Today in history

On Sept. 4, 1609, British explorer Henry Hudson discovered the island of Manhattan.

In 1781 Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers.

In1870 the Third Republic was proclaimed in France.

In1882 the Pearl Street electric power station, built by Thomas Edison, began operation in New York City.

In 1886 A pache Indians led by Geronimo surrendered to Gen. Nelson Miles at Skeleton Canyon, Ariz.

In 1888 George Eastman patented a roll-film camera and registered his Kodak trademark.

In1917 the American Expeditionary Force in France suffered its first fatalities in World War I.

In 1929 the German dirigible Graf Zeppelin completed a trip around theworld.

In 1948 Dutch Queen Wilhelmina abdicated for health reasons.

In 1951 President Harry Truman spoke to the nation from San Francisco in the first live, coast-tocoast television broadcast.

In1957 Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students fromentering Central High School in Little Rock.

In1993 the Fatah faction of the PLO endorsed a peace accord with Israel.

In2013 the Obama administration extended military veterans’ benefits to married same-sex couples.

In 2014 Joan Rivers, a brassy stand-up comic and talk-show host later knownfor her zingers on E!’s red carpet at awards shows, died in New York City; shewas 81.