Today in History
Today is Tuesday, Sept. 13, the 257th day of 2016. There are 109 days
left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Sept. 13, 1971, a
four-day inmates' rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in
western New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the
ordeal and final assault claimed the lives of 32 inmates and 11
hostages. On this date: In 1515, during the Italian Wars, the two-day
Battle of Marignano began as forces led by Francis I of France clashed
with troops from the Old Swiss Confederacy. (The French succeeded in
forcing the Swiss to abandon nearby Milan.) In 1788, the Congress of
the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared
New York City the temporary national capital. In 1814, during the War
of 1812, British naval forces began bombarding Fort McHenry in
Baltimore but were driven back by American defenders in a battle that
lasted until the following morning. In 1911, the song "Oh, You
Beautiful Doll," a romantic rag by Nat D. Ayer and Seymour Brown, was
first published by Jerome H. Remick & Co. In 1923, Miguel Primo de
Rivera, the captain general of Catalonia, seized power in Spain. In
1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U.S.
Senate; she became the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.
In 1959, Elvis Presley first met his future wife, 14-year-old Priscilla
Beaulieu, while stationed in West Germany with the U.S. Army. (They
married in 1967, but divorced in 1973.) In 1962, Mississippi Gov. Ross
Barnett rejected the U.S. Supreme Court's order for the University of
Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a black student, declaring in a
televised address, "We will not drink from the 'cup' of genocide. In
1989, Fay Vincent was elected commissioner of Major League Baseball,
succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti (juh-MAH'-tee). In 1996,
rapper Tupac Shakur died at a Las Vegas hospital six days after he was
wounded in a drive-by shooting; he was 25. In 1997, funeral services
were held in Calcutta (now Kolkata), India, for Nobel peace laureate
Mother Teresa. In 1998, former Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace died in
Montgomery at age 79. Ten years ago: Gunman Kimveer Gill, 25, opened
fire in a cafeteria at Dawson College in Montreal, Quebec, Canada,
slaying one student and wounding 19 before killing himself. Former
Texas Gov. Ann Richards died in Austin at age 73. Five years ago: Teams
of insurgents firing rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons
struck at the U.S. Embassy, NATO headquarters and other buildings in
the heart of Afghanistan's capital, Kabul. In New York City, Republican
political novice Bob Turner scored an upset victory over Democratic
state Assemblyman David Weprin in a special election to fill the House
seat vacated by Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner over a sexting scandal.
One year ago: Germany introduced temporary border controls to stem the
tide of thousands of refugees streaming across its borders. Novak
Djokovic (NOH'-vak JOH'-kuh-vich) defeated Roger Federer in four sets,
6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4, in the U.S. Open final for his 10th Grand Slam
title. Basketball Hall of Famer Moses Malone, 60, died in Norfolk,
Virginia. Miss Georgia Betty Cantrell was crowned Miss America at the
pageant in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Today's Birthdays: Actress
Barbara Bain is 85. Actress Eileen Fulton (TV: "As the World Turns") is
83. Actor Joe E. Tata is 80. TV producer Fred Silverman is 79. Rock
singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 75. Actress
Jacqueline Bisset is 72. Singer Peter Cetera is 72. Actress Christine
Estabrook is 66. Actress Jean Smart is 65. Singer Randy Jones (The
Village People) is 64. Record producer Don Was is 64. Actor Isiah
Whitlock Jr. is 62. Actress-comedian Geri Jewell is 60. Country singer
Bobbie Cryner is 55. Rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) is
55. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 52. Rock musician Zak Starkey
is 51. Actor Louis Mandylor is 50. Olympic gold medal runner Michael
Johnson is 49. Rock musician Steve Perkins is 49. Actor Roger Howarth
is 48. Actor Dominic Fumusa is 47. Actress Louise Lombard is 46. Tennis
player Goran Ivanisevic (ee-van-EE'-seh-vihch) is 45. Country singer
Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 43. Country musician Joe Don Rooney
(Rascal Flatts) is 41. Actor Scott Vickaryous is 41. Singer Fiona Apple
is 39. Contemporary Christian musician Hector Cervantes (Casting
Crowns) is 36. Former MLB pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is 36. Actor Ben
Savage is 36. Rock singer Niall Horan (One Direction) is 23. Actor
Mitch Holleman is 21. Thought for Today: "Injustice, poverty, slavery,
ignorance these may be cured by reform or revolution. But men do not
live only by fighting evils. They live by positive goals, individual
and collective, a vast variety of them, seldom predictable, at times
incompatible. Isaiah Berlin, Russian-born British philosopher
(1909-1997).
