Today In History

Today is Monday, Sept. 9, the 252nd day of 2013. There are 113 days left in the year.

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

■ 1513: English forces defeated Scottish invaders in the Battle of Flodden Field; more than 15,000 men were believed killed, including the King of Scots, James IV.

ON THIS DATE

■ 1543: Mary Stuart was crowned Queen of Scots at Stirling Castle, nine months after she was born.

■ 1776: The second Continental Congress made the term “United States” official, replacing “United Colonies.”

■ 1850: California became the 31st state of the union.

■ 1926: The National Broadcasting Co. (NBC) was incorporated by the Radio Corp. of America.

■ 1943: Allied forces landed at Salerno and Taranto during World War II.

■ 1957: President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the first civil rights bill to pass Congress since Reconstruction.

■ 1971: Prisoners seized control of the maximum-security Attica Correctional Facility near Buffalo, N.Y., beginning a siege that ended up claiming 43 lives.

■ 1976: Communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong died in Beijing at age 82.

■ 1986: Frank Reed, director of a private school in Lebanon, was taken hostage; he was released 44 months later.

■ 1997: Sinn Fein, the IRA’s political ally, formally renounced violence as it took its place in talks on Northern Ireland’s future. Actor Burgess Meredith died in Malibu, Calif., at age 89.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actress Sylvia Miles is 79. Actor Topol is 78. Singer Dee Dee Sharp is 68. Rock singer-musician Doug Ingle is 67. Country singer Freddy Weller is 66. College Football Hall of Famer and former NFL player Joe Theismann is 64. Rock musician John McFee (The Doobie Brothers) is 63. Actor Hugh Grant is 53. Actor-comedian Charles Esten (formerly Chip) is 48. Actor Adam Sandler is 47. Model Rachel Hunter is 44. Pop-jazz singer Michael Buble’ is 38. Latin singer Maria Rita is 36. Actress Michelle Williams is 33. Actress Julie Gonzalo is 32.