World/nation trivia 9-14-24

Sept. 15:

1835, Charles Darwin reached the Galápagos Islands aboard the HMS Beagle.

1963, four Black girls were killed when a bomb went off during Sunday services at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama. (Three Ku Klux Klansmen were eventually convicted for their roles in the blast.)

1959, Nikita Khrushchev became the first Soviet head of state to visit the United States as he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington.

1978, Muhammad Ali became the first boxer to capture the heavyweight title three times, winning by unanimous decision in his rematch with Leon Spinks.

Sept 16:

1893, the largest land run in U.S. history occurred as more than 100,000 white settlers rushed to claim more than 6 million acres in what is now northern Oklahoma.

1974, President Gerald R. Ford signed a proclamation announcing a conditional amnesty program for Vietnam War deserters and draft evaders.

2007, O.J. Simpson was arrested in the alleged armed robbery of sports memorabilia collectors in Las Vegas. (Simpson was later convicted of kidnapping and armed robbery and sentenced to nine to 33 years in prison; he was released in 2017.)

2013, Aaron Alexis, a former U.S. Navy reservist, went on a shooting rampage inside the Washington Navy Yard, killing 12 people before being fatally shot by police.

Sept. 17:

1787, the Constitution of the United States was completed and signed by a majority of delegates attending the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia.

1908, Lt. Thomas E. Selfridge of the U.S. Army Signal Corps became the first person to die in the crash of a powered aircraft, the Wright Flyer, at Fort Myer, Virginia, just outside Washington, D.C.

1978, after 12 days of meetings at the U.S. presidential retreat of Camp David, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Accords, a framework for a peace treaty.

2011, a demonstration calling itself Occupy Wall Street began in New York, prompting similar protests around the U.S. and the world.

Sept. 18:

1793, President George Washington laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol.

1851, the first edition of The New York Times was published.

2014, voters in Scotland rejected independence, opting to remain part of the United Kingdom in a historic referendum.

2020, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a towering champion of women’s rights who became the court’s second female justice, died at her home in Washington at age 87 of complications from pancreatic cancer.

Sept. 19:

1796, President George Washington’s farewell address was published. In it, America’s first chief executive advised, “Observe good faith and justice toward all nations. Cultivate peace and harmony with all.”

1881, the 20th president of the United States, James A. Garfield, died 2 1/2 months after being shot by Charles Guiteau; he was succeeded by Vice President Chester A. Arthur.

1988, Olympic diver Greg Louganis suffered a concussion after striking his head on the diving board during the preliminary round of the 3-meter springboard diving competition at the Seoul Summer Games; Louganis would recover from the injury and win a gold medal in the event the following day.

2022, Great Britain and the world said a final goodbye to Queen Elizabeth II at a state funeral that drew presidents and kings, princes and prime ministers — and crowds who thronged the streets of London.

Sept. 20:

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 en route, but one of his ships completed the first circumnavigation of the globe three years later.)

1962, James Meredith, a Black student, was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Democratic Gov. Ross R. Barnett.

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, in the Houston Astrodome.

2011, the repeal of the U.S. military’s 18-year-old “don’t ask, don’t tell” compromise took effect, allowing gay and lesbian service members to serve openly.

Sept. 21:

1898, in response to a letter from 8-year-old Virginia O’Hanlon, the New York Sun newspaper wrote an editorial containing the famous line “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”

1915, Cecil Chubb purchased Stonehenge for £6,600; the last private owner of the site, Chubb donated it to the British people three years later.

1955, at Yankee Stadium in New York, boxer Rocky Marciano completed his undefeated professional career by knocking out Archie Moore in the ninth round of their title fight.

1981, the Senate unanimously confirmed the nomination of Sandra Day O’Connor to become the first female justice on the Supreme Court.

— Associated Press