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This Day in History | September 6th


On Sept. 6, 1901, President William McKinley was shot and mortally wounded by Leon Czolgosz in Buffalo, New York.

In 1972, the Summer Olympics resumed in Munich, West Germany, a day after the deadly hostage crisis that claimed the lives of eleven Israelis and five Arab abductors.


In 1975, 18-year-old tennis star Martina Navratilova of Czechoslovakia, in New York for the U.S. Open, requested political asylum in the United States.


In 1991, the Soviet Union recognized the independence of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.


In 1995, Baltimore Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken broke Lou Gehrig’s record by playing his two-thousand-131st consecutive game.


In 2017, Hurricane Irma, the most powerful hurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic, pounded Puerto Rico.

This Day in History | September 5th

On Sept. 5, 1774, the first Continental Congress assembled in Philadelphia.In 1864, voters in Louisiana approved a new state constitution abolishing slavery.

In 1836,, Sam Houston is elected as president of the Republic of Texas, which earned its independence from Mexico in a successful military rebellion.

In 1957, the novel “On the Road,” by Jack Kerouac, was first published.

In 1969, Lt. William Calley is charged with six specifications of premeditated murder in the death of 109 Vietnamese civilians at My Lai in March 1968.

In 1970, Janis Joplin started recording sessions recording a version of the Kris Kristofferson and Fred Foster song ‘Me and Bobby McGee’. Joplin, (who was a lover and a friend of Kristofferson’s from the beginning of her career to her death), topped the US singles chart with the song in 1971 after her death, making the song the second posthumous No.1 single in US chart history after ‘(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay’ by Otis Redding.

In 1972, during the 1972 Summer Olympics at Munich, in the early morning, a group of Palestinian terrorists storms the Olympic Village apartment of the Israeli athletes, killing two and taking nine others hostage.

In 1975, President Gerald R. Ford escaped an attempt on his life by Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme, a disciple of Charles Manson, in Sacramento, California.

In 1984, the space shuttle Discovery ended its inaugural flight.

In 2006, Katie Couric makes headlines—and TV history—with her highly publicized debut as the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast, CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.

In 2018, The New York Times published an opinion piece from an anonymous administration official claiming to be part of a“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!”

This Day in History | September 4th

On Sept 4, 1893, Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit in the form of a “picture letter” to Noel Moore.

In 1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus used Arkansas National Guardsmen to prevent nine Black students from entering all-white Central High School in Little Rock.

In 1972, U.S. swimmer Mark Spitz won a seventh gold medal at the Munich Olympics in the 400-meter medley relay.

In 1998, Google filed for incorporation in California.

In 2006, “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, 44, died after a stingray’s barb pierced his chest.

In 2014, comedian Joan Rivers died at a New York hospital at age 81.

In 2018, Amazon became the second publicly-traded company to reach $1 trillion in market value, following closely behind Apple.

This Day in History | September 3rd

On Sept. 3, 1783, the United States and Britain signed the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

In 1976, America’s Viking 2 lander touched down on Mars to take the first close-up, color photographs of the red planet’s surface.

In 1995, the online auction site eBay was founded in San Jose, California, by Pierre Omidyar under the name “AuctionWeb.”

In 2003, Paul Hill, a former minister who said he murdered an abortion doctor and his escort to save the lives of unborn babies, was executed in Florida by injection.

In 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.

This Day in History | September 2nd

On Sept. 2, 31 B.C., at the Battle of Actium, off the western coast of Greece, Roman leader Octavian wins a decisive victory against the forces of Roman Mark Antony and Cleopatra, queen of Egypt.

In 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out.

In 1789, the United States Treasury Department was established.

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Gen. William T. Sherman’s forces occupied Atlanta.

In 1945, Japan formally surrendered, ending World War II.

In 1960, Wilma Rudolph of the United States won the first of three gold medals at the Rome Summer Olympics as she finished the 100-meter dash in 11 seconds.

In 1963, Alabama Gov. George C. Wallace prevented the integration of Tuskegee High School by encircling the building with state troopers. Also, “The CBS Evening News” with Walter Cronkite became the first half-hour nightly newscast.

In 1964, on tour in the USA The Beatles appeared at The Convention Hall, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Days before the concert, Philadelphia had experienced race-riots, The Beatles, who were Civil Rights supporters, were shocked to see that their audience of 13,000 was completely white.

In 1969, America’s first automatic teller machine (ATM) makes its public debut, dispensing cash to customers at Chemical Bank in Rockville Centre, New York.

In 1995, Michael Jackson went to No.1 on the US singles chart with a song written by R. Kelly ‘You Are Not Alone’. It holds a Guinness World Record as the first song in the 37 year history of the Billboard Hot 100 to debut at No.1.

This Day in History | September 1st

On Sept. 1, 1923, the Japanese cities of Tokyo and Yokohama were devastated by an earthquake.

In 1939, World War II began as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.

In 1957, the Biggest Show Of Stars package tour kicked off at Brooklyn Paramount featuring: Buddy Holly & The Crickets, The Drifters, The Everly Brothers and Frankie Lymon. On some dates artists were unable to play because of segregation laws.

In 1969, a coup in Libya brought Moammar Gadhafi to power.

In 1972, American Bobby Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, as Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union resigned before the resumption of Game 21.

In 1984, after a 25-year career, Tina Turner had her first solo No.1 single in the US with ‘What’s Love Got To Do With It’. This song was originally written for Cliff Richard, however the song was rejected. It was then offered to Donna Summer, who has stated she sat with it for a couple of years but never recorded it.

In 1985, a U.S.-French expedition located the wreckage of the Titanic on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean.

In 2009, Vermont’s law allowing same-sex marriage went into effect.

In 2015, Kentucky Clerk Kim Davis denied marriage licenses to gay couples again in direct defiance of the federal courts, and vowed not to resign, even under the pressure of steep fines or jail.

This Day in History | August 31st

In 1980, representatives of the communist government of Poland agree to the demands of striking shipyard workers in the city of Gdansk. Former electrician Lech Walesa led the striking workers, who went on to form Solidarity, the first independent labor union to develop in a Soviet bloc nation.

In 1985, Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits started a nine-week run at No.1 on the US album charts. The album also topped the charts in 25 other countries and went on to sell over 20 million worldwide.

In 1987, the largest pre-order of albums in the history of CBS Records occurred as 2.25 million copies of Michael Jackson’s ‘Bad’ album were shipped to record stores in the US. The LP followed the Jackson album, Thriller the biggest Jackson-seller of all time (over 35 million copies sold). ‘Bad’ went on to sell over 13 million copies.

In 1994, the Irish Republican Army declared a cease-fire.

In 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales—affectionately known as “the People’s Princess”—dies in a car crash in Paris. She was 36. Her boyfriend, the Egyptian-born socialite Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the car, Henri Paul, died as well.

In 2010, President Barack Obama ended the U.S. combat mission in Iraq, declaring no victory after seven years of bloodshed. and telling those divided: “It is time to turn the page.”

In 2018, Aretha Franklin, the “Queen of Soul,” was laid to rest after an eight-hour funeral at a Detroit church.

This Day in History | August 30th

On Aug. 30, 1861, Union Gen. John C. Fremont instituted martial law in Missouri and declared slaves there to be free. (Fremont’s order was countermanded by President Abraham Lincoln.)

In 1905, Ty Cobb made his debut as a player for the Detroit Tigers, hitting a double in his first at-bat in a game against the New York Highlanders.

In 1949, Hank Williams went into Herzog Studio in Cincinnati to record ‘I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry’. Williams wrote the song originally intending that the words be spoken, rather than sung. The song about loneliness was largely inspired by his troubled relationship with wife Audrey Sheppard.

In 1983, Guion S. Bluford Jr. became the first Black American astronaut to travel in space.

In 1993, “The Late Show with David Letterman” premiered on CBS-TV.In 2007.

In 2015, the White House announced that President Barack Obama would change the name of North America’s tallest mountain peak from MountMcKinley to Denali, the traditional Alaska Native name.

This Day in History | August 29th

On Aug. 29, 1533, Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas, dies by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish conquistadors.

1949, at a remote test site at Semipalatinsk in Kazakhstan, the USSR successfully detonates its first atomic bomb, code name “First Lightning.”

In 1957, the Senate gave final congressional approval to a Civil Rights Act after South Carolina Sen. Strom Thurmond (then a Democrat) ended a filibuster that had lasted 24 hours.

In 1962, Malvin R. Goode began covering the United Nations for ABC-TV, becoming network television’s first Black reporter.

In 1964, Roy Orbison’s ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ was released in the US. It went on to reach No.1 four weeks later. The title was inspired by Orbison’s wife Claudette interrupting a conversation to announce she was going out; when Orbison asked if she was okay for cash, his co-writer Bill Dees interjected “A pretty woman never needs any money.”

In 2001, Gene Wilder died in Stamford, Connecticut, at age 83.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina makes landfall near New Orleans, Louisiana, as a Category 3 hurricane.

In 2013, the Justice Department said it would not stand in the way of states that wanted to legalize, tax and regulate marijuana as long as there were effective controls to keep marijuana away from kids, the black market and federal property.

In 2018, Ariana Grande was at No.1 on the UK album chart with her fourth studio album Sweetener. The album which features guest appearances from Pharrell Williams, Nicki Minaj and Missy Elliott also topped the US charts and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album marking Grande’s first career Grammy win.

In 2019, President Donald Trump said the United States planned to withdraw more than 5,000 troops from Afghanistan.

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