Today in History
Today is Saturday, Sept. 18, the 261st day of 2021. There are 104 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 18, 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.
On this date:
In A.D. 14, the Roman Senate officially confirmed Tiberius as the second emperor of the Roman Empire, succeeding the late Augustus.
In 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.
In 1851, the first edition of The New York Times was published.
In 1927, the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later CBS) made its on-air debut with a basic network of 16 radio stations.
In 1947, the National Security Act, which created a National Military Establishment and the position of Secretary of Defense, went into effect.
In 1961, United Nations Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold (dahg HAWM’-ahr-shoold) was killed in a plane crash in northern Rhodesia.
In 1965, the situation comedies “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Get Smart” premiered on NBC.
In 1970, rock star Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.
In 1990, the organized crime drama “GoodFellas,” directed by Martin Scorsese, had its U.S. premiere in New York.
In 2001, a week after the Sept. 11 attack, President George W. Bush said he hoped to “rally the world” in the battle against terrorism and predicted that all “people who love freedom” would join. Letters postmarked Trenton, N.J., that later tested positive for anthrax were sent to the New York Post and NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw.
In 2010, despite Taliban rocket strikes and bombings, Afghans voted for a new parliament in the first election since a fraud-marred ballot cast doubt on the legitimacy of the embattled government.
In 2014, voters in Scotland rejected independence, opting to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum. The Royal and Ancient Golf Club at St. Andrews, Scotland, ended years of male-only exclusivity as its members voted overwhelmingly in favor of inviting women to join.
Ten years ago: Dominique Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, broke his silence four months after a New York hotel maid accused him of sexual assault, calling his encounter with the woman a “moral failing” he deeply regretted, but insisting in an interview on French television that no violence was involved. A magnitude 6.9 earthquake shook northeastern India and Nepal, resulting in some 100 deaths. For a second year, Emmy Awards for drama and comedy went to “Mad Men” and “Modern Family.”
Five years ago: At the United Nations, the United States, Japan and South Korea roundly condemned North Korea’s latest nuclear test and called for tough new measures to further isolate the communist state. The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks 9-3 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in a game that marked the return of pro football to the nation’s second-largest market for the first time in nearly 22 years. “Game of Thrones” was honored at the Emmy Awards as top drama for the second consecutive year; “Veep” repeated as best comedy series.
One year ago: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering women’s rights champion who became the court’s second female justice, died at her home in Washington at the age of 87 of complications from pancreatic cancer; her death set off a battle over whether President Donald Trump should nominate a successor, or the seat should remain vacant until the outcome of the election six weeks away. (Trump would nominate Amy Coney Barrett, who was confirmed by the Republican-led Senate days before the election.) The Commerce Department said it would ban Chinese-owned TikTok and WeChat from U.S. app stores, citing national security and data privacy concerns. (Courts temporarily blocked the attempted ban, and the Biden administration in 2021 dropped those Trump-era executive orders.)
Today’s Birthdays: Actor Robert Blake is 88. Gospel singer Bobby Jones is 83. Singer Frankie Avalon is 81. Actor Beth Grant is 72. Rock musician Kerry Livgren is 72. Actor Anna Deavere Smith is 71. Former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, is 70. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino is 69. Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., is 67. College Football Hall of Famer and retired NFL player Billy Sims is 66. Movie director Mark Romanek is 62. Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is 62. Alt-country-rock musician Mark Olson is 60. Singer Joanne Catherall (Human League) is 59. Actor Holly Robinson Peete is 57. R&B singer Ricky Bell (Bell Biv Devoe and New Edition) is 54. Actor Aisha Tyler is 51. Former racing cyclist Lance Armstrong is 50. Opera singer Anna Netrebko is 50. Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 50. Actor James Marsden is 48. Actor Emily Rutherfurd is 47. Actor Travis Schuldt is 47. Rapper Xzibit is 47. Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis is 46. Actor Sophina Brown is 45. Actor Barrett Foa is 44. Talk show host Sara Haines (TV: “GMA3: Strahan, Sara & Keke”) is 44. Actor/comedian Billy Eichner is 43. Actor Alison Lohman is 42. Designer Brandon Maxwell is 37. Congressman and former NFL player Anthony Gonzalez, R-Ohio, is 37. Actors Brandon and Taylor Porter are 28. Actor Patrick Schwarzenegger is 28. Country singer Tae Dye (Maddie and Tae) is 26. Actor C.J. Sanders is 25.
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