Today in History
Today is Saturday, Sept. 9, the 252nd day of 2023. There are 113 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 9, 1957, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction, a measure primarily concerned with protecting voting rights; it also established a Civil Rights Division in the U.S. Department of Justice.
On this date:
In 1776, the second Continental Congress made the term “United States” official, replacing “United Colonies.”
In 1850, California became the 31st state of the union.
In 1919, some 1,100 members of Boston’s 1,500-man police force went on strike. (The strike was broken by Massachusetts Gov. Calvin Coolidge with replacement officers.)
In 1926, the National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) was incorporated by the Radio Corp. of America.
In 1942, during World War II, a Japanese plane launched from a submarine off the Oregon coast dropped a pair of incendiary bombs in a failed attempt at igniting a massive forest fire; it was the first aerial bombing of the U.S. mainland by a foreign power.
In 1948, the People’s Democratic Republic of Korea (North Korea) was declared.
In 1956, Elvis Presley made the first of three appearances on “The Ed Sullivan Show.”
In 1960, in the first regular-season American Football League game, the Denver Broncos defeated the Boston Patriots, 13-10.
In 1971, prisoners seized control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, New York, beginning a siege that ended up claiming 43 lives.
In 1991, boxer Mike Tyson was indicted in Indianapolis on a charge of raping a beauty pageant contestant. (Tyson was convicted and ended up serving three years of a six-year prison sentence.)
In 2015, Queen Elizabeth II became the longest reigning monarch in British history, serving as sovereign for 23,226 days (about 63 years and 7 months), according to Buckingham Palace, surpassing Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother.
In 2016, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, speaking at an LGBT fundraiser in New York City, described half of Republican Donald Trump’s supporters as “a basket of deplorables,” a characterization for which she ended up expressing regret.
In 2018, CBS chief Les Moonves resigned, hours after six more women accused the veteran television executive of sexual misconduct.
In 2022, King Charles III gave his first speech to Britain as its new monarch, vowing to carry on the “lifelong service” of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, who died a day earlier.
Today’s Birthdays: Singer Dee Dee Sharp is 78. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Joe Theismann is 74. Rock musician John McFee (The Doobie Brothers) is 73. Actor Tom Wopat is 72. Actor Angela Cartwright is 71. Musician-producer Dave Stewart is 71. Actor Hugh Grant is 63. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., is 60. Actor-comedian Charles Esten (formerly Chip) is 58. Actor Constance Marie is 58. Actor David Bennent is 57. Actor Adam Sandler is 57. Rock singer Paul Durham (Black Lab) is 55. Actor Julia Sawalha (suh-WAHL’-hah) is 55. Model Rachel Hunter is 54. Actor Eric Stonestreet is 52. Actor Henry Thomas is 52. Actor Goran Visnjic (VEEZ’-nihch) is 51. Pop-jazz singer Michael Buble’ (boo-BLAY’) is 48. Latin singer Maria Rita is 46. Actor Michelle Williams is 43. Actor Julie Gonzalo is 42. Neo-soul singer Paul Janeway (St. Paul & the Broken Bones) is 40. Actor Zoe Kazan is 40. Author-motivational speaker-businessman Farrah Gray is 39. Actor Kelsey Asbille is 32. Contemporary Christian singer Lauren Daigle is 32. Country singer-songwriter Hunter Hayes is 32.
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