Today in History
Today’s highlight:
On Sept. 5, 1972, the Palestinian group Black September attacked the Israeli Olympic delegation at the Munich Games, killing 11 Israelis and a police officer. German forces killed five of the gunmen.
On this date:
1774: The first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.
1793: The Reign of Terror began during the French Revolution as the National Convention instituted harsh measures to repress counter-revolutionary activities.
1864: Voters in Louisiana approved a new state constitution abolishing slavery.
1939: Four days after war had broken out in Europe, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a proclamation declaring U.S. neutrality in the conflict.
1961: President John F. Kennedy signed legislation making aircraft hijackings a federal crime.
1975: President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, California.
1984: The space shuttle Discovery ended its inaugural flight as it landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
1986: Four hijackers who had seized a Pan Am jumbo jet on the ground in Karachi, Pakistan, opened fire when the lights inside the plane failed; a total of 20 people were killed before Pakistani commandos stormed the jetliner.
1995: France ended its three-year moratorium on nuclear tests, setting off an underground blast on a South Pacific atoll.
1997: Breaking the royal reticence over the death of Princess Diana, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II delivered a televised address in which she called her former daughterin-law “a remarkable person.” Mother Teresa died in Calcutta, India, at age 87.
2016: Phyllis Schlafly, the outspoken conservative activist who helped defeat the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s and founded the Eagle Forum political group, died in St. Louis at age 92.
2018: The New York Times published an opinion piece from an anonymous senior administration official claiming to be part of an internal “resistance” working to thwart President Donald Trump’s “worst inclinations;” Trump responded that if such a “gutless” person exists, “the Times must, for National Security purposes, turn him/her over to the government at once!”
Ten years ago: A Los Angeles police officer shot and killed Manuel Jaminez, a Guatemalan immigrant, in a case that sparked angry protests. A civilian oversight panel later said the officer was justified in using deadly force against Jaminez, who witnessses said was drunk and threatening passersby with a knife.
Five years ago: Germans waving welcome signs in German, English and Arabic gathered at a train station to welcome the first group of a wave of migrants fleeing conflict in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Africa.
One year ago: The Education Department said it was fining Michigan State University a record $4.5 million for failing to respond adequately to sexual assault complaints about Larry Nassar, a campus sports doctor who molested elite gymnasts and other female athletes.