TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY IS THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2017

On this day in history:

1817 - In an official dispatch, Governor Lachlan Macquarie advocates the adoption of the name Australia for the continent, as suggested by Matthew Flinders.

1872 - Warburton departs Adelaide on his journey to explore central Australia from Alice Springs to Perth. [ 1931 - Britain went off the gold standard.

1937 - J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit was first published. 1949 - Communist leaders proclaimed The People’s Republic of China.

1964 - Malta gained independence from Britain. 1966 - The Soviet probe Zond 5 returned to Earth. The spacecraft completed the first unmanned round-trip flight to the moon.

1973 - Henry Kissinger was confirmed by the US Senate to become 56th Secretary of State. He was the first naturalised citizen to hold the office of Secretary of State. 1981 - Belize gained full independence from Great Britain.

1982 - Amin Gemayel was elected president of Lebanon. He was the brother of Bashir Gemayel who was the president-elect when he was assassinated.

1985 - North and South Korea opened their borders for their family reunion program. 1999 - Chi-Chi earthquake occurs in central Taiwan, leaving about 2,400 people dead.

2001 - America: A Tribute to Heroes is broadcast by over 35 network and cable channels, raising over $200 million for the victims of the September 11 attacks.

2001 - Increased racial tensions in Peterborough, England following the September 11 attacks see seventeen year old Ross Parker murdered by a gang of ten muslims in a racially motivated attack.

2003 - Galileo mission is terminated by sending the probe into Jupiter’s atmosphere, where it is crushed by the pressure at the lower altitudes.

2013 - Al-Shabaab Islamic militants attack the Westgate shopping mall in Nairobi, Kenya, killing at least 67 people.