TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS TUESDAY, SEPT. 12, the 255th day of 2017. There are 110 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1942, during World War II, a German U-boat off West Africa torpedoed the RMS Laconia, which was carrying Italian prisoners of war, British soldiers and civilians; it’s estimated more than 1,600 people died and some 1,100 survived. The German crew, joined by other U-boats, began rescue operations. (On September 16, the rescue effort was halted when the Germans were attacked by a U.S. Army bomber; U-boat commanders were ordered to no longer rescue civilian survivors of submarine attacks.)
In 1814, the Battle of North Point took place in Maryland during the War of 1812 as American forces slowed British troops advancing on Baltimore.
In 1914, during World War I, the First Battle of the Marne ended in an Allied victory against Germany.
In 1938, Adolf Hitler demanded the right of self-determination for the Sudeten Germans in Czechoslovakia.
In 1953, Massachusetts Sen. John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline Lee Bouvier in Newport, R.I.
In 1974, Emperor Haile Selassie was deposed by Ethiopia’s military after ruling for 58 years.
In 1977, South African black student leader and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko, 30, died while in police custody, triggering an international outcry.
In 1987, reports surfaced that Democratic presidential candidate Joseph Biden had borrowed, without attribution, passages of a speech by British Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock, prompting Biden to drop his White House bid.
In 1992, the space shuttle Endeavour blasted off, carrying with it Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space; Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space; and Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese national to fly on a U.S. spaceship.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Composer Harvey Schmidt (“The Fantasticks”) is 88. Actress Linda Gray is 77. Actor Joe Pantoliano is 66. Original MTV VJ Nina Blackwood is 65. Rock musician Neil Peart (Rush) is 65. Actor Peter Scolari is 62. Actor-comedian Louis C.K. is 50. Golfer Angel Cabrera is 48. Singer Ruben Studdard is 39. Basketball Hall of Fame player Yao Ming is 37. Singeractress Jennifer Hudson is 36. Actor Alfie Allen and actress Emmy Rossum are 31. Country singer Kelsea Ballerini is 24. Actor Colin Ford is 21.