FRIDAY IN HISTORY

Today is Friday, Sept. 30, the 274th day of 2016. There are 92 days left in the year.

Highlight in History:

On Sept. 30, 1791, Mozart’s opera “TheMagic Flute” premiered in Vienna, Austria.

On this date:

In 1777, the Continental Congress — forced to flee in the face of advancing British forces — moved to York, Pa.

In 1846, Boston dentist William Morton used ether as an anesthetic for the first time as he extracted an ulcerated tooth from merchant Eben Frost.

In 1938, after co-signing the Munich Agreement allowing Nazi annexation of Czechoslovakia’s Sudetenland, British Prime Minister Ne ville Chamberlain said, “I believe it is peace for our time.”

In 1939, the first college football game to be televised was shown on experimental station W2XBS in New York as Fordham University defeated Waynesburg College, 34-7.

In 1949, the Berlin Airlift came to an end.

In 1962, James Meredith, a black student, was escorted by federal marshals to the campus of the University of Mississippi, whereheenrolled for classes the next day; Meredith’s presence sparked rioting that claimed two lives.

In 1966, the Republic of Botswana became independent from Britain.

In 1986, the U.S. released accused Soviet spy Gennadiy Zakharov, one day after the Soviets released American journalist Nicholas Daniloff.

In 1997, France’s Roman Catholic Church apologized for its silence during the systematic persecution and deportation of Jews by the pro-Nazi Vichy regime.

Ten years ago: Five people were killed when an overpass near Montreal collapsed.

Five years ago: A U.S. drone airstrike in Yemen killed two American members of al-Qaida, cleric Anwar al-Awlaki and recruiting magazine editor Samir Khan.

One year ago: Just hours before a midnight deadline, a bitterly divided Congress approved, and President Barack Obama signed, a stopgap spending bill to keep the federal government open.

Today’s Birthdays: Actress Angie Dickinson is 85. Actor Len Cariou is 77. Actress Fran Drescher is 59. Country singer Marty Stuart is 58. ActressMonica Bellucci is 52. Actress Marion Cotillard is 41. Olympic gold medal gymnast Dominique Moceanu is 35. Actor Kieran Culkin is 34. Singer-rapper T-Pain is 32.

Thought for Today: “Nothing you can’t spell will ever work.” — Will Rogers, American humorist (18791935).