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Today in History — September 11

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

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 11, the 254th day of 2007. There are 111 days left in the year.

Today’s Highlight in History:On Sept. 11, 2001, in the single worst act of terrorism committed on U.S. soil, nearly 3,000 people died when two hijacked jetliners crashed into New York’s World Trade Center, causing the twin towers to fall, a commandeered jetliner smashed into the Pentagon and a fourth hijacked plane crashed in western Pennsylvania. The day is marked as Patriot Day.

On this date:In 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed the first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury.

In 1814, an American fleet scored a decisive victory over the British in the Battle of Lake Champlain in the War of 1812.

In 1857, 150 years ago, the Mountain Meadows Massacre took place in present-day southern Utah as a 120-member Arkansas immigrant party was slaughtered by Mormon settlers.

In 1941, Charles A. Lindbergh sparked charges of anti-Semitism with a speech in Des Moines, Iowa, in which he said “the British, the Jewish and the Roosevelt administration” were trying to draw the United States into World War II.

In 1967, “The Carol Burnett Show” premiered on CBS.

In 1971, former Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev died at age 77.

In 1972, the troubled Munich Summer Olympics ended.

In 1973, Chilean President Salvador Allende died in a violent military coup.

In 1974, an Eastern Airlines DC-9 crashed during a landing attempt in Charlotte, N.C., killing 71 of the people on board.

In 1989, the exodus of East German refugees from Hungary to West Germany by way of Austria began.

Ten years ago: The Army issued a searing indictment of itself, asserting that “sexual harassment exists throughout the Army, crossing gender, rank and racial lines.” Scots voted to create their own Parliament after 290 years of union with England.

Five years ago: With words of comfort and resolve, President Bush joined the nation in remembering “how it began and who fell first” in the terrorist attacks one year earlier. Defiant Palestinian legislators forced the resignation of Yasser Arafat’s 21-member Cabinet. Death claimed actress Kim Hunter at age 79 and football Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas at age 69.

One year ago: The nation paused to remember the victims of 9/11 on the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks. In a prime-time address, President Bush invoked the memory of the victims as he argued for a continued military campaign in Iraq.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Betsy Drake is 84. Actor Earl Holliman is 79. Movie director Brian De Palma is 67. Rock musician Mickey Hart (The Dead) is 64. Singer-musician Leo Kottke is 62. Rock singer-musician Tommy Shaw (Styx) is 54. Sports reporter Lesley Visser is 54. Actor Reed Birney is 53. Singer-songwriter Diane Warren is 51. Musician Jon Moss (Culture Club) is 50. Actor Scott Patterson is 49. Rock musician Mick Talbot (The Style Council) is 49. Actress Roxann Dawson is 49. Actress Virginia Madsen is 46. Actress Kristy McNichol is 45. Musician-composer Moby is 42. Business reporter Maria Bartiromo is 40. Singer Harry Connick Jr. is 40. Rock musician Bart Van Der Zeeluw is 39. Actress Laura Wright is 37. Rock musician Jeremy Popoff (Lit) is 36. Singer Brad Fischetti (LFO) is 32. Rapper Mr. Black is 30. Rock musician Jon Buckland (Coldplay) is 30. Rapper Ludacris is 30. Actor Ryan Slattery is 29. Actor Tyler Hoechlin is 20.

Thought for Today: “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson, American poet and essayist (1803-1882).