Today is Wednesday, Sept. 28, the 271st day of 2005. There are 94 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 28, 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England to claim the English throne.
On this date:
In 1542, Portuguese navigator Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo arrived at present-day San Diego.
In 1781, American forces in the Revolutionary War, backed by a French fleet, began their siege of Yorktown Heights, Va.
In 1787, Congress voted to send the just-completed Constitution of the United States to state legislatures for their approval.
In 1850, flogging was abolished as a form of punishment in the U.S. Navy.
In 1924, two U.S. Army planes landed in Seattle, having completed the first round-the-world flight in 175 days.
In 1939, during World War II, Germany and the Soviet Union agreed on a plan to partition Poland.
In 1974, first lady Betty Ford underwent a mastectomy at Bethesda Naval Medical Center in Maryland, following discovery of a cancerous lump in her breast.
In 1989, deposed Philippine President Ferdinand E. Marcos died in exile in Hawaii at age 72.
In 1991, jazz great Miles Davis died in Santa Monica, Calif., at age 65.
In 1994, more than 900 people died when an Estonian ferry capsized and sank in the Baltic sea.
Ten years ago: Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat signed an accord to transfer much of the West Bank to the control of its Arab residents.
Five years ago: Capping a 12-year battle, the government approved use of the abortion pill RU-486. Former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Elliott Trudeau died in Montreal at age 80. Ariel Sharon, leader of Israel’s hard-line opposition, sparked new Israeli-Palestinian clashes by touring the Temple Mount. In Sydney, Australia, Venus Williams earned her second Olympic gold medal, teaming with sister Serena in the final of women’s doubles to beat Miriam Oremans and Kristie Boogert of the Netherlands, 6-1, 6-1. Choreographer Peter Gennaro died at age 80.
One year ago: An earthquake measuring magnitude 6.0 rocked central California. Kidnappers in Iraq released two female Italian aid workers, Simona Torretta and Simona Pari, and five other hostages. Award-winning designer Geoffrey Beene died in New York at age 77.
Today’s Birthdays: Actor William Windom is 82. Actor Arnold Stang is 80. Blues singer Koko Taylor is 77. Actress Brigitte Bardot is 71. Singer Ben E. King is 67. Actor Joel Higgins is 62. Singer Helen Shapiro is 59. Actor Jeffrey Jones is 59. Movie writer-director-actor John Sayles is 55. Actress Sylvia Kristel is 53. Rock musician George Lynch is 51. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo is 41. Country singer Matt King is 39. Actress Mira Sorvino is 38. TV personality Moon Zappa is 38. Rhythm-and-blues singer Sean Levert (Levert) is 37. Actress-model Carre Otis is 37. Actress Naomi Watts is 37. Country singer Mandy Barnett is 30. Actress Hilary Duff is 18. Actress Skye McCole Bartusiak is 13.
Thought for Today: “What makes a leader — intelligence, integrity, imagination, skill: in brief, statecraft? Not at all. It is the fact that the man has a following.” — Gerald W. Johnson, American journalist (1890-1980).