TODAY IN HISTORY

THURSDAY SEP 23, 2021 1955

A jury in Sumner, Mississippi, acquitted two white men, Roy Bryant and J.W. Milam, of murdering Black teenager Emmett Till.

1779

During the Revolutionary War, the American warship Bon Homme Richard, commanded by John Paul Jones, defeated the HMS Serapis in battle off Yorkshire, England; however, the seriously damaged Bon Homme Richard sank two days later.

1806

The Lewis and Clark expedition returned to St. Louis more than two years after setting out for the Pacific Northwest.

1846

Neptune was identified as a planet by German astronomer Johann Gottfried Galle.

1932

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was founded.

1949

President Harry S. Truman announced there was evidence the Soviet Union had recently conducted a nuclear test explosion.

1952

Sen. Richard M. Nixon, R-calif., salvaged his vicepresidential nomination by appearing on television from Los Angeles to refute allegations of improper campaign fundraising in what became known as the “Checkers” speech.

1957

Nine Black students who’d entered Little Rock Central High School in Arkansas were forced to withdraw because of a white mob outside.

1987

Sen. Joseph Biden, Ddel., withdrew from the Democratic presidential race following questions about his use of borrowed quotations and the portrayal of his academic record.

1999

The Mars Climate Orbiter apparently burned up as it attempted to go into orbit around the Red Planet.

2001

President George W. Bush returned the American flag to full staff at Camp David, symbolically ending a period of national mourning following the 9⁄11 attacks.

TODAY’S BIRTHDAYS

Singer Julio Iglesias is 78. Actor Paul Petersen (TV: “The Donna Reed Show”) is

76. Actor/singer Mary Kay Place is 74. Rock star Bruce Springsteen is 72. Director/ playwright George C. Wolfe is 67. Rock musician Leon Taylor (The Ventures) is

66. Actor Rosalind Chao is

64. Golfer Larry Mize is 63. Actor Jason Alexander is 62. Actor Chi Mcbride is 60. Actor Erik Todd Dellums is 57.