Today is Tuesday, September 13th, the 256th day of 2005. There are 109 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On September 13th, 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital.
On this date:
In 1759, during the final French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.
In 1803, Commodore John Barry, considered by many the father of the American Navy, died in Philadelphia.
In 1851, American medical pioneer Walter Reed was born in Gloucester County, Virginia.
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.
In 1949, the Ladies Professional Golf Association of America was formed in New York City, with Patty Berg as its first president.
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.
In 1990, the combination police-courtroom drama “Law & Order” premiered on NBC television.
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 1998, former Alabama Governor George C. Wallace died at age 79.
Ten years ago: The FBI made at least a dozen arrests, capping a nationwide two-year investigation of pedophiles and pornographers using the America Online computer network. “The Drew Carey Show” premiered on ABC television.
Five years ago: With the government all but abandoning its case against him, former Los Alamos scientist Wen Ho Lee pleaded guilty in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to a single count of mishandling nuclear secrets; he was then set free with an apology from U-S District Judge James Parker, who said the government’s actions had “embarrassed our entire nation.”
One year 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, ten-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 Coliseum; the chair hit a man in the head and broke a woman’s nose.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Eileen Fulton (“As the World Turns”) is 72. TV producer Fred Silverman is 68. Former White House spokesman Larry Speakes is 66. Actor Richard Kiel is 66. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 64. Actress Jacqueline Bisset is 61. Singer Peter Cetera is 61. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) is 53. Record producer Don Was is 53. Actress Jean Smart is 46. Country singer Bobbie Cryner is 44. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is 44. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 41. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 40. Actor Louis Mandylor is 39. Olympic gold medal runner Michael Johnson is 38. Rock musician Steve Perkins (Porno For Pyros; Jane’s Addiction) is 38. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic is 34. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 32. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flats) is 30. Actor Scott Vickaryous is 30. Singer Fiona Apple is 28. Actor Ben Savage is 25. Actor Mitch Holleman (“Reba”) is ten.
Thought for Today: “Better to be without logic than without feeling.” — Charlotte Bronte, English author (1816-1855).