Today is Tuesday, Sept. 5, the 248th day of 2006. There are 117 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.
On this date:
In 1793, the Reign of Terror began during the French Revolution as the National Convention instituted harsh measures to repress counterrevolutionary activities.
In 1836, Sam Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas.
In 1905, the Treaty of Portsmouth, ending the Russo-Japanese War, was signed in New Hampshire.
In 1914, the First Battle of the Marne began during World War I.
In 1939, the United States proclaimed its neutrality in World War II.
In 1945, Japanese-American Iva Toguri D’Aquino, suspected of being wartime broadcaster “Tokyo Rose,” was arrested in Yokohama. (D’Aquino was later convicted of treason and served six years in prison; she was pardoned in 1977 by President Ford.)
In 1972, Arab guerrillas attacked the Israeli delegation at the Munich Olympic games; 11 Israelis, five guerrillas and a police officer were killed in the siege.
In 1975, President Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, Calif.
In 1986, 21 people were killed and dozens wounded after four hijackers who had seized a Pan Am jumbo jet in Karachi, Pakistan, opened fire when the lights inside the plane failed.
In 1997, Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, at age 87; conductor Sir Georg Solti died in France at age 84.
Ten years ago: Russian President Boris Yeltsin acknowledged he had serious health problems, and would undergo heart surgery. Hurricane Fran slammed into the Carolinas.
Five years ago: Mexican President Vicente Fox arrived at the White House as the first state visitor of the Bush presidency. Peru’s attorney general filed homicide charges against Alberto Fujimori, linking the ex-president to two massacres by paramilitary death squads in the early 1990s. (Fujimori, now in Chile, continues to fight extradition.) Sports commentator Heywood Hale Broun died in Kingston, N.Y., at age 83.
One year ago: President Bush nominated John Roberts for chief justice. President Bush and Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, during a Gulf Coast tour, consoled Hurricane Katrina victims and thanked relief workers. An Indonesian jetliner crashed, killing 143 people, including 44 on the ground; 18 passengers survived. Jerry Rice ended an NFL career that included three Super Bowls and records for most career receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns.
Today’s Birthdays: The former president of the Motion Picture Association of America, Jack Valenti, is 85. Former Federal Reserve Board chairman Paul A. Volcker is 79. Comedian-actor Bob Newhart is 77. Actor William Devane is 67. Actor George Lazenby is 67. Singer John Stewart is 67. Actress Raquel Welch is 66. Singer Al Stewart is 61. Actor-director Dennis Dugan is 60. Singer Loudon Wainwright III is 60. Drummer Buddy Miles is 60. “Cathy” cartoonist Cathy Guisewite is 56. Actor Michael Keaton is 55. Country musician Jamie Oldaker (The Tractors) is 55. Rhythm-and-blues singer Terry Ellis is 40. Rock musician Brad Wilk is 38. TV personality Dweezil Zappa is 37. Actress Rose McGowan is 32. Actor Andrew Ducote is 20.
Thought for Today: “Those who foresee the future and recognize it as tragic are often seized by a madness which forces them to commit the very acts which makes it certain that what they dread shall happen.” — Dame Rebecca West, Irish author and journalist (1892-1983).