Today in history

Today is Tuesday, Sept. 24, the 267th day of 2019 and the second day of autumn.

Today’s history: In 1789, Congress passed the First Judiciary Act, which provided for the Supreme Court and the office of attorney general.

▪ In 1960, the first nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the U.S.S. Enterprise, was launched.

▪ In 1968, “60 Minutes,” American prime-time television’s longestrunning program, premiered on CBS.

▪ In 2005, Hurricane Rita hit Texas and southwestern Louisiana.

Today’s fact: Motorcycle builder Soichiro Honda founded the Honda Motor Company in Hamamatsu, Japan, on this day in 1948. Before finding success with motorcycles, Honda tried manufacturing weaving machines, frosted glass windows and bamboo roof panels.

Today’s sports: In 1988, Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson won the gold medal in the 100-meter dash at the Olympic Games in Seoul, South Korea. Johnson tested positive for steroids three days later and was stripped of the medal.

Today’s quote: “One writes of scars healed, a loose parallel to the pathology of the skin, but there is no such thing in the life of an individual. There open wounds, shrunk sometimes to the size of a pinprick, but wounds still.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Tender Is the Night”

Today’s number: 867 — height (in feet, from base to summit) of Devils Tower in Wyoming. President Theodore Roosevelt declared the monolithic rock formation the first U.S. National Monument on this day in 1906.

Today’s moon: Between last quarter moon (Sept. 21) and new moon (Sept. 28).