Today in history
Today is Thursday, Sept. 13, the 256th day of 2018. There are 109 days left in the year.
Today’s Highlight in History:
On Sept. 13, 1971, a four- day inmates’ rebellion at the Attica Correctional Facility in western New York ended as police and guards stormed the prison; the ordeal and final assault claimed the lives of 32 inmates and 11 hostages.
On this date:
In 1759, during the French and Indian War, the British defeated the French on the Plains of Abraham overlooking Quebec City.
In 1788, the Congress of the Confederation authorized the first national election, and declared New York City the temporary national capital.
In 1814, during the War of 1812, British naval forces began bombarding Fort McHenry in Baltimore but were driven back by American defenders in a battle that lasted until the following morning.
In 1948, Republican Margaret Chase Smith of Maine was elected to the U. S. Senate; she became the first woman to serve in both houses of Congress.
In 1959, Elvis Presley first met his future wife, 14-year- old Priscilla Beaulieu, while stationed in West Germany with the U. S. Army. ( They married in 1967, but divorced in 1973.)
In 1962, Mississippi Gov. Ross Barnett rejected the U. S. Supreme Court’s order for the University of Mississippi to admit James Meredith, a black student, declaring in a televised address, “We will not drink from the cup of genocide.”
In 1970, the first New York City Marathon was held; winner Gary Muhrcke finished the 26.2-mile run, which took place entirely inside Central Park, in 2:31:38.
In 1989, Fay Vincent was elected commissioner of Major League Baseball, succeeding the late A. Bartlett Giamatti ( juhMAH’-tee).
In 1990, the combination police- courtroom drama “Law & Order” premiered on NBC.
In 1993, at the White House, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and PLO chairman Yasser Arafat shook hands after signing an accord granting limited Palestinian autonomy.
In 1997, funeral services were held in Calcutta, India, for Nobel peace laureate Mother Teresa.
In 2001, two days after the 9/11 terror attacks, the first few jetliners returned to the nation’s skies, but several major airports remained closed and others opened only briefly. President George W. Bush visited injured Pentagon workers and said he would carry the nation’s prayers to New York.
Ten years ago: Rescue crews ventured out to pluck people from their homes in an all- out search for thousands of Texans who had stubbornly stayed behind overnight to face Hurricane Ike. After wild conjecture over who would play Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin on “Saturday Night Live,” writerperformer Tina Fey returned to her old show for an opening sketch featuring her and Fey’s former “Weekend Update” cohost Amy Poehler as Sen. Hillary Clinton.
Five years ago: By truck and helicopter, thousands of people stranded by floodwaters were brought down from the Colorado Rockies. A pre- dawn fire swept through a Russian psychiatric hospital, killing 37 people.