hospital at age 76.
In 1983, 269 people were killed when a Korean Air Lines Boeing 747 was shot down by a Soviet jet fighter after the airliner had entered Soviet airspace.
Twenty years ago, in 1989, Baseball Commissioner A. Bartlett Giamatti died of a heart attack at his summer home in Martha's Vineyard, Mass., at age 51.
In 1998, Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his 56th and 57th home runs of the season, breaking the National League record set by Hack Wilson in 1930.
Ten years ago: Twenty-two of baseball's 68 permanent umpires found themselves jobless, the fallout from their union's failed attempt to force an early start to negotiations for a new labor contract. Ten American tourists and two Tanzanians were killed when their small plane crashed as they were leaving Serengeti National Park.
Five years ago: More than 1,000 people were taken hostage by heavily armed Chechen militants at a school in Beslan in southern Russia; more than 330, mostly children, were eventually killed in the three-day ordeal. Militants in Iraq freed seven employees of a Kuwaiti trucking firm after their employer paid half a million dollars in ransom. The criminal case against Kobe Bryant collapsed as prosecutors in Colorado dropped a sexual assault charge against the NBA star.
In 2007, Sen. Larry Craig, R-Idaho, announced that he would resign in the wake of fallout over his guilty plea in a Minnesota airport gay sex sting. (Craig later reversed his decision, saying he would serve out the rest of his term.)
One year ago: Hurricane Gustav slammed into the heart of Louisiana's fishing and oil industry with 110 mph winds, delivering only a glancing blow to New Orleans. Republicans opened their national convention in St. Paul, Minn., on a subdued note because of Hurricane Gustav; John McCain's running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, revealed that her 17-year-old daughter, Bristol, was pregnant. Jerry Lewis raised a record $65 million for the Muscular Dystrophy Association in his annual Labor Day telethon. Today's Birthdays -- September 1
Journalist and author Liz Carpenter is 89. Former Defense Secretary Melvin R. Laird is 87. Actor George Maharis is 81. Conductor Seiji Ozawa is 74. Attorney and law professor Alan Dershowitz is 71. Comedian-actress Lily Tomlin is 70. Actor Don Stroud is 66. Conductor Leonard Slatkin is 65. Singer Archie Bell is 65.Today In Entertainment History September 1
[Abso-fugging-lutely nothing happened on this date. Nothing, y'hear? — Ed.]In 1956, Elvis Presley bought his mother, Gladys, a pink Cadillac.
In 1967, guitarist and vocalist Boz Scaggs joined The Steve Miller Band. Scaggs and Miller had met in high school in Dallas.
In 1977, Blondie signed with Chrysalis Records.
In 1989, a judge in Dublin, Ireland, decided not to convict U2 bassist Adam Clayton of marijuana possession, even though he admitted to the crime. Clayton agreed to contribute money to a women's center in Dublin.
In 2002, actress Sarah Michelle Gellar married actor Freddie Prinze Junior in Mexico.
Last year, country singer-actor Jerry Reed died in Nashville at age 71. Voiceover artist Don LaFontaine, whose distinctive baritone graced innumerable movie trailers, died in Los Angeles at age 68.
EXTRA CREDIT: Other events of this date.
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