Today in History - Sept. 23
2007-09-23 00:00:00
The Associated Press
By The Associated Press
Today is Sunday, Sept. 23, the 266th day of 2007. There are 99 days left in the year. Autumn arrives at 5:51 a.m. Eastern time.
Today's Highlight in History:
Fifty years ago, on Sept. 23, 1957, nine black students who had entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside.
On this date:
In 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle.
In 1780, British spy John Andre was captured along with papers revealing Benedict Arnold's plot to surrender West Point to the British.
In 1806, the Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest.
In 1846, Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.
In 1938, a time capsule, to be opened in the year 6939, was buried on the grounds of the World's Fair in New York City.
In 1952, Republican vice presidential candidate Richard M. Nixon went on television to deliver what became known as the "Checkers" speech as he refuted allegations of improper campaign financing.
In 1962, New York's Philharmonic Hall (since renamed Avery Fisher Hall) formally opened as the first unit of the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts.
In 1973, former Argentine president Juan Peron won a landslide election victory that returned him to power; his wife, Isabel, was elected vice president.
In 1987, Delaware Sen. Joseph Biden withdrew from the Democratic presidential race following questions about his use of borrowed quotations and the portrayal of his academic record.
In 2001, 13 coal miners were killed in explosions at the Blue Creek Mine No. 5 in Brookwood, Ala.
Ten years ago: The Senate Finance Committee opened hearings into reports of alleged abuses by the Internal Revenue Service. Armed men raided an Algerian village, killing at least 200 people in one of the worst massacres since Algeria's Islamic insurgency began.
Five years ago: A defiant Yasser Arafat dug in at his besieged West Bank compound, rejecting Israel's demand to hand over the names of all those holed up inside. Gov. Gray Davis signed a law making California the first state to offer workers paid family leave.
One year ago: Three young children were found dead in an East St. Louis, Ill., apartment, hours after Tiffany Hall was charged with killing their pregnant mother and her fetus in a grisly attack. (Hall has since been charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Jimella Tunstall and her children, as well as intentional homicide of Tunstall's fetus.) Barry Bonds hit his 734th career home run in the Giants' 10-8 loss to the Brewers, breaking Hank Aaron's NL record.
Today's Birthdays: Actor Mickey Rooney is 87. Actress Margaret Pellegrini ("The Wizard of Oz") is 84. Singer Julio Iglesias is 64. Actor Paul Petersen ("The Donna Reed Show") is 62. Actress-singer Mary Kay Place is 60. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 58. Actor Jason Alexander is 48. Actor Chi McBride is 46. Actress Elizabeth Pena is 46. Country musician Don Herron (BR549) is 45. Actor Erik Todd Dellums is 43. Actress LisaRaye is 41. Singer Ani DiFranco is 37. Rock singer Sarah Bettens (K's Choice) is 35. Recording executive Jermaine Dupri is 35. Pop singer Erik-Michael Estrada ("Making the Band") is 28.
Thought for Today: "Education is hanging around until you've caught on." — Robert Frost, American poet (1874-1963).
Subject: Today in History - Sept. 23 
Sun Sep 23, 2007 9:08 am
