Today In History
Today is Thursday, Sept. 3, the 247th day of 2020. There are 119 days left in the year.
TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT
› 2005: President George W. Bush ordered more than 7,000 active duty forces to the Gulf Coast as his administration intensified efforts to rescue Katrina survivors and send aid to the hurricane-ravaged region in the face of criticism it did not act quickly enough.
ON THIS DATE
› 1609: English explorer Henry Hudson and his crew aboard the Half Moon entered present-day New York Harbor and began sailing up the river that now bears his name. (They reached present-day Albany before turning back.)
› 1861: During the Civil War, Confederate forces invaded the border state of Kentucky, which had declared its neutrality in the conflict.
› 1939: Britain, France, Australia and New Zealand declared war on Germany, two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland.
› 1943: Allied forces invaded Italy during World War II, the same day Italian officials signed a secret armistice with the Allies.
› 1976: America’s Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the red planet’s surface.
› 1978: Pope John Paul I was installed as the 264th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church.
› 1995: The online auction site eBay was founded in San Jose, California, by Pierre Omidyar under the name “AuctionWeb.”
TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS
Actor Pauline Collins is 80. Rock singer-musician Al Jardine is 78. Actor Valerie Perrine is
77. Rock musician Donald Brewer (Grand Funk Railroad) is 72. Rock guitarist Steve Jones (The Sex Pistols) is 65. Actor Steve Schirripa is 63. Actor Holt McCallany is 56. Actor Costas Mandylor is 55. Actor Charlie Sheen is
55. Singer Jennifer Paige is 47. Dance-rock musician Redfoo is 45. Actor Ashley Jones is 44. Actor Nichole Hiltz is 42. Actor Joel Johnstone is 42. Actor Nick Wechsler is
42. Rock musician Tomo Milicevic (30 Seconds to Mars) is 41. Bluegrass musician Darren Nicholson (Balsam Range) is 37. Actor Christine Woods is 37. Actor Garrett Hedlund is 36. Olympic gold medal snowboarder Shaun White is 34. Hiphop singer August Alsina is 28.