TODAY IN HISTORY

TODAY’S HIGHLIGHT

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.

ALSO ON THIS DATE 1519

Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan and his crew set out from Spain on five ships to find a western passage to the Spice Islands. (Magellan was killed enroute, but one of his ships eventually circled the world.)

1881

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

1946

The first Cannes Film Festival, lasting 16 days, opened in France.

1962

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

1973

In their so-called “battle of the sexes,” tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, at the Houston Astrodome.

1976

Playboy magazine released an interview in which Democratic presidential nominee Jimmy Carter admitted he’d “looked on a lot of women with lust.”

1984

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

1995

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