Today in History
Today is Wednesday, Sept. 28, the 272nd day of 2016. 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 1787, the Congress of the
Confederation 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
1914, the First Battle of the Aisne (AYN) during World War I ended
inconclusively. In 1928, Scottish medical researcher Alexander Fleming
discovered penicillin, the first effective antibiotic. In 1939, during
World War II, Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union signed a treaty calling
for the partitioning of Poland, which the two countries had invaded. In
1958, voters in the African country of Guinea overwhelmingly favored
independence from France. In 1967, Walter E. Washington was sworn in as
the first mayor-commissioner of the District of Columbia. In 1976,
Muhammad Ali kept his world heavyweight boxing championship with a
close 15-round decision over Ken Norton at New York's Yankee Stadium.
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, California, at age 65. In 1995, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak
Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat signed an accord at the White
House ending Israel's military oc'cup'ation of West Bank cities and
laying the foundation for a Palestinian state. Ten years ago: Al-Qaida
in Iraq's leader, in a chilling audiotape, called for nuclear
scientists to join his group's holy war and urged insurgents to kidnap
Westerners so they could be traded for a blind Egyptian sheik serving a
life sentence in a U.S. prison. Five years ago: The Obama
administration formally appealed a federal appeals court ruling
striking down a key provision of President Barack Obama's health care
law requiring Americans to buy health insurance or pay a penalty. (The
U.S. Supreme Court later upheld the individual mandate.) One year ago:
President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, meeting at
the United Nations, agreed to discuss a political transition in Syria
but remained at odds about what that would mean for Syria leader Bashar
Assad's future. Former prison worker Joyce Mitchell, who'd helped two
murderers escape from a maximum-security lockup, said she regretted her
"horrible mistake" as she was sentenced in Plattsburgh, New York, to up
to seven years behind bars. Trevor Noah debuted as host of "The Daily
Show" on Comedy Central. Catherine E. Coulson, 71, an actress best
known as the quirky Log Lady in the TV series "Twin Peaks," died in
Ashland, Oregon. Frankie Ford, 76, a rock 'n' roll and rhythm and blues
singer whose 1959 hit "Sea Cruise" brought him international fame at
age 19, died in Jefferson Paris, Louisiana. Today's Birthdays: Actress
Brigitte Bardot is 82. Actor Joel Higgins is 73. Singer Helen Shapiro
is 70. Movie writer-director-actor John Sayles is 66. Rock musician
George Lynch is 62. Zydeco singer-musician C.J. Chenier (sheh-NEER') is
59. Actor Steve Hytner is 57. Actress-comedian Janeane Garofalo
(juh-NEEN' guh-RAH'-fuh-loh) is 52. Country singer Matt King is 50.
Actress Mira Sorvino is 49. TV personality/singer Moon Zappa is 49.
Actress-model Carre Otis is 48. Actress Naomi Watts is 48. Country
singer Karen Fairchild (Little Big Town) is 47. Country musician Chuck
Crawford is 43. Country singer Mandy Barnett is 41. Rapper Young Jeezy
is 39. World Golf Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak is 39. Actor Peter Cambor is
38. Writer-producer-director-actor Bam Margera is 37. Actress Melissa
Claire Egan is 35. Actress Jerrika Hinton is 35. Neo-soul musician Luke
Mossman (Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats ) is 35. Pop-rock singer
St. Vincent is 34. Rock musician Daniel Platzman (Imagine Dragons) is
30. Actress Hilary Duff is 29. Actor Keir Gilchrist is 24. Thought for
Today: "Sometimes I think we Americans are the loneliest people in the
world. To be sure, we hunger for the power of affection, the
self-acceptance that gives life. It is the oldest and strongest hunger
in the world. But hungering is not enough. Sherwood Anderson, American
author and poet (1876-1941).
