TODAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Sept. 18, the 262nd day of 2020. There are 104 days left in the year.

Today’s highlight in history

On Sept. 18, 1850, Congress passed the Fugitive Slave Act, which created a force of federal commissioners charged with returning escaped slaves to their owners.

On this date

In 1759, the French formally surrendered Quebec to the British. In 1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

In 1927, the Columbia Phonograph Broadcasting System (later CBS) made its on-air debut with a network of 16 radio stations. In 1947, the National Security Act, which created a National Military Establishment and the position of Secretary of Defense, went into effect.

In 1959, during his U.S. tour, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited Wall Street, the Empire State Building and the grave of President Franklin D. Roosevelt; in a speech to the U.N. General Assembly, Khrushchev called on all countries to disarm.

In 1965, “I Dream of Jeannie” and “Get Smart” premiered on NBC.

In 1970, Jimi Hendrix died in London at age 27.

In 1975, newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst was captured by the FBI in San Francisco, 19 months after being kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Robert Blake is 87. Singer Frankie Avalon is 80. U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson is

69. Baseball Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is 61. Actor Holly Robinson Peete is 56. Actor Aisha Tyler is 50. Lance Armstrong is 49. Actor Jada Pinkett Smith is 49. Actor James Marsden is

47. Actor Emily Rutherfurd is 46. Comedian-actor Jason Sudeikis is 45. Actor/comedian Billy Eichner is 42.