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Today in history: September 25

Celebrity birthdays, highlights in history, plus more facts about this day
/ Source: The Associated Press

Today is Monday, Sept. 25, the 268th day of 2006. There are 97 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 25, 1789, the first United States Congress adopted 12 amendments to the Constitution and sent them to the states for ratification. (Ten of the amendments became the Bill of Rights.)

On this date:
In 1506, King Philip I of Castile died.

In 1775, American Revolutionary War hero Ethan Allen was captured by the British as he led an attack on Montreal.

In 1890, Wilford Woodruff, president of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, issued a Manifesto formally renouncing the practice of polygamy.

In 1906, Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich was born in St. Petersburg.

In 1919, President Wilson collapsed from a stroke after a speech in Pueblo, Colo., during a national speaking tour in support of the Treaty of Versailles.

In 1956, the first trans-Atlantic telephone cable went into service.

In 1957, with 300 U.S. Army troops standing guard, nine black children forced to withdraw from Central High School in Little Rock, Ark., because of unruly white crowds were escorted to class.

In 1973, the three-man crew of the U.S. space laboratory Skylab 2 splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean after spending 59 days in orbit.

In 1978, 144 people were killed when a Pacific Southwest Airlines Boeing 727 and a private plane collided over San Diego.

In 1981, Sandra Day O’Connor was sworn in as the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

Ten years ago: Stone-throwing protests by thousands of Palestinians angered by Israel’s decision to open an archaeological tunnel near Jerusalem’s Al Aqsa Mosque compound led to battles with Israeli troops in which seven people died.

Five years ago: Saudi Arabia formally severed relations with Afghanistan’s hard-line Taliban government. Former Chicago Bulls player Michael Jordan, who’d left professional basketball after winning a half-dozen championship rings, announced he was returning to the game with the Washington Wizards. General Motors Corp. announced the 2002 model year would be the last for the Chevrolet Camaro and Pontiac Firebird.

One year ago: President Bush wrapped up a three-day trip designed to convey hands-on leadership during the Gulf Coast hurricanes, promising to act on military leaders’ request for a national search-and-rescue strategy. A U.S. military helicopter crashed in Afghanistan, killing all five American crew members. Actor Don Adams died in Los Angeles at age 82.

Today’s Birthdays: Baseball Hall-of-Famer Phil Rizzuto is 89. Country singer Ian Tyson is 73. Rhythm-and-blues singer Joe Russell is 67. Actor Robert Walden is 63. Actor-producer Michael Douglas is 62. Model Cheryl Tiegs is 59. Actress Mimi Kennedy is 57. Actor-director Anson Williams is 57. Actor Mark Hamill is 55. Actor Colin Friels is 54. Actor Michael Madsen is 48. Actress Heather Locklear is 45. Actress Aida Turturro is 44. Actor Tate Donovan is 43. Basketball player Scottie Pippen is 41. Actor Jason Flemyng is 40. Actor Will Smith is 38. Actor Hal Sparks is 37. Actress Catherine Zeta-Jones is 37. Actress Bridgette Wilson is 33. Actor Chris Owen is 26. Rapper T. I. is 26. Actor Lee Norris is 25. Singer Diana Ortiz (Dream) is 21.

Thought for Today: “The richer your friends, the more they will cost you.” — Elisabeth Marbury, American writer (1856-1933).