TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS THURSDAY, SEPT. 13, the 256th day of 2018. There are 109 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY: On this date in 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.
In 1759, during the French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.
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 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 1970, the first New York City Marathon was held; winner Gary Muhrcke finished the 26.2-mile run, which took place entirely inside Central Park, in 2:31:38.
In 1989, Fay Vincent was elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti.
In 1990, the combination police-courtroom drama “Law & Order” premiered on NBC.
In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.
In 1997, funeral services were held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.
In 2001, two days after the 9/11 terror attacks, the first few jetliners returned to the nation’s skies, but several major airports remained closed and others opened only briefly. President George W. Bush visited injured Pentagon workers and said he would carry the nation’s prayers to New York.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Actress Barbara Bain is 87. Actress Eileen Fulton (TV: “As the World Turns”) is 85. Actor Joe E. Tata is 82. TV producer Fred Silverman is 81. Rock singer David Clayton-Thomas (Blood, Sweat & Tears) is 77. Actress Jacqueline Bisset and singer Peter Cetera are 74. Actress Christine Estabrook is 68. Actress Jean Smart is 67. Singer Randy Jones (The Village People) and record producer Don Was are 66. Actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. is 64. Actress-comedian Geri Jewell is 62. Country singer Bobbie Cryner and rock singer-musician Dave Mustaine (Megadeth) are 57. Radio-TV personality Tavis Smiley is 54. Rock musician Zak Starkey is 53. Actor Louis Mandylor is 52. Olympic gold medal runner Michael Johnson and rock musician Steve Perkins are 51. Actor Roger Howarth is 50. Actor Dominic Fumusa is 49. Actress Louise Lombard is 48. Tennis player Goran Ivanisevic is 47. Country singer Aaron Benward (Blue County) is 45. Country musician Joe Don Rooney (Rascal Flatts) and actor Scott Vickaryous are 43. Singer Fiona Apple is 41. Contemporary Christian musician Hector Cervantes (Casting Crowns), former MLB pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and actor Ben Savage are 38. Rock singer Niall Horan (One Direction) is 25. Actor Mitch Holleman is 23. Actress Lili Reinhart (TV: “Riverdale”) is 22.