TODAY IN HISTORY
Today is Monday, Sept. 16, the 259th day of 2019. There are 106 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlights in History:
On Sept. 16, 2001, President George W. Bush, speaking on the South Lawn of the White House, said there was “no question” Osama bin Laden and his followers were the prime suspects in the Sept. 11 attacks; Bush pledged the government would “find them, get them running and hunt them down.”
On this date:
■ In 1810, Mexico began its revolt against Spanish rule.
■ In 1910, Bessica Medlar Raiche of Mineola, N.Y., made the first accredited solo airplane flight by a woman in the United States.
■ In 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act. Samuel T. Rayburn of Texas was elected Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
■ In 1976, the Episcopal Church, at its General Convention in Minneapolis, formally approved the ordination of women as priests and bishops.
■ In 1982, the massacre of between 1,200 and 1,400 Palestinian men, women and children at the hands of Israeli-allied Christian Phalange militiamen began in west Beirut’s Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
■ In 2005, President George W. Bush ruled out raising taxes to pay the massive costs of Gulf Coast reconstruction in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, saying other government spending had to be cut to pay for the recovery effort.
■ In 2007, O.J. Simpson was arrested in the alleged armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors in Las Vegas. (Simpson was later convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery and sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison; he was released in 2017.)
Ten years ago: Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mt., chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, unveiled sweeping legislation to remake the nation’s costly health care system. Mary Travers, 72, one part of the folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, died in Danbury, Connecticut.
Five years ago: President Barack Obama declared that the Ebola epidemic in West Africa could threaten security around the world and ordered 3,000 U.S. troops to
the region in emergency aid muscle. After a day of public pressure from angry fans and concerned sponsors, the Minnesota Vikings reversed course and placed star running back Adrian Peterson on the exempt-commissioner’s permission list while he addressed a felony charge of child abuse in Texas. (The Vikings had initially decided that Peterson could play with the team while the legal process played out; Peterson later pleaded no contest to misdemeanor reckless assault for physically disciplining his 4-year-old son with a wooden switch.)
One year ago: At least 17 people were confirmed dead from Hurricane Florence, and the North Carolina city of Wilmington was cut off by still-rising waters as catastrophic flooding spread across the Carolinas.
Today’s Birthdays: Actress Janis Paige is 97. Actor George Chakiris is 87. Bluesman Billy Boy Arnold is 84. Rhythmand-blues singer Betty Kelley (Martha & the Vandellas) is
75. Actress Susan Ruttan is
71. Actor Ed Begley Jr. is 70. Country singer David Bellamy (The Bellamy Brothers) is 69. Country singer-songwriter Phil Lee is 68. Actor Mickey Rourke is 67. Jazz musician Earl Klugh is 66. Magician David Copperfield is 63. Country singer-songwriter Terry McBride is 61. Actress Jennifer Tilly is 61. Retired MLB All-Star pitcher Orel Hershiser is 61. Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines is 60. Actress Jayne Brook is 59. Singer Richard Marx is 56. Comedian Molly Shannon is 55. Singer Marc Anthony is 51. Comedianactress Amy Poehler is 48. Actress Toks Olagundoye is 44. Country singer Matt Stillwell is 44. Singer Musiq is
42. Actor Michael Mosley is 41. Rapper Flo Rida is 40. Actress Alexis Bledel is 38. Actress Sabrina Bryan is 35. Actress Madeline Zima is 34. Actor Ian Harding is 33. Actor Daren Kagasoff is 32. Rock singer Teddy Geiger is 31. Rock singer-musician Nick Jonas (The Jonas Brothers) is 27. Actress Elena Kampouris is 22.
Thought for Today: “Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.” — Laurence J. Peter, Canadian writer (born this date in 1919, died 1990).