TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

2017

Hurricane Maria, the strongest hurricane to hit Puerto Rico in more than 80 years, struck the island, wiping out as much as 75 percent of the power distribution lines and causing an island-wide blackout.

1519

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands.

1873

Panic swept the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.

1881

Chester A. Arthur was sworn in as the 21st president of the United States, succeeding the assassinated James A. Garfield.

1958

Martin Luther King Jr. was seriously wounded during a book signing at a New York City department store when he was stabbed in the chest by Izola Curry.

1962

James Meredith, a Black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett.

1963

President Kennedy proposed a joint U-s-soviet expedition to the moon.

1967

The Cunard liner RMS Queen Elizabeth 2 was christened by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in Clydebank, Scotland.

1973

Singer-songwriter Jim Croce died in a plane crash near Natchitoches, Louisiana; he was 30.

1984

A suicide car bomber attacked the U.S. Embassy annex in north Beirut, killing at least 14 people, including two Americans and 12 Lebanese. The family sitcoms “The Cosby Show” and “Who’s the Boss?” premiered on NBC and ABC, respectively.

1995

In a move that stunned Wall Street, AT&T Corporation announced it was splitting into three companies.

2001

During an address to a joint session of Congress, President George W. Bush announced a new Cabinet-level office to fortify homeland security and named Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge its director.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Actor Sophia Loren is 86. Hockey Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur is 69. Actor Gary Cole is 64. Actor Kristen Johnston is 53. Rock musician Ben Shepherd is 52. Actor-model Moon Bloodgood is 45. Rapper Yung Joc is 40. Actor Crystle Stewart is 39. Actor Aldis Hodge is 34.