Today is Sunday, Sept. 13, the 256th day of 2009. There are 109 days left in the year. The UPI Alamanc.
Today's Highlight in History:
On Sept. 13, 1959, the Soviet space probe Luna 2 became the first manmade object to reach the moon as it crashed onto the lunar surface. (Because of the time difference, it was already Sept. 14 in Moscow when lunar impact took place.)
On this date:
Two hundred and fifty years ago, in 1759, during the final French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.
In 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital.
In 1803, Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia.
In 1814, during the British attack on Fort McHenry, Md., Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner."
One hundred years ago, in 1909, an English version of the German operetta "The Chocolate Soldier" by Oscar Straus had its American premiere in New York.
In 1922, the temperature at El Azizia, Libya, reached 136 degrees F., generally accepted as the world's highest recorded atmospheric temperature.
In 1943, Chiang Kai-shek became president of China.
In 1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S. Senate, becoming the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.
Sixty years ago, in 1949, the Ladies Professional Golf Association of America was formed in New York City.
Fifty years ago, in 1959, Elvis Presley first met his future wife, 14-year-old Priscilla Beaulieu, while stationed in West Germany with the U.S. Army. (They married in 1967, but divorced in 1973.)
In 1971, a four-day inmates' rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in upstate New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed 43 lives.
Twenty years ago, in 1989, Fay Vincent was elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti.
In 1990, "Law & Order" premiered on NBC.
In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.In 1996, Rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25.
In 1997, funeral services were held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.
In 1998, former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace died in Montgomery at age 79. NBC's "Frasier" won a record fifth consecutive Emmy as TV's best comedy series.
Ten years ago: Israelis and Palestinians opened talks on a final peace accord. A bomb blamed by authorities on Chechen rebels devastated an eight-story apartment building in Moscow, killing at least 124 people.
In 2000, former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee pleaded guilty in Albuquerque, N.M., to one count of mishandling nuclear secrets. Lee, who had been held in solitary confinement for nine months, was set free with an apology from U.S. District Judge James Parker.
In 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the terror attacks on the United States; limited commercial flights resumed for the first time in two days.
Five years ago: U.S. warplanes in Iraq unleashed devastating airstrikes on a suspected hideout for operatives from an al-Qaida-linked group; a video posted on a Web site in the name of the militants purportedly showed the beheading of a kidnapped Turkish truck driver. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer agreed to a nearly $3 billion acquisition by a Sony-led consortium. Oakland posted a 7-6, 10-inning win over the Rangers in a game that was delayed in the ninth inning after Texas reliever Frank Francisco hurled a chair and hit two fans at the Oakland Coliseum; the chair hit a man in the head and broke a woman's nose. (Francisco ended up pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to 20 days in a work program and anger management classes.)
In 2006, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards died at age 73.
In 2007, the NFL fined New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 for spying on the New York Jets during a game.
One year ago: Rescue crews ventured out to pluck people from their homes in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who had stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike. After wild conjecture over who would play Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live," writer-performer Tina Fey returned to her old show for an opening sketch featuring her and Fey's former "Weekend Update" co-host Amy Poehler as Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Today's Birthdays:
Actress Barbara Bain is 78. Actress Eileen Fulton ("As the World Turns") is 76. TV producer Fred Silverman is 72. Former White House spokesman Larry Speakes is 70. Actor Richard Kiel is 70. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 68. Actress Jacqueline Bisset is 65. Singer Peter Cetera is 65. Actress Jean Smart is 58. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) is 57. Record producer Don Was is 57. Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is 55. Actress-comedian Geri Jewell is 53. Country singer Bobbie Cryner is 48. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 48. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 45. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 44. Actor Louis Mandylor is 43. Olympic gold medal sprinter Michael Johnson is 42. Rock musician Steve Perkins is 42. Actor Roger Howarth is 41. NFL quarterback Brad Johnson is 41. Actor-writer-director-producer Tyler Perry is 40. Actress Louise Lombard is 39. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic is 38. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 36. Singer Fiona Apple is 32. Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is 29.
Thought for Today:
"Better to be without logic than without feeling." — Charlotte Bronte, English author (1816-1855). [Is that how you managed to live for a whole 40 yrs., Toots? By wallowing in your sad emotions? Feh. — Ed.] On a more practical note, UPI's thought for the day: Washington Irving said, "There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it is often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place."
In 1996, Rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25.
In 1997, funeral services were held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.
In 1998, former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace died in Montgomery at age 79. NBC's "Frasier" won a record fifth consecutive Emmy as TV's best comedy series.
Ten years ago: Israelis and Palestinians opened talks on a final peace accord. A bomb blamed by authorities on Chechen rebels devastated an eight-story apartment building in Moscow, killing at least 124 people.
In 2000, former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee pleaded guilty in Albuquerque, N.M., to one count of mishandling nuclear secrets. Lee, who had been held in solitary confinement for nine months, was set free with an apology from U.S. District Judge James Parker.
In 2001, Secretary of State Colin Powell named Osama bin Laden as the prime suspect in the terror attacks on the United States; limited commercial flights resumed for the first time in two days.
Five years ago: U.S. warplanes in Iraq unleashed devastating airstrikes on a suspected hideout for operatives from an al-Qaida-linked group; a video posted on a Web site in the name of the militants purportedly showed the beheading of a kidnapped Turkish truck driver. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer agreed to a nearly $3 billion acquisition by a Sony-led consortium. Oakland posted a 7-6, 10-inning win over the Rangers in a game that was delayed in the ninth inning after Texas reliever Frank Francisco hurled a chair and hit two fans at the Oakland Coliseum; the chair hit a man in the head and broke a woman's nose. (Francisco ended up pleading no contest to misdemeanor assault and was sentenced to 20 days in a work program and anger management classes.)
In 2006, former Texas Gov. Ann Richards died at age 73.
In 2007, the NFL fined New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 for spying on the New York Jets during a game.
One year ago: Rescue crews ventured out to pluck people from their homes in an all-out search for thousands of Texans who had stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike. After wild conjecture over who would play Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on "Saturday Night Live," writer-performer Tina Fey returned to her old show for an opening sketch featuring her and Fey's former "Weekend Update" co-host Amy Poehler as Sen. Hillary Clinton.
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