This Day in History

On Sept. 7, 1940, Nazi Germany began its eightmonth blitz of Britain during World War II with the first air attack on London.

On this date:

In 1901, the Peace of Beijing ended the Boxer Rebellion in China.

In 1927, American television pioneer Philo T. Farnsworth, 21, succeeded in transmitting the image of a line through purely electronic means with a device called an “image dissector” at his San Francisco laboratory.

In 1936, rock-and-roll legend Buddy Holly was born Charles Hardin Holley in Lubbock, Texas.

In 1963, the National Professional Football Hall of Fame was dedicated in Canton, Ohio.

In 1972, the International Olympic Committee banned Vince Matthews and Wayne Collett of the U.S. from further competition for talking to each other on the victory stand in Munich during the playing of the “Star-Spangled Banner” after winning the gold and silver medals in the 400-meter run.

In 1977, the Panama Canal treaties, calling for the U.S. to eventually turn over control of the waterway to Panama, were signed in Washington by President Jimmy Carter and Panamanian leader Omar Torrijos. Convicted Watergate conspirator G. Gordon Liddy was released from prison after more than four years.

In 1979, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network ( ESPN) made its cable TV debut.

In 1987, the syndicated TV talk show “Geraldo,” hosted by Geraldo Rivera, began an 11-season run.

In 1996, rapper Tupac Shakur was shot and mortally wounded on the Las Vegas Strip; he died six days later.

In 2001, Venus Williams and Serena Williams reached the finals of the U.S. Open, defeating Jennifer Capriati and Martina Hingis respectively, becoming the first sisters to play for a Grand Slam championship in more than 100 years.

In 2002, President George W. Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, meeting at Camp David, said the world had to act against Saddam Hussein, arguing that the Iraqi leader had defied the United Nations and reneged on promises to destroy weapons of mass destruction.