TODAY IN HISTORY
TODAY IS WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 19, the 262nd day of 2018. There are 103 days left in the year. TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT IN HISTORY:
On this date in 1881, the 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died 2½ months after being shot by Charles Guiteau; Chester Alan Arthur became president.
In 1777, the first Battle of Saratoga was fought during the Revolutionary War; although British forces succeeded in driving out the American troops, the Americans prevailed in a second battle the following month.
In 1783, Jacques Etienne Montgolfier launched a duck, a sheep and a rooster aboard a hot-air balloon at Versailles in France.
In 1796, President George Washington’s farewell address was published. In it, America’s first chief executive advised, “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”
In 1945, Nazi radio propagandist William Joyce, known as “Lord Haw-Haw,” was convicted of treason and sentenced to death by a British court.
In 1959, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev, in Los Angeles as part of his U.S. tour, reacted angrily on being told that, for security reasons, he wouldn’t get to visit Disneyland.
In 1970, the “Mary Tyler Moore” show debuted on CBS-TV.
In 1982, the smiley emoticon was invented by Carnegie Mellon University professor Scott E. Fahlman, who suggested punctuating humorously intended computer messages with a colon followed by a hyphen and a parenthesis as a horizontal “smiley face.” :-)
In 1985, the Mexico City area was struck by a devastating earthquake that killed at least 9,500 people.
In 1986, federal health officials announced that the experimental drug AZT would be made available to thousands of AIDS patients.
In 1997, in his first public comments since the death of Princess Diana, Prince Charles told the British people he would always feel the loss of his former wife, and thanked them for their support. Six people were killed when an express passenger train and a freight train collided in west London. The crime drama “L.A. Confidential” was released by Warner Bros.
In 2004, Hu Jintao became the undisputed leader of China with the departure of former President Jiang Zemin from his top military post.
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS: Author Roger Angell is 98. Host James Lipton (TV: “Inside the Actors Studio”) is 92. Actress Rosemary Harris and former Defense Secretary Harold Brown are 91. Actor David McCallum is 85. Singer-songwriter Paul Williams, and singers Bill Medley and Sylvia Tyson (Ian and Sylvia) are 78. R&B singer Freda Payne is 76. Golfer Jane Blalock, singer David Bromberg and actor Randolph Mantooth are 73. Rock singer-musician Lol Creme (10cc) and former NFL running back Larry Brown are 71. Actor Jeremy Irons is 70. Actress Twiggy Lawson is 69. TV personality Joan Lunden is 68. Singerproducer Daniel Lanois is 67. Actor Scott Colomby and musician-producer Nile Rodgers are 66. College Football Hallof-Famer and former NFL player Reggie Williams is 64. Singer-actor Rex Smith is 63. Rock singer Lita Ford and actor Kevin Hooks are 60. Actress Carolyn McCormick is 59. Celebrity chef Mario Batali is 58. Actress-comedian Cheri Oteri is 56. Country singer Jeff Bates is 55. Country singer Trisha Yearwood is 54. News anchor Soledad O’Brien is 52. Rhythm-and-blues singer Espraronza Griffin (Society of Soul) and celebrity chef Michael Symon are 49. Actor Victor Williams is 48. Actress Sanaa Lathan is 47. Actress Stephanie J. Block is 46. Rock singer A. Jay Popoff (Lit) is 45. “Tonight Show” host Jimmy Fallon is 44. TV personality Carter Oosterhouse and actress-TV host Alison Sweeney are 42. Rock musician Ryan Dusick is 41. Folkrock singers-musicians Sara and Tegan Quin are 38. Actor Columbus Short is 36.