Today's Highlight in History:
On Sept. 20, 1519, Portuguese navigator and explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. (Magellan was killed en route, but one of his ships eventually circled the world.)On this date:
In 1870, Italian troops took control of the Papal States, leading to the unification of Italy.In 1873, panic swept the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.
In 1881, Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding James A. Garfield, who had been assassinated.
In 1884, the National Equal Rights Party was formed during a convention of suffragists in San Francisco; the convention nominated Belva Ann Bennett Lockwood for president.
In 1947, former New York City Mayor Fiorello La Guardia died.
In 1958, civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. was seriously wounded during a book signing at a New York City department store when a black woman, Izola Curry, stabbed him in the chest. (Curry was later found mentally incompetent.)
In 1962, black student James Meredith was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Gov. Ross R. Barnett. (Meredith was later admitted.)
In 1966, Britain's Queen Elizabeth II launched the Cunard liner bearing her name, often shortened to QEII, which eventually became the only ocean liner on the once thriving trans-Atlantic route.
In 1973, in their so-called "battle of the sexes," tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, at the Astrodome in Houston.
In 1979, Jean-Bedel Bokassa, self-styled head of the Central African Empire, was overthrown in a French-supported coup while on a visit to Libya.
In 1984, a suicide car bomber attacked the U.S. Embassy annex in north Beirut, killing at least 14 people, including two Americans and 12 Lebanese.
In 1989, F.W. de Klerk was sworn in as president of South Africa.
In 1990, a military court convicted Nicu Ceausescu, 39, youngest son of executed former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu, of murder.
In 1991, the Cambodian government and three rebel factions agreed on a form of future U.N.-supervised elections.
In 1993, leaders of the three factions fighting in Bosnia broke off negotiations aboard a British aircraft carrier in the Adriatic Sea.
In 1998, after playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games over 16 seasons, Cal Ripken Jr. of the Baltimore Orioles sat out a game against the New York Yankees.
Ten years ago: Lawrence Russell Brewer became the second white supremacist to be convicted in the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. in Jasper, Texas. (Brewer was later sentenced to death.) Heavily armed international peacekeepers landed in East Timor, clearing the way for the rest of a U.N.-approved force charged with restoring order. Raisa Gorbachev, wife of the last Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev, died after a battle with leukemia; she was 67.
In 2000, the six-year Whitewater investigation of U.S. President Bill Clinton and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton ended without any indictments being issued. Independent Counsel Robert Ray said there was insufficient evidence to establish criminal wrongdoing.
In 2001, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was named to head the new Department of Homeland Security.
In 2002, Israeli forces demolished all but one building of the office compound of Palestinian chief Yasser Arafat after a suicide bomber killed seven people aboard a Tel Aviv bus.
In 2003, armies of technicians in the mid-Atlantic states worked to restore power to 2.5 million customers still in the dark from Hurricane Isabel. The storm left at least 25 dead in seven states.
Five years ago: CBS News apologized for a "mistake in judgment" in its story questioning President George W. Bush's National Guard service, saying it could not vouch for the authenticity of documents featured in the report. A militant video posted on a Web site showed the beheading of a man identified as American civil engineer Eugene Armstrong, who had been abducted in Iraq.
In 2005, Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal died at age 96. The Bush administration's disapproval rating reached a reported all-time high of 58 percent in a USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll.
In 2006, Venezuela President Hugo Chavez called U.S. President George Bush "the devil" in a U.N. speech and accused the United States of trying to dominate the world. A poll indicated that U.S. voters had an "overwhelmingly negative" opinion of the Republican-led U.S. Congress.
In 2007, Norman Hsu, a major Democratic fundraiser for U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, was charged with defrauding investors of $60 million. Clinton said funds donated on her behalf would be returned. Wall Street reports said the U.S. dollar dropped to record lows against the euro in a week of trading, beginning on this date.
In 2008, the White House formally announced a vast bailout plan for U.S. financial institutions including full authority for the Treasury Department to buy up to $700 billion in so-called toxic mortgage-related assets in order to restore confidence among investors and banks reluctant to make loans. More than 50 people were killed and hundreds injured when a truck bomb exploded outside the popular Marriot Hotel in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
One year ago: The Bush administration asked Congress for the power to buy $700 billion in toxic assets clogging the financial system and threatening the economy as negotiations began on the largest bailout since the Great Depression. A suicide truck bombing at the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad killed 53 people, including the Czech ambassador.
Today's Birthdays:
Singer Gogi Grant is 85. Actress-comedian Anne Meara is 80. Actress Sophia Loren is 75.
Today In Entertainment History September 20
In 1946, the first Cannes Film Festival opened on the French Riviera. An earlier attempt to begin the international movie showcase in 1939 was halted by the outbreak of World War II.In 1964, The Beatles completed their first official US tour by performing a benefit concert. The band also made another appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show."
In 1966, George Harrison traveled to India for his first meeting with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
In 1970, Jim Morrison of The Doors was found guilty of indecent exposure and use of profanity in connection with a concert in Miami in 1969. He was found innocent of lewdness and public drunkenness. The guilty verdicts were appealed, but Morrison died before the case was resolved.
In 1973, singer Jim Croce and five others were killed when their plane crashed after takeoff. Croce was on his way to a concert in Texas. He was 30.
In 1975, the Bay City Rollers were the first musical guests on Howard Cosell's short-lived Saturday night variety show. Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run" album was released.
In 1976, The Captain and Tennille's music variety show premiered on ABC.
In 1984, "The Cosby Show" starring Bill Cosby, debuted on NBC.
In 1986, "Matlock" starring Andy Griffith, premiered on NBC.
In 2003, musician Melissa Etheridge and actress Tammy Lynn Michaels held a commitment ceremony.
In 2005, J.D. Fortune of Toronto was chosen as the new singer for INXS on the CBS reality show "Rock Star: INXS." [How's that been working out for them? Haven't heard word one, not that we care. — Ed.]
2 comments:
In 2003, musician Melissa Etheridge and actress Tammy Lynn Michaels held a commitment ceremony.
Close up of the ceremony of the commitment-izing! Market this puppay with some celeb lez, dude
Anti-Vulgarity Editor Sniffs:
Melissa Etheridge is not our idea of a lipstick lesbian.
Besides, it was her second commitment. Marriage yes, divorce no!
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